[00:05.69]Reading BORN DYING
[00:11.15]Xiaohua is 12 and lives in a province in South China.
[00:17.92]She is a happy girl who smiles a lot
[00:22.47]and likes to talk to her friends after school.
[00:27.43]People who see Xiaohua
[00:30.88]would never guess that she is one of millions of children in the world
[00:36.34]living and dying with AIDS.
[00:40.31]AIDS is a disease that breaks down the body's immune system
[00:46.26]and leaves a person defenceless against infections and illnesses.
[00:52.79]Most people who have AIDS
[00:56.42]manage to survive only a few years after they get the disease.
[01:02.07]For some,medicine can help keep them alive,
[01:07.32]but the treatment is expensive and does not cure them.
[01:12.75]People get AIDS after having been infected with HIV.
[01:19.10]HIV spreads through blood and other body liquids.
[01:24.98]People transmit HIV by having unprotected sex,
[01:30.62]by receiving infected blood transfusions or,as in Xiaohua's case,through birth.
[01:38.80]Xiaohua's mother contracted HIV when she was 28,
[01:45.04]and she died of AIDS only three years after Xiaohua was born.
[01:51.28]Xiao Hua's mother did not know that she had AIDS until Xiaohua was born.
[01:57.84]Xiao Hua's father,who also has AIDS,
[02:02.70]takes care of her,but Xiaohua misses her mother.
[02:08.34]"I wish I could remember more about my mum," Xiaohua says,
[02:14.87]"I wish that she were here with me and that we weren't sick."
[02:20.83]Thousands of children become infected with HIV every day.
[02:27.20]In 2002, 800,000 children under 15 became infected;
[02:35.45]the total number of infected children in the world was 3.2 million.
[02:42.82]The disease is spreading fast in Africa and parts of Asia,
[02:48.67]mainly because of a lack of proper health care,prevention and education.
[02:56.12]As with most diseases and disasters, the young suffer the most.
[03:03.38]For children like Xiaohua there is little hope.
[03:08.11]The drugs that are available are much too expensive.
[03:13.88]Xiaohua knows that she will die before she has a chance to grow old,
[03:20.96]but she does not let that knowledge discourage her.
[03:25.69]Instead,she has decided to use the limited time she has left
[03:31.54]to do something to help others.
[03:35.69]She spends much of her time telling others about her disease
[03:41.05]and encouraging people to learn how to protect themselves.
[03:47.00]She also goes to visit other AIDS patients in hospitals across the country
[03:53.67]to support them and cheer them up.
[03:57.92]"If I were to live long enough to have a job,
[04:02.05]I would choose to be a doctor,helping these AIDS patients,"Xiaohua says.
[04:10.38]The disease is not the only thing that AIDS patients suffer from.
[04:17.15]They also have to deal with people's fear of the disease.
[04:23.18]Many people do not know very much about AIDS
[04:28.62]and are afraid that any contact with people who have AIDS is dangerous.
[04:35.88]Xiaohua is trying to change this by creating a network of patients and doctors
[04:43.82]that can persuade hospitals and companies
[04:49.28]to spend more money on AIDS research and education.
[04:55.52]"I wish people would find out the facts,"she says,
[05:01.90]"and not act as if I were a bad or dangerous person."
[05:07.96]When she talks to people about her disease,
[05:13.00]she and Dr Wang,an AIDS specialist who helps Xiaohua,
[05:19.76]often tell people that the most dangerous thing
[05:25.04]is not knowing about the disease.
[05:29.69]They explain how AIDS spreads
[05:33.74]and let people know that it is safe to shake hands,
[05:39.02]talk,and eat with someone who has AIDS.
[05:44.27]People often ask what they can do to help.
[05:49.23]"If I were you,"Xiaohua says,"I would give an AIDS patient a hug.
[05:56.68]That is the best way to show that you care
[06:01.53]and that we don't have to feel lonely."
[06:05.61]Xiaohua has learnt to live with HIV
[06:10.65]and the fact that she will one day develop AIDS.
[06:15.61]She knows that her life will not be as long as her classmates'
[06:21.49]but she will not let the disease destroy her happiness.
[06:27.37]"My life may have to be short," she says,
[06:32.62]"but there's no reason why it can't be beautiful."
[06:38.18]Integrating skills reading
[06:45.13]DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER:THE DAY MY LIFE ENDED…AND BEGAN!
[06:52.29]I will never forget that Tuesday afternoon in the doctor's office
[06:58.95]I had been feeling sick for a long time
[07:04.20]and my mum had taken me to hospital to have me examined.
[07:09.53]Two weeks ago,Dr Richards asked me a great many questions
[07:15.80]and took samples of my blood.
[07:19.64]Now,he was looking at mum and me across his desk
[07:25.10]and there was a sad look in his eyes I knew that the news was bad.
[07:32.55]Dr Richards told me that the test results showed that I was suffering from a serious disease.
[07:40.51]"It is cancer," he said.
[07:44.46]I did not know much about cancer then,
[07:49.32]but I had heard that it was an incurable disease.
[07:54.07]Mum held my hand and I saw that she was crying.
[08:00.84]I remember having an empty feeling in my stomach
[08:05.80]and thinking that my life was going to end.
[08:10.37]I was wrong. This was only the beginning.
[08:15.33]Cancer,Dr Richards explained,can be treated.
[08:21.29]Cancer is a disease that begins in cells.
[08:26.75]There are many types of cells in the body and each has a special function.
[08:33.59]In a healthy body,
[08:36.65]cells grow and divide to produce new cells only when it is necessary.
[08:43.02]In my body,the production of cells is disrupted.
[08:48.48]Cells either divide too fast or at the wrong time,
[08:55.01]making it difficult for the body to function properly.
[09:00.06]Nobody knows why some people get cancer and others do not.
[09:05.52]Doctors do know that cancer is not caused by injury
[09:11.16]and is not contagious it does not spread from one person to another.
[09:18.32]The next year was painful and difficult for me and my family.
[09:24.38]Like many people with cancer,
[09:28.03]I had to be treated with radiation followed by treatment with chemicals.
[09:34.20]The treatment made me sick.Very sick.
[09:39.97]There were days when I wished that I were dead
[09:45.12]so that I would not have to feel so sick.
[09:49.58]My family and friends were wonderful.
[09:53.63]They helped me find the strength I needed to recover
[09:58.60]and they kept me from feeling sad and lonely.
[10:03.32]Dr Richards and the others at the hospital told me that I was a fighter
[10:10.30]and that I could win.
[10:13.64]They were right.
[10:16.59]The treatment was successful
[10:20.56]and I was able to go home after exactly fourteen months,
[10:26.13]two days and six hours in hospital.
[10:30.99]Two years have passed since that day in Dr Richards' office
[10:36.73]and my life has not yet ended.
[10:40.52]On the contrary, I now feel as if that was when my life really began.
[10:47.97]I have been living with cancer for two years
[10:52.41]and I plan to keep living with it for a long,long time.
[10:58.68]Yes, my life has changed.
[11:03.54]The cancer in my body has been defeated for the moment,
[11:09.18]but I know that I will never be completely free from it.
[11:14.74]It can come back at any time and the struggle will never end.
[11:21.12]I now think of my cancer as a gift.
[11:25.24]It taught me an important lesson about life.
[11:29.79]Living with cancer has made me realise how precious life is
[11:35.35]and how important it is for us to take every chance to live life to the fullest.
[11:42.33]Every day is a new opportunity,
[11:46.27]and I have learnt to appreciate every minute of each day.
[11:51.44]Work book Unit 7 Integrating skills
[11:57.19]Reading FIGHTING THE VIRUS:HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA
[12:05.13]The numbers are frightening:
[12:09.21]in 2002 more than 40 million people in the world were living with HIV or AIDS.
[12:17.85]Of these,about 3 million were children and more than 11 million
[12:25.12]were between 15 and 24
[12:29.56]Since the first case was discovered in 1981,
[12:35.20]nearly 24 million people have died of AIDS
[12:40.37]and about 3 million people die of the disease every year.
[12:46.62]Each year,more than 5 million people become infected with the virus.
[12:53.46]The situation is especially difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa.
[13:00.12]According to the United Nations,
[13:04.38]there are 640 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa,
[13:11.04]and almost 27 million are infected with the virus.
[13:16.81]Of all the AIDS deaths to date,16 million,or 66.7%,have been in Africa
[13:26.97]and in 2002 there were 3.5 million new infections.
[13:34.34]HIV / AIDS is spreading fast
[13:39.49]more than 3 million Africans become infected every year
[13:45.36]and most countries do not have enough money to prevent and treat the disease.
[13:52.63]About 2.5 million Africans die of AIDS every year
[13:58.87]and tens of millions more will die soon if nothing is done.
[14:04.62]Millions of children
[14:08.38]lose their parents and families lose their ability to make enough moneyto survive.
[14:15.64]The effect of AIDS is so strong
[14:20.60]that many African countries are almost being destroyed by the disease.
[14:27.47]If these numbers were to grow,the future of Africa might be in danger.
[14:34.32]As with many diseases,children seem to suffer the most from AIDS.
[14:41.76]About 2 million African children have HIV /AIDS.
[14:48.14]Even if they themselves are not infected,the disease can ruin their lives.
[14:55.40]They may have to care for sick relatives and are often unable to go to school.
[15:02.56]Living with a parent or parents who have AIDS is painful and difficult.
[15:10.29]Because the parents cannot work,
[15:14.73]the children may not have enough food and must help take care of the family.
[15:21.50]If a child is indeed infected,
[15:25.57]he or she often has to keep the disease a secret.
[15:31.63]If people were more understanding,
[15:35.47]the lives of these children could be improved.
[15:40.33]One of the most important things we must do is to make sure that children
[15:46.89]who are affected by the disease receive the help and care that they need.
[15:53.36]The good news is that it is still not too late to protect the poor against the worst effects of HIV /AIDS.
[16:03.03]By providing education,health care and wider access to medicines,
[16:11.49]the spread of the disease can be slowed down and the effects can be reduced.
[16:18.63]In some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa,
[16:24.06]the fight against the virus is beginning to show results.
[16:29.31]In areas where powerful action has been taken,
[16:35.27]there are fewer new infections and better care for the victims of the disease.
[16:42.42]Great challenges remain,of course:prevention efforts and the treatment,
[16:51.77]care and support of those who are suffering from the disease must continue.
[16:58.44]More than 90% of Africans have not acquired HIV/AIDS.
[17:05.88]What we must do now
[17:09.33]is to make sure that they do not become infected in the future
[17:15.08]It is especially important to protect young people from the disease.
[17:21.14]We must also treat and care for the millions of Africans
[17:26.78]who are living with the disease.
[17:30.44]We must also understand that HIV / AIDS is a global problem.
[17:37.41]The disease may have hit Sub-Saharan Africa harder than other areas,
[17:44.36]but the disease is still spreading
[17:48.83]and we must all be part of the fight against the virus.
[17:54.08]If more is done,the situation will improve.
[17:59.54]It seems unlikely that AIDS will ever disappear.
[18:05.49]We hope for a cure and new discoveries,
[18:10.46]but the fact seems to be that we must all learn to live with HIV/AIDS |