英语听力精选进阶版 14113

（单词翻译）

Tintin book on trial

Summary

28 April 2010

A Congolese man is trying to get a controversial Tintin book banned in the cartoon star's home country of Belgium. He wants the book to carry a warning to alert readers that the book may cause offence.

Reporter:

Nkem Ifejika

Summary

The famous ginger¹ quiff of Tintin has wowed fans for decades. Travelling the world on wild adventures with his dog, Snowy, the comic books contained elements of fantasy, mystery, even political thrillers². And political is exactly what this episode has become. 

Originally published in the early 1930s, Tintin in the Congo follows the intrepid³ boy reporter to the Belgian Congo, in what was seen as deepest darkest Africa - at the time a Belgian colony. There the adventurers hire a local guide, visit remote villages, even encounter wildlife. So far so normal for a swashbuckler. But it's the language and imagery used in the comic which has caused outrage 

in those critical of it.

The guide looks like a golliwog - pitch black complexion⁴, big eyes and plump red lips. And the views espoused⁵ are racist⁶ and colonialist. The Belgian writer and illustrator, Hergé who wrote them, later said he regretted writing it - a 

youthful bit of fun which reflected the prejudices of the time.

But that's not how Bienvenue Mbutu sees it. He's a Congolese national living in Belgium and he's asking the courts to ban the book, although he says he would be satisfied if it was sold with a warning about the content.

Nkem Ifejika, BBC News