VOA慢速英语2020--Child Soldiers in Africa

 

Hello, I’m Steve Ember.

Today we take you to Africa. First stop – Sierra Leone, where the Child Soldiers Initiative is working to prevent children from being forced into armed military service.

Next, to South Africa, where theft of power cables is causing major problems. And finally, in Uganda, we meet an ambitious volunteer team who are building a space probe.

The use of children as soldiers is a worldwide problem. To help prevent children from being used in wars, Romeo Dallaire started the Child Soldiers Initiative in 2008. Mr. Dallaire is a retired² Canadian lieutenant³ general and former force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda. Jim Tedder⁴ has more.

In Sierra Leone, the rebels continually used children for fighting and other work during the civil war. Child Soldiers Initiative estimates that ten thousand children served as soldiers in Sierra Leone. The organization just recently started a new program in the country.

Shelly Whitman is its executive director. She says the group will create training and education programs to prevent the future use of child soldiers. The Initiative plans to work with the military and police in Sierra Leone as well as young people.

She said one way to help is suggesting to children how to prevent themselves being forced into armed service should wars begin.  And she said they also will be given ideas about how to escape if they are taken.

Miz Whitman says the organization has trained troops around the world how to deal with child soldiers. But, she says this will be the first time working with a country for a nationwide project.

"What if we could look at this as creating a model for how the rest of world might be able to prevent the use of children in armed conflict, and take it and mold it so that it could be used in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, or other contacts around the world?"

Kalia Sesay is the officer for police peacekeeping operations in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown. He says many former child soldiers have slowly rejoined with communities. But Mister Sesay says some former child soldiers have gone on to live a life of crime and illegal drugs.

"There might be one or two bad eggs that still need some rehabilitation⁶ and it is a police concern which we need to work on. Child Soldiers Initiative hopes to have the program in Sierra Leone completely operating this June. I’m Jim Tedder.

You are listening to “AS IT IS” in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

South African investigators⁷ say cable theft was to blame for a train accident near Pretoria in January. About 200 people were hurt when the train derailed. About 50 meters of electrical cable was stolen, causing the railroad’s signal system to stop working.

Officials estimate that cable theft costs the South African economy more than 500 million dollars every year. Each electrical, telecommunications, or transportation-related cable stolen can affect economic activity in a large area. June Simms has our report.

Eunice Sethabakgomo’s neighborhood could be a perfect advertisement for government efforts to help the poor since the end of white minority rule. Little, nice-looking brick houses line the streets in this modern looking village outside Johannesburg. Everything works well here --everything except the street lights. Eunice Sethabakgomo says the lighting⁸ has not worked since the electrical cables were stolen in 2010. She says crime is a problem, especially after sunset.

A short distance away, it is a different world, but with the same problem. Trevor D’ Oliveira owns !vianto, a business that specializes in wedding ceremonies for upper class people. At all times, a camera is aimed at the electricity box that serves the area as part of efforts to prevent cable theft.

Mr. D’ Oliveira says cable wiring for the camera has been stolen three times in the past seven years.

“Then it takes a day or two to be repaired, and all that time it’s being repaired, our generator⁹ runs.”

He says he spends about $340 dollars a day for fuel to power the generating equipment.

The loss of electrical cable is a big problem in South Africa.

Most affected¹⁰ are the big agencies that provide the basis of the country’s economy. They include the telecommunications agency Telkom, the transport agency Transnet and the electric company Eskom.

A top official at Eskom estimates that cable theft costs his company 45 million dollars a year. And that does not include the damage to its image.

Five years ago, the city of Cape⁵ Town created a group called the Copperheads to fight the theft of metal cables. The group’s spokesperson says they arrest, on average, 130 to 140 people each year.

I’m June Simms.

You are listening to AS IT IS in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

The African Space Research Program in Uganda has announced that it is ready to launch its first probe into space. Hundreds of engineering students are helping¹¹ with the program.

The small probe, or “observer”, was developed by Chris Nsamba and a team of student volunteers working in his back yard. Chris Nsamba is with the African Space Research Program. !ll of the organization’s money comes from private donations. Even without the government’s support, Mr. Nsamba says the observer is fully¹² tested and ready to go.

“It’s done. We have already controlled it via GPS (global positioning system). We have already tested it, and it’s working fine.”

Chris Nsamba and his team demonstrated their creation recently for the Ugandan vice¹ president. They are hoping to get approval soon for a launch and additional money for their program.

The device would be launched using a weather balloon filled with helium gas. The balloon would take it up to more than 40 kilometers before thrusters become active and kick in. 

The observer took about a year to develop, and is equipped with a camera. Chris Nsamba says it should be able to send live data back to Earth. But the observer will be doing more than just observing. It will also be carrying a live rat.

“The reason it has a rat is because we are going to check out our competence¹³ of keeping something alive in space.”

He says the only thing missing before the observer can launch is the approval of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni.

And that’s our program for today.

Tell us what you want to hear about on our new show. We want to cover the 

issues and ideas that matter to you, in your world, as it is.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

10 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。

11 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。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。