环球英语 — 65：Encouraging Stories from Young People

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Spotlight believes that young people are the future. They will be future leaders. They will be teachers, doctors, lawyers, business people, mothers, and fathers. So, Spotlight likes to encourage young people to be their best. Spotlight likes to challenge² young people to help make the world a better place.
Voice 1
So, today’s Spotlight is on four [4] young people who are changing their communities for the better. Their stories can encourage everyone, both young people and adults. Anyone can make a difference in his community.
Voice 2
Spotlight has taken each of the stories today from Unicef’s Voices of Youth website. Unicef is part of the United³ Nations. Unicef serves children and young people.
Voice 3
“Now we are small, but when we grow up then we can teach our little brothers and sisters, the younger generation, to understand what is good and what is bad.”
Voice 1
This is Shamima from Bangladesh. She is seventeen [17] years old. She teaches people living in her community about safe water. Many people living near Shamima do not have toilets or latrines in their homes. They do not have a clean supply of drinking water. And there is a lot of waste in the river where people collect their water. Many people are sick in Shamima’s community because of the bad water situation. But, Shamima plans to change that.
Voice 2
Shamima visits many homes. She carries with her a simple set of directions and a picture that she made herself. The picture has two sides. Shamima calls one side “good” and the other side “bad.” She shows people her picture and explains what a healthy community looks like. She makes sure each family is drinking safe water from the well. She also teaches them methods to make drinking water safe. She asks if they are using toilets or latrines. She tells them where to throw their waste. And she teaches them the importance of washing their hands before eating or preparing food. Shamima is improving the bad water situation in her community.
Voice 4
“I am the one who has hands and feet and mind. And AIDS is only something that is inside my blood. So it will try to rule the inside. But outside I will be the boss. I will be in control.”
Voice 1
This is Thembi. She is nineteen [19] years old and lives in South Africa. She is very young, but Thembi has AIDS. She is one of the five million [5,000,000] people living with AIDS in South Africa. AIDS is a big problem that affects many young people in South Africa and all over the world.
Voice 2
Unicef’s Voices of Youth asked Thembi to record parts of her life. She agreed. And Unicef made a radio program about Thembi’s experiences. People in many parts of the world heard Thembi’s story.
Voice 1
You see, Thembi wants other young people to know what it is like to have AIDS. She wants to tell them about the risks of having sex without using the protection⁴ of a condom.
Voice 2
Thembi has experienced⁵ many hard times in the last few years. And she has recorded many of those hard situations. While recording⁶, Thembi tells her father for the first time that she has AIDS. It was a very hard thing for Thembi to do. She also records herself after a time when she was very ill. She says,
Voice 4
“My face was becoming like bones. I could not walk. Everything that was happening I thought would never happen to me. I just wanted to sit home and hide.”
Voice 1
Many people do not understand the AIDS disease⁷. They fear it. And they fear the people who have it. It can be dangerous for people who have AIDS in Thembi’s community. She said,
Voice 4
“People talk. People point. Sometimes if people hear that you have AIDS they will burn your house down, so that you cannot stay there anymore.”
Voice 2
Thembi hopes that other people can learn from her experience with AIDS. She hopes people can remain healthy. And she hopes that more people will understand more about the AIDS disease. She hopes that violence⁸ against people with AIDS will stop. Thembi says,
Voice 4
“I think when people hear something that is coming naturally from someone; that is personal. It is better than reading it. It affects people and someone may change his mind.”
Voice 1
Thembi is teaching⁹ the world about what it means¹⁰ to live with AIDS.
Voice 5
“We talked with some young people. We asked them questions. Some young girls have been forced to have sex. The rebels¹² are fighting them. So, they have lost their parents. They are living in the camps. They have spent like eighteen [18] years in the camps.”
Voice 2
This is twenty [20] year old Edward and twenty-one [21] year old Stephen. They live in central Uganda. Rebel¹¹ armies are fighting to the north of them. Many innocent¹³ people suffer in northern Uganda. In fact, the rebels sometimes steal children. They force the children to fight in their army. Many of the rebel soldiers force young girls to have sex with them.
Voice 1
To avoid being captured¹⁴, children often walk many miles a day. They walk to a safe part of town. They sleep there. Then they walk home in the morning. It is a bad situation for the people living in Northern Uganda.
Voice 2
Edward and Stephen visited Northern Uganda. They have experienced the violence and fear. They offer their time to an organization called GEMS¹⁵, or Girls Education Movement. They encourage the importance of education for girls in Uganda.
Voice 1
Edward and Stephen live in a safer part of Uganda. It is easy for them to forget about the young people in Northern Uganda. It is easy for them to forget the fear. But, they do not want to forget. They want to remember. And they want to share about the problems of Uganda with other people. They want to be the voices for people who have no voice. Edward said,
Voice 5
“It is as if we are two [2] countries within one [1] country. The people in the north are suffering. And the people in other places are enjoying.”
Voice 2
Edward and Stephen care about the suffering of others.
Voice 1
Ending suffering takes courage. The stories we heard today were of four [4] courageous¹⁶ young people. Each of them is trying to end suffering in their community. They realize that there is an unfair balance between those who enjoy much and those who suffer much. Many more people around them are suffering.
Voice 2
We all live in lands where suffering exists. We cannot end suffering alone. But working together we can help to lessen¹⁷ the suffering in our communities. Let today’s stories encourage you.
 

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 challenge   

n.挑战；v.向...挑战

参考例句：

• The job doesn't really challenge him.这项工作不能真正地考验他。
• She looked at me with challenge.她带着挑战的目光看着我。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 protection   

n.保护，防卫，保护制度

参考例句：

• The protection of the country is the duty of everyone.保卫国家是每个人的责任。
• The young in our society need care and protection.我们社会的年轻人需要关怀和照顾。

5 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 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。

8 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

11 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

12 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

13 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

14 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

15 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

16 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

17 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。