English Through Murder 透過謀殺學英語
Before the 1960s, radio dramas were very popular. “Radio dramas” were short stories, usually 30 to 60 minutes long, in the form of a play, read by professional actors and actresses, with “dramatic” (exciting or powerful) music and “audio special effects” (sounds and noises that represent things happening in real life). Before the “era” (period; time) of television, radio dramas were popular in many countries, including in the United States. Some now-famous writers and actors helped make some of these dramas, including science fiction writer Ray Bradbury and many popular actors. The dramas or radio plays were sometimes “adapted” (taken from) famous books and plays, and sometimes original stories.
1960年代之前，廣播劇非常受歡迎。“廣播劇”是短篇故事，通常長度為30到60分鐘，以戲劇的形式，由專業的演員和女演員朗讀，配有“戲劇性的”音樂和“音效”。在電視的“時代”之前，廣播劇在許多國家都很受歡迎，包括美國。一些現在很有名的作家和演員幫助製作了這些劇，包括科幻作家雷·布拉德伯里和許多流行演員。這些劇或廣播劇有時“改編”自著名的書籍和戲劇，有時則是原創故事。
By the late 1950s, however, with the “advent” (coming) of television, people listened to the radio less and less for entertainment, preferring instead to watch their dramas rather than just listen to them. Famous writers and actors left the radio world for television and the movies, and radio dramas “all but” (almost) disappeared from the “airwaves” (broadcasts of electronic signals, such as radio).
然而，到1950年代末，隨著電視的“出現”，人們越來越少通過收音機來娛樂，更喜歡看電視劇而不是僅僅聽它們。著名的作家和演員離開了廣播界轉向電視和電影，廣播劇幾乎從“空中波段”中消失了。
But in the 1970s, there was a “brief” (short) “revival” (return of something once popular) of the radio drama in the form of a nationally broadcast series called the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Each evening in many cities, Monday through Friday, you could hear a one-hour radio drama. These were mystery stories with professional actors, just like you could watch on television, except that the sound painted the pictures for you. The host, E.G. Wells, introduce the mystery story.
但是在1970年代，廣播劇以名為CBS電台神秘劇院的全國廣播系列的形式出現了一次“短暫的”“復興”。在許多城市，每天晚上，從週一到週五，你都可以聽到一小時的廣播劇。這些是由專業演員演繹的神秘故事，就像你在電視上看到的那樣，不同的是聲音為你描繪了畫面。主持人E.G.威爾斯介紹了這個神秘故事。
In 2012, the miracle of the Internet brought the old radio dramas “back to life” (made them live again). As of 2012, you can listen to all of the old CBS Radio Mystery Theater shows (almost 1,400 of them), and even download the MP3s for them. In addition, there are now several places, including podcasts and websites where you can listen to other old dramas in English from the 1920s to the 1950s for free or at a very low price.
在2012年，互聯網的奇蹟讓老廣播劇“重生”了。截止2012年，你可以聽到所有舊的CBS電台神秘劇院的節目（近1400個），甚至可以下載它們的MP3。此外，現在有幾個地方，包括播客和網站，你可以免費或以非常低的價格收聽1920年代到1950年代的其他英文老劇。
重點單字
- radio dramas：廣播劇 /ˈreɪdioʊ ˈdrɑːməz/
- dramatic：戲劇性的 /drəˈmætɪk/
- audio special effects：音效 /ˈɔːdioʊ ˈspɛʃəl ɪˈfɛkts/
- era：時代 /ˈɪərə/
- adapted：改編 /əˈdæptɪd/
- advent：出現 /ˈædvɛnt/
- airwaves：空中波段 /ˈɛrweɪvz/
- revival：復興 /rɪˈvaɪvəl/
- back to life：重生 /bæk tu laɪf/
- financial：財務的 /faɪˈnænʃəl/
- taxes：稅收 /ˈtæksɪz/
- figures：數據 /ˈfɪɡjərz/
- nearly：將近 /ˈnɪrli/
- tendency：傾向 /ˈtɛndənsi/
- ulterior motives：隱藏動機 /ʌlˈtɪriər ˈmoʊtɪvz/
- cash：現金 /kæʃ/
