环球英语 15 Facing the Truth

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Mike Procter.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Imagine someone you love is the victim of a murder - a close family member for example. For years you think bad things about the murderer². You cannot forgive him. Then, one day, you are invited to meet this killer³. You have to face him. You have to talk to him.
Voice 2
Well, this happened - in Ireland in March 2006. The history of Ireland is complex. Ireland has two parts - Northern Ireland and southern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Southern Ireland is an independent country - a republic. Many people who live in Northern Ireland would like the North to join with the South. They are ‘Republicans’. But the majority of people in the North would like it to remain part of the United Kingdom, they are ‘Loyalists’. There is a history of tense relations between people holding these two opinions.
Voice 1
In the early 1960’s, the tension⁵ grew worse. For most people there was just bad feeling. But some people on both sides formed violent extremist groups. The Republican⁴ and Loyalist groups used violence against each other. The British government sent in soldiers to help keep the peace. But the soldiers represented British authority⁶, so they too became targets. Republican groups especially saw the soldiers as enemies. The Provisional IRA was one such group. It sent terrorists⁷ into Great Britain to plant bombs. Many people were killed or injured by bombs in different cities in Great Britain.
Voice 2
After many years of talks, political leaders in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland signed a peace treaty⁸. This happened on Good Friday, 1998. Then the Republican and the Loyalist groups decided⁹ to stop fighting. This process took many years. And there are still many problems that need solving.
Voice 1
One problem is that people who have been hurt in the conflict find it very difficult to forget, or to forgive. In March 2006. Bishop¹⁰ Desmond Tutu helped to organise¹¹ some meetings. Some of the victims of violence were to meet the men who had killed people and planted bombs. Bishop Tutu had experience of this sort of meeting in his own country, South Africa. Bishop Tutu said:
“I think we must learn that very few people like to keep on hating each other. We need to let it go. I hope that people will discover how good it is to have someone to listen to them. God created us to be together. Not one of us can be completely alone. People do want to speak. They want to say things that they have not been able to say before. Then they feel better. The people I met all said they were happy that they had come.”
Voice 2
People all over the United Kingdom watched the meetings on television. Here is one story.
In 1988 the IRA were planning an attack on British soldiers. But the plans went wrong and three IRA members were killed. Many people attended their funeral. Suddenly, a man attacked these people with a gun and bombs. He killed three people and injured more than fifty. This man was Michael Stone. He was a Loyalist. A year later Stone’s group killed a man named Dermot Hackett. Stone later said that there was evidence linking Hackett to the IRA. That is why Stone’s group had killed him. But Hackett’s family strongly deny all such links.
Voice 1
Dermot Hackett’s wife is called Sylvia. In March 2006, Sylvia agreed to meet Michael Stone. Dermot’s’s brother went with her. Bishop Desmond Tutu was there. So also was Lesley Bilinda. Lesley’s husband died in the terrible killing¹² in Rwanda in 1994. Lesley had tried to find the people who killed her husband - to learn the truth about his death. So she knew how Dermot Hackett’s wife and brother felt.
Voice 2
Bishop Tutu and Lesley Bilinda asked questions. In this way they helped Sylvia and her brother and Michael Stone to listen to each other and understand each other. Silvia said that her husband had not had any links at all with the IRA. She told Stone that he had ruined her life and killed her husband. She said that he could have killed their child, too, since she had been pregnant¹³ at the time.
Voice 1
Michael Stone said that he had been afraid of seeing anger in Sylvia’s eyes. He had not done the murder himself. But he said he was responsible because the man who had done it was a member of Stone’s Loyalist group. Stone had come to believe that Mr Hackett was a member of the IRA. Stone said that he did not like to kill people. He said he could only do it if he thought of his victims as if they were not humans.
Voice 2
Later Sylvia got up and took Michael Stone’s hand. It was a sign that she had forgiven Stone - that she did not wish him any harm. She later said that she felt she should show Stone that she is a Christian¹⁴. But the handshake was difficult for her. Afterwards, she ran from the room! The Guardian¹⁵ newspaper later said ‘(Forgiveness) is a painful, practical step taken by those (people) who want to end the killing.’ Michael Stone later said that he too found it difficult when Sylvia took his hand. He said that he had become a Loyalist fighter when he was very young. He had spent time in prison. He felt he had never been able to know his nine children. He wished the events in Ireland had never happened. But he said that the meeting with Sylvia had helped him.
Voice 1
It is a sad fact that in many countries people are killing each other. Does this have to be? If you did not agree with somebody, would it not be better to go and talk to that person? Or would you want to kill that person instead? Bishop Desmond Tutu said this about the people of Ireland:
“They are wonderful. They have big hearts. They have a great sense of humour. I want them to show us that they can come out of their terrible suffering as better people. I want them to show us that it is possible for enemies to become friends.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 murderer   

n.杀人犯，凶手

参考例句：

• How long should a murderer be kept in prison?犯了谋杀罪的人应在监狱关多少年？
• They discovered the murderer to have run away.他们发现凶手已逃之夭夭。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

5 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

6 authority   

n.当局，官方；权力，权威，威信；当权者

参考例句：

• He is recognized internationally as an authority in this field.国际上承认他是这方面的一个权威。
• Professor White is looked upon as an authority on mathematics.怀特教授被看成数学权威。

7 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

8 treaty   

n.条约；协议，协定

参考例句：

• Hungary has indicated its readiness to sign the treaty.匈牙利已表示愿意签订该条约。
• I believe this treaty will pave the way to peace in Europe. 我相信这个条约将为欧洲的和平铺平道路。

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 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

11 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。