英语听力—环球英语 1326 HIV and Women: Gracia Violeta

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Mike Procter.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I'm Ruby² Jones. 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

 

　　In today's programme we tell the story of a woman from Bolivia. We tell how her own experiences led her to help other people.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Gracia Violeta. People in her community know the name well. Violeta is a public speaker. She works to improve women's rights in Bolivia. She also works as an adviser³ on women's health issues and HIV. Violeta has a powerful message. Much of it comes from her personal story.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Violeta was in her final years of study when she learned the news that changed her life. During a research trip she became very sick. So when she returned home, she had some medical tests. But Violeta was not prepared for the results. One of the tests was for HIV. The result showed that Violeta had the virus. She had HIV. She was very shocked. She explains:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"I did not know how I got infected. All the messages I received when I was younger said that HIV only affected⁴ particular groups of people - sex workers, drug users and men who had sex with men. This was not me."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Violeta knew that she had to tell her parents. This was very difficult for her. She was part of a strong Christian⁵ community. Her father was a well-known minister. And there was so much that her parents did not know - not just about her having HIV. Violeta had also been raped⁷. Two men had forced her to have sex with them. But she had not told her parents. Violeta remembers:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"I did not have the courage to tell my parents face to face. So I wrote a letter telling them I had HIV. I wrote "no more lies". I told them about the rape⁶. I told them that I was not a virgin⁸ - that I had sex with my boyfriend."

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Violeta was surprised by the way her parent's reacted:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"My parents came to me full of love. My father said, "We do not want details unless you want to tell us. We just want you to know that you are our daughter. And we will love you for days, months, years - however long you are alive we will be with you." My name Gracia means grace. My parents gave me this name because of the grace of God. It is a very nice theory. Grace is what God gives us when we do not deserve it... But it is very difficult to understand how it really works. But my parents came to me full of love. At that moment I saw grace in action."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Violeta soon learned that at that time, there was little information for people living with HIV. She said:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"It was very clear that there was a need for a group to unite people with HIV in Bolivia. Because at that time there was only costly⁹ treatment and people were dying very often. So we decided¹⁰ to start the Bolivian Network of People Living with HIV."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The Bolivian Network gives support to people with HIV. It works to get people with HIV the same rights as other people. This group pressured the government to provide antiretroviral drugs, or ARVs. These drugs extend the life of a person with HIV by many years. In 2004, the government finally agreed. And so, Violeta had become an activist¹¹. She was particularly concerned about the rights of women with HIV. She said:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"I became an activist because it was a survival method for us. The voices of women were missing. I never planned to be an activist. I had to do it because we needed treatment."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Violeta began to connect issues of female equality, violence and HIV. So she decided to do something very difficult - to speak publically about her story.

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"I decided then to speak also about my experiences as a rape survivor¹² because I know there are many women living with the same story. Someone has to break the silence around violence against women. Bolivia has a very male governed culture. It is so difficult to change the thoughts of men and women. Having no power puts women at even greater risk of catching¹³ HIV. And men are at risk too. They think they are so powerful that not even HIV would infect them."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　One of the most difficult public speeches she made was to the church where her father was minister. She said:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"We asked the speaker that day to talk about how Jesus treated a woman that was found doing wrong. Everyone wanted to kill her. But Jesus made her accusers ask themselves if they had never done wrong. And they all left without harming her.

 

　　Then, I stood up in front of the whole church - about two hundred [200] people. And I told them that I had been living with HIV for three years. I told them I believed that if I had made any mistakes, God forgave me. I said I needed their support. I recognised that I may bring them shame by saying publicly that I had HIV. But I explained that there was no information in Bolivia about HIV. I explained that without medicine, people were dying. I wanted to help other people with HIV. This could be the work that God wanted me to do."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Violeta and her family were surprised at the church members' reaction. Violeta said:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"They said - ‘Will you forgive us?' We did not see your needs. We are not working on the issue of HIV in our church. We - not you - we need to apologise to God."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　And so with the support of her church and family, Violeta continues her work in the Bolivian Network for people Living with HIV. There is still much work to do in Bolivia. But Violeta plans to do as much as she can while she is alive. She says:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"What keeps me going is the effect of God's love on me. Because I am HIV positive I may die tomorrow. Other persons who are not HIV positive may live longer than me. I cannot control the past or the future. But I can work for today. So I will live each day to the fullest. I will give my best. And I will make my life useful to myself and to others. And maybe I will be able to change history in Bolivia."

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer and producer of today's programme was Marina Santee, with special thanks to aid group Strategies for Hope who freely provided material. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Our programmes are on our website http://www.radio.english.net This .programme is called "HIV and Women: Gracia Violeta."

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 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。

6 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

7 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

8 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 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。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

13 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。