Though I can understand some of the programmes I hear on the BBC and VOA, I can’t remember what I’ve just heard. How can I improve my listening skills?
尽管我可以听懂英国广播公司(BBC)和美国之音(VOA)播放的部分节目，但我却记不住我所听到的内容。我该如何提高我的听力技巧呢?
You’re in good company. Most of us can’t remember what we’ve just heard, even when we’re listening to broadcasts in our own language. The fact is that we don’t listen to information with a high degree of concentration all the time. Sometimes, spoken language on the radio or TV is just background noise, the linguistic equivalent of muzak. So if you really want to remember what you have just heard:
类似你这种情况的人还有很多。我们也有许多人记不住所听的内容，即使在听母语广播时也不例外。原因是我们并没有时时刻刻高度集中我们的注意力。有时，电台或电视所播放的语言只是背景噪音，是与音乐传送带相对应的语言现象。所以，如果你真的想记住你所听到的内容，那么：
1) Decide that you’re interested in what’s being said and that it’s worth listening to from your point of view.
1) 你要确定你的兴趣是什么，它对你来说值不值得一听。
2) Then really listen, concentrating on the important information you want to remember.
2) 真正用心听，集中精力听那些你想记忆的重要信息。
3) Don’t listen to individual words, but to the flow of the whole. It doesn’t matter if you fail to catch or to understand the odd word here and there, as long as you get the‘global meaning’.
3) 不要把精力放在听辨个别单词上，一定要听文章的全貌。只要你抓住了全文的意思，听不清或听不懂个别词也没关系。
4) Test yourself immediately after the broadcast to see how much you can immediately recall.
4) 听完广播之后，立即做一做自我测试，检验你能回忆起多少听过的内容。
5) Practise reporting what you heard on radio to someone else.
5) 把你从电台听到的东西向别人复述。
6) Try listening with a friend. When the broadcast is finished, you and your friend talk about what you have just heard. (Did you both hear the same thing?)
6) 找个朋友一起听。广播结束后，你和他可以谈谈所听的内容。(你们听到的一致吗?)
7) If you want to recall what you heard at a later date, then it’s best to make a few notes covering the main points you heard.
7) 如果你想隔较长时间再回忆你所听的内容，那么你最好把你所听的要点记录下来。
文：路易亚历山大 新概念英语作者