VOA标准英语2014--青少年生活的改变

 

Teenagers Live Extraordinary Lives to Make a Difference 青少年生活的改变

LOS ANGELES — While most teenagers in the United States spend their time juggling¹ school, home and friends, there are a few who are choosing a different life. They are charting their own path to make a difference in the world. They recently gathered in Los Angeles to discuss their work and what makes each of them unique.

Fifteen-year-old Winter Vinecki has accomplished² more than most people have in a lifetime. “I recently completed a marathon on all seven continents and became the youngest person in the world to do so. I really was doing this for my dad,” she said.

Vinecki’s father was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer when she was nine. He died 10 months later.   

”When he was first diagnosed, I immediately knew I had to do something to help him. That’s when I formed Team Winter for prostate cancer research and awareness³," said Vinecki.

Through Team Winter and social media, Vinecki has raised close to $500,000. From Kenya to Mongolia, she has taken prostate cancer awareness worldwide through her marathons on seven continents. In the U.S., she travels constantly to give talks about prostate cancer and inspire others.

At the recent Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Vinecki was one of several teenagers who addressed a panel about youth who are living extraordinary lives.

Another panelist was Jack⁴ Andraka, who invented an inexpensive sensor⁵ for pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers when he was 15.  

“Without Google, Wikipedia, I would have never been able to learn all this stuff I needed for this project. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was before developing my test for pancreatic cancer,” said Andraka.

He currently is filing patents for his latest inventions: inexpensive water-quality devices that help detect and filter out heavy metals and pesticides⁶.

“I hope to see them employed in developing nations such as Bangladesh and parts of China and India, especially as well in parts of Africa where these heavy metal and pesticides and other industrial effluents are a major problem,” he said.

Sixteen-year-old youth activist⁷ Mary-Pat Hector saw a problem in her own community. She said too many youth die from gun violence.

“It was seeing my friends hurt; it was seeing it on the television constantly. It kind of made me feel like I had to do something about it,” said Hector.

She became the national youth director of one of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States, the National Action Network. Hector also started a campaign which educates youth on the issue of gun violence.  

“My 8-year-old brother drives me, I think, about how innocent he is. I just want the world to be a better place for him and my children,” she said.

Hector, Andraka, and Vinecki say a combination of supportive parents, the Internet and social media have helped them succeed; but, what’s most important comes from within, said Vinecki and Andraka.

“I think the biggest thing for kids and adults is to never let age and gender⁸ be a barrier and to not just dream but dream big,” said Vinecki.

“Never let anyone else tell you no," said Andraka. "Always keep going for your dream, and think if a 15-year-old could do it, just think what you could do.”

They say with that kind of thinking, anything is possible.

1 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 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。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

6 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 activist   

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。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。