2007年VOA标准英语-Sierra Leone's Amputees Strive for Football Suc

By Nico Colombant and Kari Barber
Freetown, Sierra Leone
24 September 2007
 

Amputee war victims in Sierra Leone are hard at work preparing for the upcoming (November 8th to 18th) amputee football World Cup in Turkey. The sport started 30 years ago in El Salvador, when victims of war decided¹ to keep playing their favorite sport despite their wounds. VOA's Nico Colombant and Kari Barber report.

It is time for practice drills at the Aberdeen sea-side football pitch in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Field players are one-legged. Goalkeepers are one-armed. Players are in their late teens and early 20s.

Two-legged Sierra Leoneans say they are proud of their amputee national team, which has done better in international competition than their two legged-teams.

Some of the players had limbs³ hacked⁴ off. Some had bullet wounds, but without first aid care, they also lost a limb².

Outside the football pitch, many say they feel like outcasts. With every game they play, they say, their confidence slowly returns.

One of those trying to make the World Cup squad⁵ is Mohammed Lapia.

He lost his leg when he stepped on a land mine.  He says he was told about the opportunity to play again at a post-war amputee camp. "One of the pastors⁶ went to us and told us that even if we have lost our leg, that is not the end of our own life. So we need to do something to sustain⁷ our life."

Many on the rundown field say football became even more of a joy than before their injuries when they found out they still had the drive to play.

Lapia says it helps him to keep a positive outlook on life. "The football makes me not think about the past, not to think about my leg that I have already lost, encourage me to forget about everything."

Organizers lead the players in pre-game songs.

During the recent All-African Amputee Cup of Nations held in Freetown, Sierra Leone fielded two teams. They finished third and fourth, behind the winner Ghana and the runner-up Liberia, another West African country where many children also became victims of war.

Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia are due to represent Africa at the upcoming Amputee World Cup in Turkey. Many of the players here also compete at club level on teams throughout Sierra Leone. They say they were athletes before war cut them down, and  they refuse to let their suffering crush their dreams.

1 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。

2 limb   

n.树枝，四肢，枝干，边缘；vt.切断手足，切断树干

参考例句：

• She sat on a limb of the tree and looked down.她坐在一根大树枝上往下看。
• His refusal to agree left him out on a limb.他拒不表示同意，致使自己处于孤立地位。

3 limbs   

肢( limb的名词复数 )； 大树枝； 肢体

参考例句：

• For a while, she lost the use of her limbs. 好一会儿她四肢都动弹不得。
• The prisoner's limbs flailed violently because of the pain. 那囚犯因为疼痛，四肢剧烈地抖动着。

4 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

5 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

6 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

7 sustain   

vt.保持，供养，维持，支持，经受

参考例句：

• During the war we had just enough food to sustain us.战争期间，我们的食物仅够维持生活。
• These four posts sustain the entire building.这四根柱子支撑着整座建筑物。