VOA标准英语2012--Performers and Politicians, Cheers and Chants at AIDS Conference

 

Performers and Politicians, Cheers and Chants at AIDS Conference

HIV-positive singer Jamar Rogers commanded the stage, just as he did as a semifinalist on the popular U.S. singing competition television program, "The Voice."

But Rogers was not the only action on the Global Village stage at the International AIDS conference.

Protesters demanding more housing for HIV-positive residents in Washington, D.C. rushed the stage when Mayor Vincent Gray spoke¹. HIV is an epidemic² in the U.S. capital.

Jeromy Dunn, a radio show host from North Carolina, finds the activism invigorating. "That's what this is all about about. It's all about getting up and getting angry again," he said.

Dunn, who is HIV-positive and takes antiretroviral drugs, says medical breakthroughs have had an unintended side effect during the past 20 years. "Since the advent³ of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART combination therapies, we've become complacent⁴ as a nation. And this is the kind of anger and the kind of vitriolic⁵ response that we need," he said.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a community organization founded in San Francisco, California, battle complacency with flamboyance⁶ and humor.

Sister Vicious reflects on the days since he began organizing AIDS awareness⁷ and safe sex programs in 1981. "Well, there's still stigma⁸ attached to it [i.e., HIV / AIDS], not in the amount that we experienced in the early 1980s. And the whole AIDS crisis has gone global, of course, and touched more communities than the gay male community that was experiencing it in America originally," he said.

British rock star Elton John said the stigma makes it more difficult to fight the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. "The AIDS disease is caused by a virus, but the AIDS epidemic is not. The AIDS epidemic is fueled by stigma, by hate, by misinformation, by ignorance, by indifference," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged that the United States will continue to battle HIV and AIDS.

"Well, I am here to make it absolutely clear, the United States is committed and will remain committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation. We will not back off; we will not back down. We will fight for the resources to achieve this historic milestone," she said.?? 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

4 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

5 vitriolic   

adj.硫酸的，尖刻的

参考例句：

• The newspaper launched a vitriolic attack on the president.这家报纸对总统发起了一场恶意的攻击。
• Vitriolic impurity is contained normally in the sewage that vitriolic factory discharges.硫酸厂排放的污水中通常含有硫酸杂质。

6 flamboyance   

n.火红；艳丽；炫耀

参考例句：

• She allows herself no flamboyance in her clothes. 她不穿华丽的衣服。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His flamboyance earned him instant media attention. 他的浮夸招摇立即引起了舆论界的注意。 来自辞典例句

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。