环球英语 01 HIV/AIDS - The Family

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A young child sits by the roadside. Her small hands rest in the dry dirt. She lifts the grains and watches them fall through her fingers. In her mind she can hear her mother’s voice calling her. In her mind she can see her father working in the fields. But she knows that these images are only in her mind now. The young girl’s mother and father are both dead. She is an orphan². For a minute, her brown eyes fill with tears. But her grandmother’s voice stops her thoughts.
‘Coming Grandma’, she says in her native language of Swahili.
Voice 2
Each year the number of orphans³ caused by HIV/AIDS rises. Worldwide, over twenty million people have died from diseases⁵ connected to AIDS. HIV is the virus that causes the AIDS disease⁴. AIDS destroys the body’s natural defence system. This means it cannot fight infections or diseases. There is no cure for AIDS.
Voice 1
Adults suffer the most deaths from this disease. Many are mothers and fathers of young children. They are the workers of the land. They are the providers of food. They are the carers in the home. They are the carers and supporters of their parents. They are the ‘working generation.’ When they die, they leave the weaker members of the family behind - the children and the grandmothers.
Voice 2
Priscilla is seven years old. She is an AIDS orphan. She lives with her grandmother and two brothers in Maua, Kenya. In the beginning things were very difficult for her family. They had little food. Their grandmother did not work. There was not any money for the children to go to school. But then, things changed. Priscilla and her brothers became part of a programme at the Maua Methodist Hospital. Their AIDS Orphan programme began in 2001. The programme aims to help children get back into school. They provide clothing money for schooling⁶. And they have a project to build houses for orphans and those who care for them.
Voice 1
Priscilla now attends school and is doing well. And Priscilla is just one of the many children that the programme has helped. At first the programme could help only ten [10] children at a time. They gave the chosen ten grandmothers corn, beans and cooking oil. And they gave their grandchildren school clothes and shoes. They paid the money for them to attend school. But with the help of other groups the orphan programme now feeds over four hundred [400] children. And they help educate around two hundred [200].
Voice 2
The Maua Methodist Hospital, or MMH, does not only help orphans. They also work to help prevent children becoming orphans. They have a community based palliative care programme. Palliative care is care for people who have a disease with no cure. MMH workers know that there is no cure for AIDS. But there are many ways to improve the lives of AIDS victims. There are even ways to extend⁷ their lives. So, hospital workers teach parents ways of cooking and cleaning that avoid sickness. They teach parents how to follow healthy diets. And they provide drugs that reduce the risk of catching⁸ infections that can kill. They are able to provide some people with anti-retroviral drugs. These drugs slow down the AIDS disease in the body. But the drugs only work if people take them correctly. They have to take particular drugs at particular times of the day, every day. If they do this, then the drugs can work to extend life by many years. A medical worker from the hospital said,
Voice 3
‘We aim to keep the parents alive, well and active. And at the same time we continue to support their families. In this way, the children are able to grow up in a loving, caring family environment. And they are able to attend school along with other children.’
Voice 1
MMH workers also train people to care for their dying⁹ relations at home. The workers try to change the hostile¹⁰ opinions that some people have about HIV/AIDS victims. They work to change hate and fear to care and love.
Voice 2
This is important. All the physical help in the world cannot be a substitute¹¹ for emotional¹² support. HIV/AIDS victims need the love, and support of their families - whoever they are.
Voice 1
May the fifteenth [15th] is the United Nations International Day of Families. For the year 2005, members of the UN are centring on, ‘HIV/AIDS and Family Well Being.’ The UN says that the strength of the family has a very important part to play. It is central to how well communities can deal with AIDS and its effects. Strong families are the best defence in the prevention and spread of HIV. Families are also the best defence in caring for infected family members. The UN group said,
Voice 4
‘Families need and deserve¹³ assistance¹⁴ and support. Policies and programmes to fight HIV/AIDS must consider families and their communities. They must encourage efforts to care for family members and ensure that they are long term’.
Voice 1
The International Day of Families encourages people to work together - families, communities, teachers and organisations. Organisers encourage people to work together to educate and strengthen the family. In this way, they can fight HIV and the AIDS disease.
Voice 2
HIV/AIDS is changing what we think of as ‘the family.’ There are families without a mother. There are families without a father. Men and women may have to learn new skills to act as both mother and father. And there are families headed by children. Polices and programmes on family issues have to consider the new kind of families.
Voice 1
Groups like MMH and others are working to help families affected¹⁵ by HIV/AIDS. But to succeed, they need families to accept, love and support each other.
Voice 2
HIV/AIDS has left some people without any family. They have no blood relations left. In situations like these, the community has an even bigger part to play. It needs to provide a family environment. The Maua Methodist hospital is part of the Methodist church in Kenya. The church welcomes all people to be part of its family. And as a family, they can work to help and support each other. They can work together to unite to fight hatred¹⁶ and fear surrounding HIV/AIDS. They know that only a united family will be able to stand against difficulties.
Voice 1
The International Day of Families two thousand and five encourages people to think about the effect of HIV and AIDS on families across the world. Maybe you are lucky. Maybe you do not know anyone with HIV/AIDS yet. But chances are that you will in the near future. Now is the time to act to influence the future. AIDS groups are encouraging all people to come together as a global family to fight this threat to humankind.
Voice 2
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Marina Santee. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

3 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

4 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

5 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

6 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

7 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

10 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。

11 substitute   

n.代理，代理人，代用品，代替物；vt.代替；vi.替代，取代

参考例句：

• Can you substitute for the singer who is ill?你能替一下那位得了病的歌手吗？
• Yogurt is a perfectly acceptable substitute for cream in cooking.酸奶是烹饪用的特别受欢迎的奶油替代品。

12 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

13 deserve   

vt.应受，值得；vi. 应受报答，值得受赏

参考例句：

• You really deserve a good beating,you naughty boy.你这个调皮孩子真该打。
• I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.我不配得到这些赞扬。

14 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。