环球英语 — 39： Gianna Jessen

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Mike Procter.
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
Gianna Jessen ran towards the finish line. She was struggling. Every part of her body hurt. But she was not going to give up. Her friend ran alongside² her. He encouraged her to keep going. They had been running for over eight [8] hours. At last they both reached the end. They ran past the finish line. Gianna had completed the race.
Voice 2
Gianna was running in the London marathon³. The marathon is a long race - forty-two point one nine five [42.195] kilometres. When Gianna reached the finish line many people cheered. But Gianna was not the winner of the race. Hundreds of people had finished before her. So why was Gianna so special?
Voice 1
Gianna suffers from the condition called cerebral⁴ palsy. She finds it hard to control her body movements. This is because parts of Gianna’s brain are damaged. She was starved of oxygen when she was born. When she was young doctors said that she would not be able to sit, stand or walk. No one expected Gianna to be able to run a marathon. But Gianna had her own very special reason for running the marathon. She says,
Voice 3
‘I have learned⁵ that weakness can be beautiful. People are often afraid to be weak. Yet a person can have joy in the middle of struggle. I hope that people will see you do not have to be weighed down by problems. God can help. He has helped me in so many ways. He will help me through the marathon. I will run for him and I will never give up’.
Voice 2
People gave money to encourage Gianna. They promised money for every kilometre she completed. Gianna has raised a lot of money. She has given the money to the ‘Stars Organisation⁶ Supporting Cerebral Palsy’ or S.O.S. Reporters told about Gianna’s race in newspapers and on television. It is a good news story. But Gianna has an even more powerful⁷ story to share. It is a story of forgiveness.
Voice 1
Gianna’s condition is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. This can happen for very many different reasons. Some people develop cerebral palsy after an accident. They stop breathing for a few minutes. The lack of oxygen to the brain causes damage. But an accident did not cause Gianna’s problem.
Voice 2
Gianna’s mother - Tina - was a very young girl. She was only seventeen [17] years old when she became pregnant⁸. She could not manage a baby. The father of her baby was also young. He could not support her. So Tina decided⁹ to abort¹⁰ - kill her unborn child. But Tina was over seven months pregnant. It would be hard to carry out the abortion¹¹. Tina visited experts who could help her. They gave Tina chemicals to kill her baby. They told Tina that she would give birth to a dead baby. After seventeen hours of labour - Gianna was born. But she was not dead. She was very much alive.
Voice 1
The woman on duty was shocked. This had never happened before. She called for an ambulance. The ambulance arrived quickly. It took baby Gianna to hospital. Gianna was very small and weak. The chemicals had damaged her. She had cerebral palsy. She was fighting for life. The doctors started treating her. But they were not sure if Gianna would survive.
Voice 2
But Gianna did survive. She spent several months in hospital. Her natural mother never came to see her. So a number of different people cared for Gianna. At the age of four she was adopted. Another woman became Gianna’s legal¹² mother. Her name is Diana. Diana helped Gianna to deal with her cerebral palsy. And Gianna made good progress. In time she was sitting, standing¹³ and walking. She did well at school. Her new family loved and cared for her. They took her to church. They told her about the love of God.
Voice 1
But Gianna still had questions. She wanted to know more about Tina. Why had she given Gianna away? Diana gently explained. She told Gianna the truth. She told Gianna that she had survived abortion. She told her that her physical problems were caused when she was born.
Voice 2
Giana was shocked. It was difficult to understand. Her natural mother had tried to abort her.
Gianna also knew that her cerebral palsy was caused when she was born. She asked Diana about healing¹⁵. Would God heal¹⁴ her? Gianna remembers her mother’s words. She says,
Voice 3
‘My mother (Diana) explained that it may not be God’s will for me to be healed¹⁶. But she also told me that she believed God would use my weakness in a very special way’.
Voice 2
Gianna remembers the first time she told people her story. It was at a local church. She prayed that God would give her the right words to say. She told people about her birth. She told them about her cerebral palsy. Then she talked about forgiveness. She said,
Voice 3
‘I forgive my natural mother totally. I may have cerebral palsy - but that is okay because I have God. It is not always easy. But he is always there. And he can be there for you too’.
Voice 2
Today Gianna often tells her story. She hopes that it brings healing and hope to other people. After one church meeting a woman came to Gianna. She was crying. She told Gianna that she had aborted¹⁷ her baby. She had never told anyone about this before. She felt bad. Gianna was able to tell her about God’s love and forgiveness.
Voice 1
Gianna believes in a God that loves and forgives. The Bible¹⁸ tells of wrong doing as a barrier¹⁹ that separates²⁰ people from God. The Bible says that God showed his wonderful love when he sent Jesus Christ²¹ into the world. Jesus was executed²² on a cross. The Bible says that when Jesus died, he took the blame for people’s wrongdoing. Now people can receive God’s forgiveness. All they have to do is to ask and accept his love.
Voice 2
Gianna knows that the love of Jesus Christ changes lives. He has changed hers. She talks about her celebral palsy as a gift. It is not something she would have wished for. But Gianna believes that God is using her weakness to bring his message of love to everyone. Gianna believes that God’s love can fill people’s lives with meaning and value. She feels honoured that God should use her in this way. If she had to run a hundred marathons to bring God’s message of hope - Gianna would do it!
 

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 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

3 marathon   

n.长距离赛跑；需要耐力的比赛；(M-)马拉松

参考例句：

• I'm hoping to be in the marathon next year.我希望明年能参加马拉松赛。
• The meeting was a bit of a marathon.这次会议有点马拉松赛的味道。

4 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！

8 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 abort   

v.使流产，堕胎；中止；中止(工作、计划等)

参考例句：

• The captain instructed them to abort the mission.上尉指示他们中止执行任务。
• With this button the user can abort the audio sequence.用户可以用该按钮终止音频序列。

11 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

12 legal   

adj.法律的，依照法律的，合法的，法定的，正当的

参考例句：

• He is my legal adviser.他是我的法律顾问。
• This is partly a political and partly a legal question.这个问题部分是政治问题，部分是法律问题。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 heal   

v.使愈合，治愈，使康复；平息(争吵等)；消除，解决(分支等)

参考例句：

• Time helped heal the old wounds.时间有助于治愈旧创伤。
• This wound will soon heal if yon keep it clean.如果你保持伤口清洁，它很快就会痊愈。

15 healing   

n.康复，复原adj.有治疗功用的v.（使）愈合( heal的现在分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• miraculous powers of healing 神奇的治病能力
• She seems to have a vocation for healing. 看来她具备治病救人的才能。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 healed   

v.（使）愈合( heal的过去式和过去分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• The surgeon healed the soldier's bullet wound in the leg. 医生治好了那位士兵腿部的枪伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctor applied an unguent to the wound,which speedily healed it. 医生给伤口涂了些油膏，伤口很快就愈合了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

19 barrier   

n.栅栏，障碍，壁垒，关卡

参考例句：

• You must show your ticket at the barrier.你在关卡处必须出示许可证。
• The driver jumped a horse over a barrier.骑手骑马跳过障碍。

20 separates   

n.可搭配穿着的女服v.分开( separate的第三人称单数 )；（使）分离；区分；隔开

参考例句：

• A chasm separates my generation from my parents'. 分歧使我这一代人不同于我父母那一代。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Bering StraIt'separates Asia and America. 白令海峡隔开了亚洲和美洲。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

22 executed   

v.执行（法令）( execute的过去式和过去分词 )；（按计划或设计）作成；履行；演（戏）

参考例句：

• He was executed for treason. 他因叛国罪被处死。
• He was executed in 1887for plotting to assassinate the tsar. 他因密谋暗杀沙皇在1887年被判处极刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》