Children at US School Show Their Support for Victims in Japa

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Cranes are large birds with long legs and necks. In Japan and other East Asian cultures, they represent luck and long life.
Japanese tradition says a person who folds one thousand paper cranes gets the right to make a wish. Some schoolchildren in the United States have been folding cranes. They want to show they care about the victims of the March eleventh earthquake and tsunami¹ in Japan.
Almost forty Japanese-American students attend Somerville Elementary School in Ridgewood, New Jersey². But all five hundred twenty-five students at the school have heard about the disasters. So they have decorated their school with paper origami cranes. Their wish is for a speedy recovery for the Japanese people.
Art teacher Samantha Stankiewicz says the activity gives students a way to express empathy for victims.
SAMANTHA STANKIEWICZ: "For children, the folding of the cranes has been a really positive way for them to feel like they’re actively³ engaged, even though the cranes are symbolic⁴."
Students making paper cranes at Somerville Elementary School in Ridgewood, New Jersey
These students thought out loud as they folded cranes in the school library.
BOY: "The crane is a symbol of hope, so we try to have a lot of hope for those people in Japan."
GIRL: "It makes me feel really happy that everyone's caring for another country."
GIRL: "I feel sad for them, like really sad for them. But I also feel happy for us, because we are really trying to help out."
And that help is not just in the form of paper cranes. The school principal, Lorna Oates-Santos, says children at Somerville Elementary have raised about two thousand dollars for disaster relief agencies.
LORNA OATES-SANTOS: "We will be donating that money to the American Red Cross and Save the Children. They are two groups that are ready on the ground in Japan to help the people of Japan."
The school has a television club that produces weekly programs on different subjects. Fourth-grade teacher Gabrielle King is director of the club, and says the students are involved in the school's efforts.
GABRIELLE KING: "When the earthquake happened, the children wanted to know what they could do to inform other students and raise awareness⁵ for the people in Japan. So, we decided⁶ to do a show on the earthquake, and to also making the cranes, the origami cranes."
Some American children have shown their feelings for the victims in Japan in other ways. Yasuhisa Kawamura is Japan's deputy consul⁷ general in New York.
YASUHISA KAWAMURA: "One American young girl dropped by the consulate⁸ a couple days ago with her own painting. The painting shows the two countries, Japan and the United States, shaking hands over the ocean, and saying 'We are with you.' So, we are very, very moved and touched by this young girl's expression."
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. The East Asia Program at Cornell University in the United States has a lesson plan and directions for folding origami cranes. You can find a link at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 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。

7 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

8 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。