Joshua Jones

BBC Learning¹ EnglishPeople and PlacesJoshua JonesJackie:  Hello, welcome to People & Places with me,Jackie Dalton. Joshua Joneswas born with the illness cystic fibrosis. It's a conditionwhich causes blockages² in the lungs and other organs of thebody. Today we'll find out about the amazing things Joshuahas done in the face of this serious illness. Cysticfibrosis can affect people to different degrees. Somesuffer a lot from the condition; others can lead a fairlynormal life. Joshua thinks he's doing quite well. How doeshe think he has managed to stay so healthy? Listen tofind out.
　　JoshuaI'm very lucky, from a very young age, I've been very fit.
　　I've had a lot of help from my family and I think, for me,the sport definitely³ has kept me where I am.
　　Jackie:  Joshua says he's doing so well because hehas had support from his family and he does a lot of sport– he's fit and active. He said 'Sport has kept me where Iam,' meaning it's stopped things from getting. Joshua sayson average people with cystic fibrosis live until the ageof 30. He'll use the expression 'life expectancy⁴' toexplain this – life expectancy – how long someone isexpected to live. Joshua says this low life expectancy hasaffected his attitude towards life – in what way?
　　JoshuaThe average life expectancy of anyone who suffers fromcystic fibrosis is around 30. And that, to me, is just thebiggest thing of all. You know, I mean, to know that youmight not be here in another ten years, you got to doeverything you can to live, you know, and have the bestexperience of life that's possible.
　　Jackie:  Did you get the answer? Joshua says he doeseverything he can to really make the most of life, to getthe best experience possible. Listen again.
　　JoshuaThe average life expectancy of anyone who suffers fromcystic fibrosis is around 30. And that, to me, is just thebiggest thing of all. You know, I mean, to know that youmight not be here in another ten years, you got to doeverything you can to live, you know, and have the bestexperience of life that's possible.
　　Jackie:  So Joshua is determined⁵ to live life to thefull – to make the most of every moment. Just one of thethings he's done is to climb Mount⁶ Kilimanjaro – thehighest mountain in Africa. He did it for charity, to raisemoney to help other ill people. Listen to him describe histrip. Try to answer this question: why did he get up at oneo'clock in the morning on the last day up?
　　JoshuaYou trek⁷ to the mountain through the rainforest and over aplain, the desert plain first. It takes about three days toget to the top. You rest at midnight on your last night andyou set off at about one o'clock in the morning to get tothe summit⁸ for the sun to rise. Because it's the mostamazing experience, you know, you can see the whole ofAfrica from the top and then to see the sun rise, it's justincredible.
　　Jackie:  Well, Joshua got up at one o'clock in themorning to get to the summit – to the top of the mountain,to watch the sunrise. But climbing Mount Kilimanjaro wasn'tenough for Joshua. He wanted to push himself even furtherand do something that might help raise even more money forcharity. What did he and his friend Scott decide to do?
　　JoshuaWe set out to raise sort of forty thousand pounds and wethought, "If we do something a bit different, out of theordinary, we might be able to raise a little bit more." Sowe thought, "Right, ok why not having a boxing match on thetop."Jackie:  Joshua and his friend decided⁹ to have aboxing match when they got to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
　　And that's not all…how did they make it even harder?
　　JoshuaAnd we thought "Right, ok, well why don't we take out topsoff as well, just to make it a bit harder for us," youknow, and it's funny because as soon as I took my top offit was minus15 degrees - absolutely freezing. And I looked and Scottand someone said 'Go!' and I don't know why, but I just hada giggling¹⁰ fit.
　　Jackie:  They took their tops off for the boxingmatch – pretty crazy on top of a mountain at minus 15degrees! And Joshua seemed to realise it was all a bit mad– what did he do just before he started to box?
　　JoshuaAnd I looked and Scott and someone said 'Go!' and I don'tknow why, but I just had a giggling fit.
　　Jackie:  Joshua had a giggling fit – he startedlaughing uncontrollably. It must have been a funny sight!
　　Joshua is certainly making the most of life. As he's aboutto tell us, he tries not to dwell¹¹ too much on his illness.
　　'To dwell on'
　　something means to worry about it a lot. Listen out forthat expression now.
　　JoshuaIt's definitely in the back of your mind. I don't think Ilet it get to me too much because I think if you dwell onit too much you're thinking about it every day and youthink oh what's going to happen tomorrow – could I fallill next week, next month, next year…you justdon't know. And I think if you dwell on it too much, you’
　　re not going to live, so I think it's so important just toget out there and just do what you want to do and don'tworry what people think about you – just do it.
　　Jackie:  A great message from Joshua to end withthere. That's all for this week'sPeople & Places from bbclearningenglish.com.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

3 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

4 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

7 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

8 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 dwell   

vi.老是想着，详细讲述

参考例句：

• Sometimes his mind would dwell on the horrors he had been through.有时他会老是想着他所经历过的种种恐怖。
• A great number of water fowls dwell on the island.许多水鸟在岛上栖息。