VOA标准英语2013--志愿者给洛杉矶穷人流浪者送温暖

 

Volunteers Bring Holiday Cheer to LA's Poor, Homeless 志愿者给洛杉矶穷人流浪者送温暖

LOS ANGELES — Volunteers, including some Hollywood celebrities¹, brought holiday cheer on Christmas Eve to residents of a poor Los Angeles neighborhood known as Skid²  Row.

The Christmas festivities at the Los Angeles Mission featured entertainment for the children and a holiday meal, served by volunteers who included celebrities like  actor Harry³ Hamlin. Later, the children received Christmas gifts in the annual holiday outreach program by the rescue mission, which serves the homeless of Skid Row.

Mission president Herb Smith said the need is visible at the holidays, but is there year-round.

“People are hungry 365 days a year. They need the education, they need the emergency services, the beds and shelter. They need the workforce⁴ development and cares  that we’re able to help encourage them. And we don't just do that on Christmas and Thanksgiving,” said Smith.

The holiday cheer is welcome for the poor and homeless, said Luis Beltran, one of the mission's chaplains. He once lived on the street himself, addicted⁵ to crack  cocaine.

“After being out there in the streets, where you're not sleeping well and you're not eating well, to actually come here and do a real meal, it does something to you.  And it kind of lets you know that there are people that care,” said Beltran.

Beltran said that caring outreach is especially important for the children, who also come here in search of holiday cheer. 

1 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

2 skid   

v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨

参考例句：

• He braked suddenly,causing the front wheels to skid.他突然剎车，使得前轮打了滑。
• The police examined the skid marks to see how fast the car had been travelling.警察检查了车轮滑行痕迹，以判断汽车当时开得有多快。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。