环球英语 06 Russia’s Abandoned Children

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Tanya is a three and a half year old girl. She has never played with another child. She has only been outside one or two times in her whole life.
Voice 2
Masha is six [6]. She is quiet, but kind. She has light blond² hair and big blue eyes.
Voice 1
Dima is a very shy and quiet five [5] year old. He and his little brother spent three [3] years alone in a hospital.
Voice 2
These children all have something in common. Yes - they are all Russian. Yes - they are all very young. But there is also something very sad that brings them together. All these children were abandoned by their mothers. The mothers of these children were all HIV positive. They carried the virus that causes AIDS. And they left their children at the hospital, after their children were born. The mothers thought their children might also carry HIV. These children continue to suffer because of a country-wide fear of HIV and AIDS. Today’s Spotlight is on this problem.
Voice 1
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. People can receive treatment for AIDS. But there is no cure for it. In Russia, experts recorded the first case of HIV in 1987. At first, Russia seemed almost unaffected by AIDS. But experts say that cases soon increased at a huge rate. It became an epidemic³.
Voice 2
Experts estimate⁴ that today about one [1] percent of the Russian population lives with HIV. But they believe that the numbers could be much higher. The United Nations Children’s Fund⁵, UNICEF, works⁶ for children’s rights, survival⁷, development, and protection. They say that Russia has one [1] of the fastest growing AIDS epidemics⁸ in the world. One hundred [100] people there become infected with HIV every day. And UNICEF says that the number of women living with HIV has more than doubled in the past few years. This is especially frightening.
Voice 1
During birth, an HIV positive mother can pass the virus on to her baby. However, this does not happen in the majority of cases. Without prevention services, HIV positive mothers pass on the virus thirty-five [35] percent of the time. And with prevention services, the number is much lower. But many women do not know this.
Voice 2
Every day in Russia about twenty [20] HIV positive women give birth. Of these twenty [20] new babies, on average two [2] will be abandoned by their mothers. Their mothers will leave them at the hospital.
Voice 1
Experts say the fear of HIV is very great in Russia. The mothers may leave their babies because they feel too much shame. Or some may not feel able to care for their babies. They may be afraid of having a sick baby. There is very little support in Russia for AIDS sufferers.
Voice 2
So what happens to these abandoned babies? Normally⁹, an orphanage¹⁰ would care for them. Orphanages¹¹ are homes for babies and children without parents. But orphanages often refuse to care for babies who may be HIV positive. So, abandoned babies stay at the hospital.
Voice 1
It takes the Russian government eighteen [18] months to officially say if a baby is HIV positive or not. If a baby is not HIV positive, he will go to an orphanage. But if he is HIV positive, he will most likely stay at the hospital. Sadly, the HIV positive children will probably stay at the hospital for a very long time.
Voice 2
But hospitals are not the best places for these babies to be. As a baby grows, he learns how to communicate. He learns how to play with others. He learns how to think. These developmental levels are very important. But to learn all these things, babies need attention. They need people to talk to them and play with them.
Voice 1
Babies in the hospital do not usually get the attention they need. Nurses or caregivers may be too busy with other hospital patients. Or they may just be too afraid to care for the babies. So, many of the children in hospitals suffer from extreme loneliness.
Voice 2
But there is one place in Russia where HIV positive babies are welcome. This is the Republican¹² Hospital for Infectious¹³ Diseases¹⁴ in the city of Ust-Izhora. Abandoned HIV positive babies can come here when orphanages do not accept them. But sadly, the center can only care for forty [40] children. Yevgeny Voronin established this hospital. He says that the bad experiences children have before they get to the hospital can affect them their whole lives.
Voice 3
“These children [all look the same] - they do not show any emotion, their face is mask-like, they do not smile, they sit in one place.”
Voice 1
Yelena Vedmed also works at the Republican Hospital for Infectious Diseases. She agrees that, often, these abandoned babies do not get the care they need - especially mentally.
Voice 4
“Absolutely all the children that came here had developmental problems... Two year old children had the developmental level of a six month old baby.”
Voice 2
Workers at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases do their best to care for these abandoned children. But they cannot care for every child. And most of all, they worry that people outside the hospital will never accept the HIV positive children. Yevgeny says:
Voice 3
“People are still [afraid]; they think these children have no future. [The children] are denied [chances] because of prejudices. [People believe] that they will not live long, [and] ... they are easily infectious. In reality, this is [completely] not true. [There are] new medicines...now. But what was in people’s heads twenty [20] years ago has not changed. The worst punishment for these children is not HIV, it is [the] [people’s] prejudice. This is the most terrible punishment.”
Voice 1
Russian lawmakers have tried to force orphanages to take the HIV positive babies. But the results have not been encouraging. Yelena says:
Voice 4
“...A new law was introduced which [required] orphanages to accept [these children]. We tried once - at an orphanage nearby... But after we went there, we [understood] that the level of AIDS [fear] is so high that our child would be isolated¹⁵ [and alone] again. So we did not give this child away.”
Voice 2
Yelena hopes that one day, the people of Russia will not be as afraid of people who have HIV. She wants people to know that HIV positive people are no different than anyone else. They have many good qualities and skills. And she hopes that children can help to change the old ideas people have about HIV positive people.
Voice 4
“Maybe when people see how wonderful and [skilled] our children are, this may change their ideas.”
Voice 1
People around the world have bad ideas about people with HIV and AIDS. But ideas can change. What are the ideas toward¹⁶ HIV and AIDS in your area?
Voice 2
Computer users¹⁷ can hear more Spotlight programs on our website at . This program is called “Russia’s Abandoned Children.”

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 blond   

adj.金发的；n.白肤碧眼金发的人

参考例句：

• Her long blond hair spilled down over her shoulders.她那淡黄色的长发披垂在双肩。
• This blond man delivers newspaper every morning.这个白肤金发碧眼的男人每天早晨送报纸。

3 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。

4 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

5 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

8 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

9 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

10 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

11 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

12 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

13 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

14 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。

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

16 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

17 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。