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VOA标准英语2011--Brief Singular Life Inspires Creative Activists

时间:2011-12-22 06:10来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Brief Singular Life Inspires Creative Activists2

 

Artist, activist1 and photojournalist Dan Eldon lived a short, yet full, life expressing himself through photos, drawings and journals. He died almost two decades ago, at age 22, covering a story he believed was important for the world to know about.

As a teenager, Eldon combined his passion for art, activism and adventure into a personal philosophy he called, "Safari3 as a Way of Life."

Eldon's special brand of creative activism has inspired a school curriculum, books, a TV documentary and a nonprofit devoted4 to motivating others who share his vision.

Providing inspiration

He grew up with a unique outlook on life, according to his mother, recalling his childhood in Africa.

“I was a journalist in Kenya, but my husband was running a computer company. We moved there when Dan was seven and his little sister was three. Dan was able to experience people and a way of life that most children are not privileged to experience," Kathy Eldon says. "He watched very creative, active people in action and Dan took on those qualities of activism and compassion5.”

Born to an American mother and a British father, Dan Eldon spent most of his life in Africa, which he considered home. He also died there, while working as a photojournalist for Reuters.

Writer Jennifer New never met Dan, but she came to know him through his journals and the dozens of interviews she’s done with his family and friends. New developed a high school curriculum based on Dan’s interests in art, journalism6 and African studies, and authored two books featuring his photos, paintings, collages7 and journals.

“He was an extremely curious person, more curious than a lot of people his age. He was this amazing artist,” she says. “He had this charming ability to raise money from a very young age.”

Activism and compassion

At age 14, New says, Dan and his sister raised money to pay for a young Kenyan girl's heart surgery. As a 19-year-old college student in California, he raised $20,000 to help refugees in Malawi.

“They decided8 they wanted to personally deliver the money to the refugee camp and there ended up being 14 of them, all teenagers except for one person who had just turned 20," New says. "They’re from six different countries of origin. A lot of them hadn’t even met each other. They all land in Kenya and meet at Dan’s father’s house. They’ve got two Land Rovers and they’ve got all this cash and they take off on this crazy, crazy road trip.”

In 1992, the Reuters news agency hired Eldon as a photojournalist to investigate rumors9 of a famine in Somalia. His photos appeared in Time and Newsweek as well as other magazines and newspapers around the world. When violence broke out in Somalia the next year, Kathy Eldon called her son and asked him to come home.

“Dan said, ‘Mom, don’t ask me to leave please, the story isn’t over,’" she remembers. "I said, ‘I love you so much and I’m proud of you.’ He and I agreed to see each other in two weeks.”

She never saw him alive again.

“A week later, my son, together with three other journalists, was beaten and stoned to death while trying to cover a story," Kathy Eldon says. "I know that a part of me died with Dan, as happens with parents who lose children.”

Positive action

To transform her grief into positive action, Kathy Eldon and her daughter, Amy, founded a non-profit.

“We created Creative Visions Foundation dedicated10 to supporting what we call creative activists, people who use media and the arts for good.”

Since 2001, Creative Visions Foundation has worked with 90 grassroots activists to create films, books, exhibits and social movements. One of those activists is 24-year-old Jessica Mayberry.

“Jessica wanted to go to India and teach basically illiterate11 Indian women how to use video to tell stories that were important about their lives. And over the years her organization, Video Volunteers, has become the largest producers of community-based videos in India.”

Filmmaker Roko Belic has been supported by Creative Visions Foundation for almost 10 years. His most recent project is a documentary called "Happy."

“I interviewed a lot of scientists who have been studying happiness," says Belic. "And I went around the world to 14 countries to shoot stories of people whose lives illustrate12 some of these findings of the scientists."

Belic actually knew Eldon. He was one of the teenagers who accompanied him on that 1989 trip to the Malawi refugee camp.

“I feel that we are all creative. It can be extremely rewarding to do things that you feel having a positive impact as I feel with the projects I’ve worked on so far.”

Belic says he tries to do through his projects, what that trip to Malawi with Eldon did for him - inspire young people to use their creativity to improve the world around them.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
2 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
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》
3 safari TCnz5     
n.远征旅行(探险、考察);探险队,狩猎队
参考例句:
  • When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时,喜欢露天生火做饭。
  • They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行,搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。
4 devoted xu9zka     
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
参考例句:
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
5 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
6 journalism kpZzu8     
n.新闻工作,报业
参考例句:
  • He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
  • He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
7 collages 819183e0dae3edeaf18ab3ffedd182e7     
n.拼贴画( collage的名词复数 );杂烩
参考例句:
  • My work includes mixed media, paintings and digital collages. 我的工作包括混合媒介,绘画和数码拼贴。 来自互联网
  • I love making photo collages. 我喜欢做照片拼贴。 来自互联网
8 decided lvqzZd     
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。
9 rumors 2170bcd55c0e3844ecb4ef13fef29b01     
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 );[古]名誉;咕哝;[古]喧嚷
参考例句:
  • Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
11 illiterate Bc6z5     
adj.文盲的;无知的;n.文盲
参考例句:
  • There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
  • I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲,今天也认字了。
12 illustrate IaRxw     
v.举例说明,阐明;图解,加插图
参考例句:
  • The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
  • This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。
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TAG标签:   VOA标准英语  Creative  Activist  Creative  Activi
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