VOA慢速英语2011--Young Actors Make Portraits Come Alive;

THIS IS AMERICA - Young Actors Make Portraits Come Alive; US Woman Walks Across Africa for 

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. This week on our program, we hear about some teenagers in Washington who brought art to life during their summer break. And we learn about a young American who is walking to raise attention and money for clean water in Africa.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: America's capital city has a summer employment program for young people that includes jobs at the National Portrait Gallery. Teens get paid to dress like famous people and perform for museum visitors.
(SOUND)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Taylor Marsh¹ is about to begin her performance.
TAYLOR MARSH: “A dollar fifty cents, small change, but it was all I had when I decided² to start my very own school. Yeah, I know, you may see me and think, what’s a colored female like me know about school? You see, I was born just after the Reconstruction³ period.”
Taylor is dressed in a blue velvet⁴ suit and carrying a cane⁵. She is playing Mary McLeod Bethune. Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader who was born in eighteen seventy-five. That was just ten years after President Abraham Lincoln ended slavery.
STEVE EMBER: Ten students took part this summer in the “Portraits Alive!” program at the National Portrait Gallery. Like most of the students, Taylor Marsh came to the program because she is interested in theater.
TAYLOR MARSH: “I had no idea what this program was going to be about.”
Taylor was told that they would be giving tours of the museum. But the tours given by the young people require acting⁶ skills. Geri Provost Lyons leads the program.
GERI PROVOST LYONS:“I look for students who are interested in the performing arts. They choose a portrait and they do research on the people that are in these portraits, and then they perform in costume a monologue⁷ which they have written.”
Students spend their first four weeks preparing. Then they practice in front of each other before they perform for museum visitors.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Taylor Marsh was one of the few students who did not choose an entertainer or a movie star.
TAYLOR MARSH:“Writing the monologue was the hardest part.”
Mary McLeod Bethune founded a school for black girls in nineteen hundred and four. In nineteen thirty-two she organized the National Council of Negro Women. And in nineteen thirty-six, she became an adviser⁸ to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
TAYLOR MARSH: "It wasn’t really the occupation I thought of, it was more the person in general. She was a strong woman, she had a lot of things going for her, and I wanted someone who was headstrong."
STEVE EMBER: Another student, Sydney Hall, chose film actress Katharine Hepburn, who died in two thousand three.
SYDNEY HALL: “I didn’t know anything about Katharine Hepburn. I was just passing her portrait and I thought she looked very angelic in it, and she looked very cool."
Sydney -- who was born in Washington, DC, or the District of Columbia -- says the program has had an effect on her.
SYDNEY HALL: "I don’t spend a lot of time in museums. DC born and raised, and I’ve been to all the museums, but now I’m actually taking the time to learn."
FAITH LAPIDUS: Rashawn Alexander says she, too, now takes time to read about the artwork in the galleries. Geri Provost Lyons says this is true of a lot of the students in the program.
GERI PROVOST LYONS: “They will take time to go to different museums and learn more and want to see more.”
Rashawn played Selena, the Texas-born Latin singer who was murdered in nineteen ninety-five at the age of twenty-three. Rashawn says she was impressed by how Selena gave back to the community, offering a free concert to students who improved their grades.
RASHAWN ALEXANDER: “I picked her because me and her have a lot in common. We both want to see kids do well in our community.”
(SELENA – “I Could Fall in Love”)
STEVE EMBER: In rural areas of Africa, millions of women and girls walk for hours every day to get water. Now, a twenty-two year old social activist⁹ in the United States is walking to raise money and awareness¹⁰ about the need for clean water.
AMY RUSSELL: “Right now I’m on my way to Bethany, Connecticut, in the midst¹¹ of a one hundred forty mile walk across the state. It started in Granby and will end in Greenwich. Next month, I’m going to California.”
One hundred forty miles is two hundred twenty-five kilometers.
FAITH LAPIDUS: In California her plan is to walk eight hundred kilometers. Ms. Russell is getting in shape for an even longer walk -- twelve thousand kilometers across Africa. She expects that to take two years.
AMY RUSSELL: “We’ll be going through seven different countries: South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.”
Amy Russell founded the nonprofit organization Walk4Water three years ago while she was still in college.
AMY RUSSELL: “If I ever wanted to tackle¹² any of these big social causes of our day, [I realized] that I’d have to start at the root of everything. And the root of everything looks like it was poverty. Then, when I studied poverty a little more, I realized that clean water is just at the base and the root of all that. You can’t really have the rest of the development process of sanitation¹³, education, all those types of things without having the basic necessity of clean water.”
STEVE EMBER: That led to the idea of walking across Africa. Ms. Russell plans to start in January. She will be joined by volunteers from the United States and the African countries she will be walking through.
She says the team hopes to walk for about eight hours a day and raise eight million dollars for wells, water treatment systems and other projects. They also plan other activities along the way.
AMY RUSSELL: “Some of the places we’re stopping at include orphanages¹⁴, organizations that concentrate on sanitation, AIDS. We’re also going to have a nurse with us. So, we’re trying to set up some medical clinics as we go.”
STEVE WERNER: “I think Amy and other people like her are heroes because they not only have seen the problem, they are taking action.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Steve Werner is a spokesman¹⁵ for the WASH Advocacy Initiative¹⁶. That is another group working to expand access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
STEVE WERNER: "The more people who know that this is a problem, they will demand that this become a more important issue in our foreign priorities¹⁷, for companies when they are making decisions about their international philanthropy. Other significant donors¹⁸ will learn more about the issue when they read stories about what Amy is doing.”
Elisa Van Dyke¹⁹ knows all about walks to raise money for water projects. She has helped organize them for the past five years for Healing Hands International in Nashville, Tennessee. Those walks, and others around the United States, raise money to support the group’s clean-water projects.
ELISA VAN DYKE: “We have drilled close to five hundred clean water wells throughout Africa and a few in Central America. So when we are able to put a well in a community that’s just right outside their homes or right there in the middle of their village, girls don’t have to spend a lot of their day collecting water. It can become a brief morning task or afternoon task and then they can go on to school.”
STEVE EMBER: Ms. Van Dyke says providing everyone with access to clean water is a goal that can be reached. The first step is raising awareness, she says, and this is why Amy Russell’s upcoming walk across Africa is important.
ELISA VAN DYKE: “I think what Amy is doing is huge because with the Internet, and with the communication that we have now, with her blogging, with things like Facebook and YouTube, we can show people firsthand what people experience in daily life. And so the more people that are exposed, the more people that are educated about the problem, then the more people will want to get involved.”
Steve Werner of the WASH Advocacy Initiative says he hopes the walk will get officials in developing countries to take more action.
STEVE WERNER: “It is also a problem in the developing countries that their governments don’t make water a higher priority²⁰. So as Amy is walking across Africa, I hope government leaders also realize that there is a big water problem in their countries and that their government should be making this a higher priority.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Amy Russell plans to begin her walk in January in Cape²¹ Town, South Africa. People can follow her online at walking4water.org – that's walking, the number four, water, dot org.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake from reporting by Susan Logue and Faiza Elmasry. I’m Steve Ember.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. You can find transcripts²² and MP3s of our programs and learn English at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

2 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。

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。

12 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

13 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

14 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

15 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

16 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

17 priorities   

n.先( priority的名词复数 )；优先；优先权；优先考虑的事

参考例句：

• The document provided a revealing insight into the government's priorities. 这份文件使人看出政府的轻重缓急是怎样安排的。
• We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. 我们必须共同努力，只为最重要的项目提供资金。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

18 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

20 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

21 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

22 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句