環(huán)球英語 — 552：Star Trek
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid.
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And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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For many years, people across the Earth have gathered together for an event. They have gathered every week around their televisions to share an experience. The experience has inspired and helped them to be better people. It has inspired them to imagine and create. Gathered around their televisions, people have heard this music and these words:
Excerpt from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Space; the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise. Its continuing mission to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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Maybe you have heard these words too! This is the beginning of the program Star Trek. This television program has influenced people all across the world in many different ways. Today's Spotlight is on Star Trek.
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The first television broadcast of Star Trek was in the United States in 1966. It was the idea of Gene Roddenberry. Mr. Roddenberry wanted Star Trek to do two things. He wanted it to be an exciting action adventure program. But he also wanted to use the program to encourage people to do what was right. He wanted it to be a moral program. Each program usually had a lesson or issue for people to think about. Many times, the program tried to communicate the message of understanding and forgiveness.
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Star Trek is a program set in the future. Mr. Roddenberry made Star Trek's future a very positive one for people. In Star Trek's future, huge ships could travel in space. These vehicles could even travel faster than the speed of light! This was called "warp speed." Any person could travel on these ships. Star Trek showed the experiences of a group of people travelling on one star ship. This ship was called the Enterprise. The leader, or captain, of the Enterprise was Captain Kirk.
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Warp speed was only one example of what technology could do on Star Trek! Other technology could help people heal faster or make people see things that did not really exist. Star Trek even showed an amazing way of travel - the transporter. People on Star Trek could transport to different places without using a vehicle or walking. Instead, they disappeared in one place, and appeared again in a different place!
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The people in Star Trek's future also worked together peacefully, including people from different races and even from different planets. Together, they used their technology to explore the universe and to help people in need.
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Mr. Roddenberry said that creating Star Trek was also a way for him to share his ideas about the world. People across the world all struggle with difficult issues like racism, slavery, women's rights, or violence. In one program, the captain of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk, tried to spread ideas about justice. He was with a slave who was experiencing unfair treatment. Captain Kirk told the slave about his own world. He said: "Where I come from, size, shape or color makes no difference." This was an important message for the American culture of the 1960s.
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Many times, Star Trek talked about issues that were important to people. Often, these issues were difficult for people to discuss. But it was easier for people to listen to the message on Star Trek because the program was interesting and fun to watch.
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During the 1960s, tension was high between the United States and the Soviet Union. This tension was part of the Cold War. But Star Trek tried to show people living in peace. They showed a Russian officer working on the bridge - the command center of the star ship. Mr. Roddenberry said:
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"By creating a new world with new rules, I could make statements about sex, religion, war, politics, and other things. Indeed, we did make them on Star Trek: we were sending messages..."
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These ideas did influence the people living in those times. Judith Barad is a professor at Indiana State University in the United States. She has written a book called "The Ethics of Star Trek." She says:
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"Star Trek encouraged us to think about things that most people either do not think about, or just expect. I think - and this is why it has lasted so long - Star Trek gave us an idea, a vision, of hope for the future. It was a goal that we could work toward."
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The first Star Trek series was not very successful on television. It was cancelled after only three years. However, many people still loved the program. They demanded that the creators bring back the Enterprise and her crew.
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After many years, there was another Star Trek series. In English, this new series was called Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 1987. This series was set even further into the future. It followed the adventures of the new crew of the new star ship Enterprise. The crew included people from different races, but also from different planets! It even included an android. This was a machine that looked and acted like a man. This new Star Trek series had even more amazing technology. And it showed the new crew doing many more things and meeting many more people. This series was on television for seven years.
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But that was not the final Star Trek series. In all, Star Trek creators have been responsible for six television series. They have produced eleven [11] Star Trek films. There are Star Trek games and books and much more! The television series has been translated into many languages. And they are broadcast in many different countries.
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In May, 2009, Star Trek released an eleventh movie. This movie was immediately successful. People still love Star Trek. They believe it has something to say.
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But why do people love Star Trek? Some people love it because it shows a better future. It suggests that people can work together to achieve common goals. Some people love it because it shows how technology can help people. It shows how people might someday be able to explore space. Some people love Star Trek because it is a complex message. It makes people think about the balance between morals and science. Other people love Star Trek simply because it is entertaining! It is interesting and fun! But whatever the reason, Star Trek can be a vision of a better future. It can encourage people to be better and to work toward a better future for everyone.
