环球英语 — 386：David Roche

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The first thing you notice about David Roche is his face. It is not beautiful! The left side of his face is marked with an area of dark colour. His face, neck and chin² seem to be all one. He has false teeth. Much of his face is covered with a mass of blue coloured cells³. His voice is low and difficult to understand.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on David Roche. David has found a way to beat the problems of living with a different kind of face. He uses his face as a tool for hope. This is David Roche’s story.
Voice 1
David was born in the late 1940s. Doctors looked at the mass of cells growing on his face. They treated him with radiation. The radiation reduced the mass of cells, but also marked his skin. It was so bad that and doctors had to rebuild David’s face.
Voice 2
Even so, David says that he did not have a difficult time as a child. His parents loved him. His mother always told him, “David, you are so intelligent! You could be anything you want to be.” At home, no one talked about his face. David’s parents treated him the same way as they treated his brothers and sisters.
Voice 1
But David had a lot of questions about his face. Every time he saw his face he knew he was not like everyone else. But because his family wanted him to feel normal, he never felt safe to ask “Why did this happen to me?”
Voice 2
Life did not stay easy for David Roche. As a young adult, David decided⁴ he wanted to be a priest⁵ in the Church. He travelled with his father to meet with two priests⁶. These men would advise him on what to do. This is how he describes his meeting:
Voice 3
“I told them I loved Jesus. I told them I may have a calling to be a priest. They left the room. My father and I looked out the window and waited. The priests returned a few minutes later and said, ‘David, we do not think that you have the call to be a priest. Because of how you look, people would not respect you as a priest.’”
Voice 1
David was shocked. He had been afraid about not being accepted to the school, but he never expected to hear this. To him, it was as if these “men of God” were telling him he was a monster. This incident⁷ changed David. In public places he began to move to the far left of the room so his bad side would not be seen. He avoided places where he would meet new people. He did not want people to look at him or point at him. But he could not avoid everyone.
Voice 2
One day, in a store, a man wearing nice clothes blocked David’s path. David tried to step around him but the man would not move. The man insulted⁸ him. He spat⁹ on David and told him that he looked horrible¹⁰ - the ugliest thing he had ever seen. David tried to go on with his day, but he could not forget the man.
Voice 1
David told a friend what had happened in the store. The friend told him that while the man looked good to other people he probably did not look good to himself. This made David think for a long time. This is what he decided:
Voice 3
“I believe that we each have a place within us where there is fear. It is a fear that other people will not accept us, that no-one can touch us. I know now that when people turn away, they are not turning away from my face, but from their own fears.”
Voice 2
With this idea in his head, David Roche began to use his face to help other people. Now he travels around the world speaking to business people and school children. He even spoke¹¹ in front of a President of the United¹² States.
Voice 1
It took David a long time to accept who he was. As a child he prayed that God would send a miracle¹³ to change his face and make him normal. But God did not do that. David’s miracle came much more slowly.
Voice 2
Over time, he learned¹⁴ to accept who he was. He learned to hold on to love and grace¹⁵. He learned to share his story with other people. This is what he talks about as he speaks to people. He calls it his "Church of Eighty Percent Sincerity¹⁶". It is not a church with walls and a floor. It is an idea.
Voice 1
In the Church of Eighty Percent Sincerity, a person does not have be perfect one hundred percent of the time. Just try to do the right thing eighty percent of the time. The other twenty percent is where mistakes are made. David encourages people to accept themselves as people who are not perfect, but are trying to do their best.
Voice 2
He tells people that life is full of pain, so when a person feels love or grace, they should hold on to it. David writes this:
Voice 3
“In life, you need to have your eyes open, just in case something good does happen. Those times when you see that life is good only last about half a second. These times are not as large or striking¹⁷ as miracles¹⁸. They come up on you quietly. They can be very frightening. In your whole life you may only get a total of four minutes of these times of grace. You learn to hold on to and extend¹⁹ every second.”
Voice 1
Another thing David tells people is to share themselves with other people. When they do, they will find out that people have a lot in common - are all similar. There may be something that makes you feel shame, but if you share it you will find that everyone has something they feel shame about.
Voice 3
“My face is different, but my experiences are the same as everyone else’s. Every person feels different, and in some way not accepted. No matter what our life situation, we all must learn to value ourselves and the gifts that we bring to the world”
Voice 2
It is easy to see David Roche and only see his face. In fact, it is easy to define²⁰ anyone by just one thing. It may be the way they look, what they do, what language they speak, or where they are from. But if we take a second look at someone, we will find out that we are not so different after all.
 

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 chin   

n.下巴，下颚，不气馁，不灰心

参考例句：

• You've got some egg on your chin.你的下巴上沾着一点鸡蛋。
• He hurried on with his shaving,cutting his chin twice.他急急忙忙地剃胡子，把下巴割破了两次。

3 cells   

n.细胞( cell的名词复数 )；小牢房；（修道士或修女住的）小房间；电池

参考例句：

• Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria adhere to the surface of the red cells. 细菌一进入血液里，就附着在红细胞表面上。
• an amorphous mass of cells with no identity at all 不知何物的杂乱一团的细胞

4 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。

5 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

6 priests   

n.（基督教和罗马天主教的）神父( priest的名词复数 )；牧师；（非基督教会的）教士；祭司

参考例句：

• the ordination of women priests 女司祭的授职礼
• The clergy remain divided on the issue of women priests. 在女性教士的问题上，牧师们意见不一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 incident   

n.附带事件，小事件；事件，事变；adj.易发生的；附属的；入射的

参考例句：

• With the passage of time the incident was forgotten.随着时间的消逝，那个事件被忘却了。
• The incident had left him visibly angry and upset.那起事件显然让他既恼火又心烦。

8 insulted   

侮辱，冒犯( insult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I have never been so insulted in my life! 我一生中从未被如此侮辱过！
• These boys insulted a girl by spitting at her. 这几个男孩向一个女孩吐口水侮辱她。

9 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

10 horrible   

adj.可怕的，极可憎的，极可厌的

参考例句：

• This is a horrible monster.这是一个可怕的怪物。
• That is a horrible accident.那是一次可怕的事故。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 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。

13 miracle   

n.奇迹，令人惊奇的人或事

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• It is simply a miracle that rice should grow in such a place.稻子竟能在这样的地方生长，这实在是个奇迹。

14 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。

15 grace   

n.优雅，雅致，魅力，恩惠，慈悲

参考例句：

• She is a beautiful girl with the grace and poise.她是一位仪态优雅的佳丽。
• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。

16 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

17 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

18 miracles   

n.奇迹( miracle的名词复数 )；奇事；令人惊奇的事；非凡的事

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers. 他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This tonic will work miracles for your depression. 这种补药对治疗你的忧郁症十分有效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

20 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。