VOA慢速英语2016 通过电影阻止非洲部落杀害儿童

AS IT IS 2016-07-31 Film Shows Effort to Stop Tribes² from Killing³ Children 通过电影阻止非洲部落杀害儿童

Filmmaker John Rowe discovered a secret after many visits to the Omo River Valley in Ethiopia: people there thought some children were “cursed⁴.”

电影制作人约翰·罗多次拜访埃塞俄比亚的奥莫河谷后，发现了一个秘密：那里的人们认为某些儿童是“被诅咒的”。

Villagers blamed the children for sickness, a lack of rainfall and other problems. So they killed them.

村民会因生病、缺雨及其它问题而责备这些儿童。因此，儿童会被杀死。

The Omo Valley is a place of beauty. It is home to villagers with customs⁵ that date back many generations.

奥莫河谷是个美丽的地方。在那里，村民们的习俗已延续数代人。

Rowe says the villagers believe that if a child’s teeth first appear on the upper gum⁶ instead of the lower⁷ part of the mouth, the child is cursed and must be killed.He says children are also killed when they are born to a woman who is not married, or if they are disabled or are twins.

制作人罗表示，村民们坚信，若孩子首先长出了上牙，而不是下牙，那这个孩子就是被诅咒的，必须要杀死。他说，若孩子的母亲未婚怀孕，或孩子有先天残疾，或是双胞胎，也难逃被杀厄运。

Rowe heard about this belief from Lale Labuko, the man who helped him during his visits to the Omo Valley.Rowe made a documentary⁸ film about the practice.He called the film “Omo Child.”

罗是从拉莱·拉布可那里听说这个信仰的，拉布可在罗访问奥莫河谷时曾帮助过他。罗制作了一部有关这个习俗的纪录片。并将其命名为“奥莫儿童。”

Labuko says that when he was 15 years old, he saw a two-year-old child being drowned in a river.His mother told him that he had two sisters who were killed before he was born.

拉布可称，他15岁的时候，曾看到过一个两岁的孩子被溺死在河里。他的母亲告诉他，他出生前有两个姐姐也被杀死了。

In the film, a woman says 15 of her children were considered cursed.She says when they were born, older members of her village took them and fed them to crocodiles.

电影里的一名女性称，她的孩子中有15个被认为是受到诅咒的。她说，孩子们出生的时候，村里年长的成员带走他们，然后喂给鳄鱼。

In the film, Labuko says “I want to stop these things.”

拉布可在电影里说“我想要阻止这些事情。”

Labuko was the first member of his village to be educated⁹. He asked Rowe to help him end the killings¹⁰. First, he persuaded some young villagers, then families and leaders of the village.

拉布可是村里首个受教育的人。他要求罗帮助他停止这些杀戮行为。首先，他劝说一些年轻的村民，然后劝说一些家庭和村里的领导者。

Rowe’s son Tyler filmed the documentary over a five year period. He says it was not easy. He says some people admitted they had killed their children. But others said children were not killed.

罗的儿子泰勒耗时五年拍摄了这部纪录片。他表示，这可不是件轻松事。他说一些人承认他们曾杀过自己的孩子。但仍有些人表示孩子没有被杀。

Tyler says some villagers told him, “It doesn’t happen here.We stopped it a long time ago. It only happens (in another village, not here.)”

泰勒表示，一些村民对他说，“没有的事儿。我们很久以前就制止了。是另外一个村庄，不是我们这里。”

Labuko’s work caused people to begin speaking out about the practice. His tribe¹ agreed to ban the killings in 2012.Rowe’s documentary shows Labuko’s efforts.

拉布可的努力让人们开始敢于探讨这个习俗。2012年时他的部落同意禁止杀戮行为。罗的纪录片让拉布可的辛苦付出得到展示。

A charity¹¹ group created by Labuko and his wife has saved more than 40 children. They now live in a home in Jinka, Ethiopia.

拉布可和妻子所创的慈善团体挽救了40多个儿童的生命。他们现在生活在埃塞俄比亚的金卡。

The Ethiopian government has banned the practice, but Rowe says “there are two other tribes that continue to” kill children.But because of the film, more people know about the killings and the efforts of one man to stop them.

埃塞俄比亚政府已明令禁止这种行为，但罗表示“仍有两个部落还在继续杀害儿童”。但是因为这部电影的出现，越来越多的人了解到了这种杀戮行为，以及一个人为了制止它而做出的努力。

Words in This Story

twin – n. either one of two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother

charity group – n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc.

1 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

2 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 cursed   

a.可憎的，可恶的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The necklace was cursed. 这条项链上附有会给人带来灾难的符咒。
• She cursed at one of her servants this morning. 今天早晨她大骂了一个仆人。

5 customs   

n.海关，关税

参考例句：

• The customs officials turned the man over to the French police.海关官员把那个人移交给了法国警察。
• They are collecting customs.他们正在收缴关税。

6 gum   

n.牙龈；口香糖；树胶

参考例句：

• We can stick these pictures into the book with gum.我们可用胶水把这几张画粘贴在书里。
• Americans like to chew gum.美国人喜欢嚼口香糖。

7 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

8 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

9 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 charity   

n.慈悲，博爱，慈善团体，施舍

参考例句：

• He founded the charity in memory of his late wife.他兴办那个慈善机构以纪念他已故的妻子。
• He gave a handsome sum of money to charity.他向慈善团体捐了一笔相当可观的钱款。