VOA慢速英语 2008 1126b

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about four individuals who are making a difference. Each person is working to make the world a better place.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
　
George Schaller helped establish the modern wildlife conservation movement

American biologist George Schaller helped to create the modern wildlife conservation movement. He has spent his life studying wild animals in more than twenty-five countries. Those animals have included mountain gorillas², snow leopards⁴, alligators⁵ and caribou⁶.

This year, Mister⁷ Schaller received the Indianapolis Prize -- the world's top award for animal protection and conservation. The prize is worth one hundred thousand dollars.

Mister Schaller's first major interest was mountain gorillas. In nineteen fifty-nine, he moved to Central Africa to live in the wild with the animals and observe their behavior. Little was known about mountain gorillas in the wild until his book "The Mountain Gorilla¹" was published in nineteen sixty-three.

GEORGE SCHALLER: "The biggest task was to be able to observe the animals so they don't run away. So, you slowly get them used to you until they see: 'Oh, there's that Schaller again,' and forget it, and they go on with their normal life. And that's the way you want it."

VOICE TWO:

That was the beginning of a lifetime of discoveries. In the nineteen seventies, George Schaller became one of two westerners to observe a snow leopard³ in Nepal. These animals had not been seen by foreigners in almost thirty years.

In nineteen eighty-eight, he and his wife were the first westerners permitted in China's Chang Tang area to study giant pandas. Six years later, he and another biologist discovered a new species⁸ of goat in Laos.

VOICE ONE:

Yet Mister Schaller says the pleasure of studying animals is not his main interest. He says guaranteeing their survival⁹ is most important. He says our whole civilization depends on the environment – on clean air, water, soil and food. And, he says, there is not much hope unless communities start fighting for a healthier environment.

VOICE TWO:

Recently, the Indianapolis Zoo presented the Indianapolis Prize to Mister Schaller for his conservation efforts. The zoo's president, Michael Crowther, called him, "the father of conservation biology." He also said there are generations of conservationists now who grew up learning¹⁰ about the subject from George Schaller.

Mister Schaller said he will use the prize money to train local conservationists around the world. He said: "And so, you leave something behind that will be valuable, long after everyone's forgotten me."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The United Nations estimates¹¹ that more than one hundred million people around the world are homeless. Another one billion people lack good homes. In the United States, between two million and three million people have not had a home for more than a year. One American is attempting to solve this problem with soccer, the game called football in other countries.

VOICE TWO:
　
Lawrence Cann

Last summer, two teams of four players each battled for control of a small, red and white soccer ball in Washington, D.C. More than one hundred players were in the city to take part in a competition. They share one thing in common: they all have been homeless. Lawrence Cann brought these players together to compete in the Homeless USA Cup.

Volunteers work with and train the players throughout the year. The volunteers come from homeless shelters, drug treatment and community centers. Almost fifty countries have similar programs. All of the teams will compete in December at the Homeless World Cup in Australia.

VOICE ONE:

Lawrence Cann works¹² at a community center in North Carolina. He has played soccer his whole life and loves the sport. Four years ago, he started a non-profit group, Street Soccer USA, as a program for homeless people. Mister Cann says his group builds relationships with people. And once they are living in homes, the group builds on that relationship.

VOICE TWO:

Lawrence Cann says his program helps to end popular but false ideas about homelessness. He says that nobody chooses to be homeless. He says homelessness is a social issue, and everyone has a responsibility for it.

Mister Cann says about seven hundred homeless men and women were on the soccer fields this year. He says about seventy-five percent of them will make positive changes in their lives. Many will continue their education or get permanent jobs. Lawrence Cann's goal is to get ten thousand homeless people involved in the program during the next five years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
　
Marshall Bailly

Another American, Marshall Bailly, started a group that helps university students in Africa and Asia to create community service projects. Mister Bailly is making a difference through development projects in Namibia, Nigeria and the Philippines.

The young man first went to Namibia five years ago while he was a student at American University in Washington, D.C. His goal was to help university students improve their communities.

At the age of twenty, he developed a leadership program with the University of Namibia to teach important skills to social activists¹³. These include how to raise money and keep financial records.

VOICE TWO:

This trip to Namibia marked the birth of "Leadership Initiatives¹⁴," the international development organization Mister Bailly started. Through American University, he had visited China, Japan, Angola, Botswana and Nigeria. He had seen how these countries were developing and how he could take part in their development. He discovered that he could use his studies to establish a class for students in Namibia.

VOICE ONE:

One student who completed Mister Bailly's leadership course launched¹⁵ her own program in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. She is helping¹⁶ people living in temporary camps to find work. Mister Bailly says his development program is different from others because it trains social activists to work with community leaders. His organization asks people to use their own resources. The group does not loan¹⁷ money or give other kinds of aid. But it does build coalitions¹⁸ in communities.

VOICE TWO:

From Namibia, Marshall Bailly has taken his program to Nigeria and the Philippines. Since two thousand five, his group has trained one hundred forty students to bring change to their societies. He says his Leadership Initiatives projects have helped at least twenty-two thousand people. And other countries are interested in the program. Rwandan officials have asked Mister Bailly to bring his program to their universities.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Aime Baligizi is a young Congolese man who is making a difference in Africa. He uses his education and his own experiences to help others survive in areas affected¹⁹ by conflict.

VOICE TWO:

Birao is a village in the Central African Republic, near the border with Darfur, Sudan. The village is cut off from much of the rest of the world. Birao was affected by fighting between Central African rebels²⁰ and government soldiers last year.

Mister Baligizi is one of several aid workers attempting to help the local people and refugees²¹ from the conflict in Darfur. Three hundred refugees now live in Birao.

The twenty-nine year old Congolese man directs a group of local workers for the French aid group called Triangle. They are preparing to give out seeds and food aid to about nine hundred families. He said: "We need to show them that we may be giving them food but we will not be giving it all the time. They also have to produce something for their families and the future."

VOICE ONE:
　
Aime Baligizi teaches children to play soccer

When his work is done, Aime Baligizi brings a few soccer balls to a local field to play with young children. Some of them are refugees from the conflict in Darfur. He says it is important to bring some happiness to lives affected by violence. Mister Baligizi himself fled violence from his home in the Democratic²² Republic of Congo. He says he was able to study in Uganda and in Europe with the help of many people.

VOICE TWO:

The young man says he is different from many other humanitarian²³ workers because he is working with other Africans. Sometimes he feels like he is working in his own country. He says:

"There are cultures, social values that you have to respect and do your job in a way that respects everybody. It is easy as an African to be working in Africa."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by VOA correspondents²⁴ and adapted by Shelley Gollust. Our producer was Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can download audio²⁵ and read scripts²⁶ on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

 

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

4 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

5 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

6 caribou   

n.北美驯鹿

参考例句：

• Afar off he heard the squawking of caribou calves.他听到远处有一群小驯鹿尖叫的声音。
• The Eskimos played soccer on ice and used balls filled with caribou hair and grass.爱斯基摩人在冰上踢球，他们用的是驯鹿的毛发和草填充成的球。

7 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

8 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

9 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

11 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 initiatives   

n.主动性( initiative的名词复数 )；主动的行动；初步；主动权

参考例句：

• Economic policy is liberalized to encourage initiatives in production. 放宽经济政策以鼓励生产的积极性。
• They are tireless in thinking up initiatives. 他们不厌其烦地想出种种采取主动行为的倡议。

15 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

17 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？

18 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

19 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。

20 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。

21 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

22 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

23 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

24 correspondents   

n.通讯员，记者( correspondent的名词复数 )；通信者

参考例句：

• The New York Times has correspondents in France, Germany, and other countries. 《纽约时报》在法国、德国和其他国家都有特派［驻外］记者。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They said foreign correspondents who stayed too long in a place went blind. 他们说，驻外记者在一个地方待得太久就变得不能发现新事物了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。

26 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。