VOA标准英语2009年-US TV Correspondent Crusades for Brain Inj

By Bernard Shusman
Rye, New York
20 October 2009

 
Bob Woodruff in Iraq
In 2006, ABC News correspondent and television anchorman Bob Woodruff was wounded while covering the war in Iraq. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and was not expected to survive. But Woodruff recovered, determined¹ to help other Americans who were similarly wounded in war.

"Making a difference, in your world."

As a journalist, Bob Woodruff has gone to Iraq several times to report on the progress of the war there. It was on his seventh visit to Iraq, in January 2006, that he was injured.

He was taping a report from a tank on patrol when it was struck by an improvised² explosive device.

"This bomb exploded 20 feet on this side, pierced through my head this way," said Bob Woodruff. "The blood was coming out of my neck. The translator who was in the tank with me put his hand over my neck to stop the bleeding. If he had not done that, I would probably not have survived."

 
Bob Woodruff in a hospital
Doctors removed part of Woodruff's skull³ because his brain was swelling⁴. He was put into a medically induced coma⁵ for more than a month because his injuries were so severe. Yet he recovered.

Bob Woodruff is back at ABC. His first television special was on what happened to him and the thousands of U.S. troops who have suffered traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder⁶, or PTSD.

"Those that have lost their legs or their arms, we know what we need to do to try to get them to walk again, to move again," he said. "But for those that come back with PTSD from multi-deployments in the wars, so that they have been away from their families in very dangerous, frightening situations and those with traumatic brain injury, TBI. That's hard not only to define, but to analyze⁷ and ultimately to cure."

But many U.S. veterans do not get the medical care they need. So along with his wife, Lee, Woodruff started the Bob Woodruff Foundation to help injured service members, veterans and their families.

 
Bob and Lee Woodruff 
Lee Woodruff says the foundation has raised some $2 million.

"We're asking every American to give $1 dollar for the 1.6 million [military service members] who have cycled through [been on tours of military duty in] Iraq and Afghanistan," said Lee Woodruff.

It is important, she says, because her husband's treatment and recovery are the exception.

"Bob is not the norm," she said. "And so when I talk to families and they say, 'Maybe my husband can come back the way Bob has,' I always try not to over promise because Bob is truly and honestly a miracle. He's a miracle from a medical standpoint [to come back] from his injuries and where they happened, and where they didn't hit [where he wasn't wounded]. And his recovery is miraculous⁸."

The day we visited his home, Bob Woodruff made breakfast for the twins, Nora and Claire, who were six years old when he was wounded. But he says, the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan and how he can make a difference are never far from his mind.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

3 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

4 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

5 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

6 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

7 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

8 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。