环球英语 — 21：Hope From Prosthetics

　　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 3
“Look at his funny ear!”
Voice 1
These words made little Wyatt Mowray want to cry. A crowd of children surrounded him. They would often say horrible things like this. They would speak very loudly and ask him if he could hear what they were saying.
Voice 2
Wyatt was not like other children. He had been born with only one normal ear. The other one was very small. It was not shaped in a natural way.
Voice 1
Wyatt’s mother is Judy Mowray. She was very sad about the way the other children were treating him. She tried to say things to make her son feel better. But he just became more and more unhappy. Judy became very worried about him. She prayed to God and asked him for help. She wanted to find some way to solve this problem. And then one night while watching the news on television she heard about a very unusual man. Her heart was filled with excitement! It was possible that this man could help her son.
Voice 2
The man she saw on television was Robert Barron. He had lived a very unusual life. And he had some very unusual skills. When he was young he had a talent for painting. His pictures looked very real. People believed them to be photos from a camera. He had also loved to build things. When he made something, every small detail was correct.
Voice 1
Later, he accepted a job at a secret United States government organisation³ - the CIA. Here, Robert did not use his talent to create art. Instead, he used his skills to help the spies who worked for the CIA. He worked hard to create disguises⁴ that could completely change a person’s appearance - the way the person looked.
Voice 2
One day he went to a conference to learn how to improve the disguises that he made. He met many people there who were experts in the design of false body parts. This branch of engineering⁵ is called prosthetics. The experts wanted to build prosthetic arms, legs, and other body parts. They wanted to help people in need.
Robert saw many pictures of people who had suffered terrible changes to their appearance. Some had lost noses and skin because of disease⁶. Others had lost body parts through accidents. Seeing these things had a strong effect on Robert. When he left the CIA he decided⁷ to use his talent for making disguises to help people who suffered with these problems.
Voice 1
When Robert heard about Wyatt Mowray he was sure that there was something he could do. He first created a prosthetic ear to replace the one that Wyatt was missing⁸. Then he attached this false ear to the side of Wyatt’s head. Finally, he painted the ear in exactly the colour that it should be. When Wyatt looked in the mirror he was so happy. He decided that he looked just like any other little boy.
Voice 2
Robert Barron has been able to help many people like Wyatt. He has made prosthetic noses for cancer victims. He has made false fingers for people who have damaged their real ones. And he continues to make many other prosthetic objects for those who need them. Robert is very happy with his new work. He says:
Voice 4
“God gave me this talent. He is using me to help people.”
Voice 1
Far away in the Indian city of Jaipur, another man had been using his unusual talent to design useful things. This man was a sculptor⁹ - an artist who could create beautiful images by working with stone. People could see Ram² Chandra’s sculptures in many important buildings around the city.
Voice 2
Ram also worked at a local hospital. He would teach patients how to make useful things with their hands. At the hospital, Ram saw many people who had lost the lower parts of their legs. He wondered if he could use his talent for designing sculptures to help these people. Ram took his ideas to Dr Pramod Karan Sethi, who was also working in the hospital. Together the two men tried to design false feet and legs. They used many different materials. But they were not successful.
Voice 1
Then one day, Ram was riding to the hospital on his two-wheel bicycle. He rode over something sharp in the road. It made a hole in the tire. All the air escaped. While he was having the tire fixed¹⁰, an idea came to him. The tires were made from rubber. They were light and strong. And they lasted a long time. Rubber could be the perfect material for the prosthetic feet that he was trying to create!
Voice 2
Ram Chandra and Dr Sethi started to work with this new idea. The result was the ‘Jaipur Foot’. The basic foot and the toes are made from separate blocks of rubber. The ankle is made of wood. The pieces of the foot are held together by rubber with material in it, like the material that makes tires strong. Finally the whole foot and ankle has a rubber cover that is made to look just like human skin.
Voice 1
The Jaipur Foot is now used in many countries of the world. It is popular because the materials used to build it are not hard to find. Many people have learned¹¹ how to build these prosthetic feet. Most important of all, they only cost a small amount of money - less than thirty [30] US dollars! Before the first Jaipur Foot was made, a common prosthetic foot cost thousands of dollars. Very few people had enough money to buy one. But today thousands of people have a Jaipur Foot.
Voice 2
Ram Chandra and Dr Pramod Sethi have become famous. But this was not the reason for their work. Ram Chandra says:
Voice 5
“People said I would be a rich man if we had taken money for every Jaipur foot that has been made, but it’s enough satisfaction for me to see the joy on a little girl’s face when she walks again.”
Voice 1
Robert Baron¹², Ram Chandra, and Dr Pramod Sethi are all unusual men. They began their lives in very different ways. But they all shared the desire to help people in need. Each man used his special talent in a way that no one had expected. And together they showed that great things can be achieved when people use the skills that they have been given.
Voice 2
The writer of today’s programme was Nate Hobson. The producer was Marina Santee. All quotes were adapted for radio for this programme. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. Computer users¹³ can hear our programmes, read our scripts¹⁴ and see our word list on our website at www dot radio dot english dot net. This programme is called “Hope from Prosthetics”.

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 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

3 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

4 disguises   

n.伪装( disguise的名词复数 )；伪装品v.假扮( disguise的第三人称单数 )；化装；伪装；掩盖

参考例句：

• But as they soon discovered, disguises can sometimes be too per fect. 正象他们不久就发现的那样，化装效果有时可能太完美无缺了。 来自《用法词典》
• He has tried all sorts of disguises. 他曾经设法找各种借口。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

6 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

7 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。

8 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

9 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

13 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

14 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。