VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-10-11 Legacy of Vietnamese General Remains Divisive

 

AS IT IS 2013-10-11 Legacy¹ of Vietnamese General Remains² Divisive

Hello and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English! I’m George Grow in Washington.

Today we tell about the research that won three scientists the 2013 Nobel Prize for Physiology³ or Medicine. 

But first, we hear about a Vietnamese general who sometimes has been called one of the best military leaders of the 20th century. Vo Nguyen Giap is perhaps best known for winning his homeland’s independence from France.

Remembering Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap

One of Vietnam’s most celebrated⁴ war commanders died a week ago. Vo Nguyen Giap was 102 years old. People throughout Vietnam have been remembering General Giap and mourning his loss. But his long career remains an issue that could incite⁵ disagreements, not least among Vietnamese political activists⁶. Bob Doughty⁷ has our report.

Social media reported the news of General Giap’s death last Friday. People reacted quickly -- and with different opinions.

The general is said to have plotted the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. That battle led to the end of French colonial rule in Indochina. He has also been described as a major influence in the defeat of South Vietnam in 1975. That ended what the Vietnamese call the American War. 

Vo Nguyen Giap taught himself how to plot military campaigns. He is also considered to have launched the Vietnam People’s Army. And, he was a close friend of celebrated Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

Jonathan London is a Vietnam expert at the City University of Hong Kong. He says the passing of General Giap makes many Vietnamese think about the performance and record of the country’s present leadership. 

After the war, the general raised concerns about the quick acceptance of economic reforms and foreign policy that were like those of the old Soviet⁸ Union. He retired⁹ as deputy prime minister in 1991.

Professor London says Vietnam’s leadership wants to control the official story of General Giap. He says the leadership wants people to remember his military victories. But that may prove difficult because of the political positions he took in later years. 

Professor London notes that the general spoke¹⁰ about issues like the mining of bauxite¹¹ in Vietnam’s Highlands. And he called on the country’s leaders to show more responsibility to the public.

Some activists who expressed support for the general’s way of thinking were targeted by the government. 

Anti-China protesters demonstrated in Hanoi two years ago. Some of the marchers carried pictures of General Giap’s face. 

One of those activists was Nguyen Quang Thach. He believes the Vietnamese people should embody¹² General Giap’s spirit -- but not just oppose China. He says this should include making economic and educational reforms and improving the army. 

Not all activists, however, agree with him. General Giap remained an influential¹³ voice in Vietnam during his 90’s. But some say his influence was reduced in recent years while he was hospitalized. 

Professor London says the general was in the hospital for three or four years, and that his death was expected.

“In the meantime, I think Vietnam’s own political culture has changed a lot in a very short period of time. And so while the general himself just a few years ago was an individual of great interest among those struggling for political reforms, institutional reforms, in Vietnam by the time of his death just recently, the country had in respect moved on.”

For those who fled to the United States after the war, the reactions to the general’s death are very different from those in Vietnam’s capital. 

Duy Hoang is a spokesman for the group Viet Tan, which is banned in Vietnam. He disputes the idea that General Giap caused the American fighting forces to leave Vietnam.

He says it is important to recognize the general’s part in the independence movement against the French. I’m Bob Doughty. 

Cell Transport System Research Wins Nobel for Medicine

Three researchers based in the United States have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Sudhof studied how cells organize and move the molecules¹⁴ necessary for them to operate.

Tom Kirchhausen is a cell biologist with Harvard University in Massachusetts. He was asked to explain the work of the Nobel Prize winners. He suggests that we think of every cell in our bodies as a tiny city.

“You have people that are moving from one place to the other to do whatever function they do. And then you move from one place to the other, in these carriers, the containers. That’s the bus, the motorcycle, the train.”

In his comparison, the people are the enzymes¹⁵, hormones¹⁶ and other proteins and chemicals that do work and carry messages around our bodies.

If the transport system breaks down, they cannot get to where they need to go and cannot do what they need to do. The results are diseases -- from diabetes¹⁷ to disorders¹⁸ of the nervous system.

The Nobel Prize-winning researchers discovered how the cell’s buses, motorcycles and trains get to the right place at the right time. The process is so important that evolution -- development and change over time -- has not changed it much from the microorganism yeast¹⁹ to people.

University of Utah neuroscientist Erik Jorgensen praises the work of Randy Schekman at the University of California at Berkeley. Professor Jorgensen says most neuroscientists would never imagine that the yeast cell would be a good model system for the brain. He says Randy Schekman discovered in yeast the genetic²⁰ plan for the proteins that make up the delivery system of cells.

“We then subsequently found that the proteins involved in this process that allow us to think, that allow nerve cells to communicate with one another, are precisely²¹ the same ones that were found in yeast.”

Erik Jorgensen says a list of players came from Randy Schekman’s work. But he adds that another Nobel winner, James Rothman at Yale University in Connecticut, showed which player was interacting with another.

Professor Rothman discovered how each little cellular²² bus takes its passengers to the right station.

The third-prize winner is Thomas Sudhof of Stanford University in California. He discovered how nerve cells release their passengers quickly and exactly. They do so in reaction to a signal.

Speaking to reporters, James Rothman said that he was lucky to start his research at a time when a young scientist could take chances on an idea. But he said times have changed. 

He says government financing for scientific research has dropped in recent years. And he says that decrease threatens American leadership in science and technology. 

This is George Grow wishing you all the best. Join us again tomorrow for another As It Is from VOA Learning English.

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

6 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》

7 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

12 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

13 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

14 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

15 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

16 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

17 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

18 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

20 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

21 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

22 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。