6 Minute English - Black history month | Текст песни

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• 6 Minute English
• Black history month

NB: This is not a word for word transcript
Группа Learning English: http://vkontakte.ru/club17650165
Продолжение транскрипта:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/6minute/101021_6min_black_history_month.pdf

Yvonne: This is 6 Minute English, I'm Yvonne and today, I'm joined by
Rob. Hello, Rob!
Rob: Hello, Yvonne.
Yvonne: In the UK, we celebrate Black HistoryMonth each year. It's a time when
people from all cultures and backgrounds get a chance to learn about, share in
and celebrate the contributions that black people have made to UK and world
history. Well before we find out more about this annual or yearly event, I've a
question for you, Rob. How long has Black History Month been celebrated
here in the UK? Is it:
23 years
50 years or
52 years
Rob: Ummm – that's a tricky one. I think I'll say 23 years.
Yvonne: Hmmm - we'll find out whether you're right or wrong later on!
Rob: Okay.
Yvonne: Now every year, there's a rather heated debate about whether we should or
shouldn't spend an entire month on black history - something that's a part of
British history. Mia Morris is the owner of the UK's Black HistoryMonth
website and she shared her opinion on this:
Extract 1: MiaMorris
Ideally, we wouldn't need it; ideally, it would be all year round. But then say to people:
use the opportunity to explore more of your family and spend more time with your
family, finding out more about our very rich history.
Yvonne: Mia would prefer black history to be made available to everyone in Britain
throughout the year. As she put it, ideally, black history would last 'all year
round' - but as it doesn't…
Rob: …Mia thinks we should all see October as an opportunity, or a chance, to
spend more time with family, exploring, or finding out, more about our very
rich history, one that we all share, as it's British.
Yvonne: Unfortunately, some Black HistoryMonth events and schools still choose to
focus on negative events from history, for example, slavery. But now, there's a
wider variety of events available, including living history. Rob, can you tell us
what 'living history' is please?
Rob: Yes, of course. It's a more interactive way of learning about a specific event or
period of time in history than say, for example, simply looking at items in a
museum. That's a bit boring sometimes.
Yvonne: It is, isn't it? Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held as a prisoner, is
now a living museum, isn't it, Rob?
Rob: That's right. I've actually been there and it really is an amazing place. So we
can find out what everyday life was like for Nelson Mandela by going on a
guided tour of Robben Island that's led by an ex-political prisoner, who was
also held there.
Yvonne: Of course, living history is happening all around us, wherever we are. And
recently, at a Black HistoryMonth event, I spent the morning speaking with a
wonderful lady, who's a great example of living history. Irene Sinclair was
born in 1908 in Guyana, South America, which was then called British Guyana.
And she came to live in London in 1957.
Rob: My goodness. So Irene is 102 years old! Wow, you must have had so many
questions to ask her, Yvonne.
Yvonne: Too many, Rob, way too many, including questions about her working life. I
asked Aunty Rene how much she was paid in Guyana in 1957 where she
worked as an English and History teacher, before she came to London.
Extract 2: Irene Sinclair
It must have been about £10 a year. Yes, because when I came over here, I was working
for 4.99. I was 49 when I came over, nearly 50. 4.99 a week, £4.99 in 1958!
Rob: Irene would have been paid in pounds, shillings and pence, so she was telling
us what her pay would be worth today, £4.99. Now that doesn't sound like very
much money, but...

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