环球英语 — 164：Health Worker Diaries: Psychiatrist

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Joshua Leo.
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
In April 2006, people around the world observed World Health Day. For this day, the World Health Organization, the WHO, also released² the World Health Report for 2006. The report said that at that time, fifty-seven [57] countries experienced³ a severe shortage⁴ of health workers. There were not enough health workers in those countries.
Voice 2
So the WHO began a new project. They wanted to celebrate health workers. And they wanted to show people around the world what health workers can do. Their project was called “The Health Worker Diaries.” The WHO invited health workers from around the world to write to them. They wanted the health workers to write about one particular day in their job. Doctor Alain Maxime Mouanga is one health worker who answered.
Voice 1
Doctor Mouanga is a psychiatrist⁵ - a doctor for the mind. Psychiatrists⁶ help people with mental sicknesses. But they also help people to understand their own emotions.
Voice 2
Mental health is important for every person. Different experiences and events in life can negatively influence a person’s mental health. Working life, family life, and a person’s part in the community are all places people can feel pressure on their mental health. A person may feel sad, angry, or out of control. These normal influences can be even worse when they involve stress or extreme mental pressure.
Voice 1
Doctor Mouanga works⁷ in the Republic of the Congo. Over two point five million [2,500,000] people live in this country. But, the WHO says he is the only psychiatrist there based in a hospital.
Voice 2
The Republic of the Congo has experienced trouble in the past. In 1997 there was a civil war. Groups of people from the same country fought against each other. The war created ethnic⁸ and political conflict. Many people had to leave their homes. And they have not been able to return to them. All these experiences continue to influence Doctor Mouanga’s patients. So, he must think about all these events when talking to them.
Voice 1
Doctor Mouanga describes one day in his experience as a psychiatrist in the Republic of the Congo.
Voice 3
“A man came to see me. He could not sleep at night. He had disabling⁹ headaches, pains in his head. He was tired. I asked him about his past. Eight [8] years ago, during the civil war, his house was burned down, just as he was getting ready to retire. It had taken him thirty [30] years of hard work to build that house... Now he is renting a small apartment under terrible conditions.”
“I asked him if he could see any relationship with what happened in 1997 and his current problems. He made a joke of it.
“‘That happened to everyone. Why should I protest¹⁰?’ he asked.
“‘Yes, that happened to many people, but what happened was terrible for you,’ I told him. Like most of the patients who seek psychiatric care in the Congo, he is suffering from depression.
“Here in the Congo, people sometimes experience the most terrible shame. But they struggle on as they live with major depression. It is amazing. They look for an answer. They go from church to church and from doctor to doctor. They want to understand why they do not feel well. Finally, if they get to me or someone like me they start to understand the link, and it helps. I wish I could help them more.”
Voice 2
The hospital where Doctor Mouanga works is in poor repair. In his writing he describes the hospital.
Voice 3
“...The building remains¹¹ badly damaged from the war. Instead of its original fifty [50] beds the unit only has twenty [20], which is not enough. We still do not have a single telephone or a computer. When it rains outside, it rains in my office. We lack the resources for a full program of occupational therapy¹² and psychotherapy - kinds of mental treatments. And the only medicines we can offer are old versions¹³ of medicine.”
Voice 1
Old versions of the medicine can help mental sickness. But they can also cause some problems in the body. And the medicines often cost a lot of money. Many people in the Congo only have enough money to buy the medicines for a short period of time. Because of this, Doctor Mouanga says, some patients with serious mental sickness stop treatment. But this can be very dangerous.
Voice 3
“At the moment we have a woman on our service in exactly that situation. She had a first incident of mental sickness. She was put on treatment. And she stopped after a while. She became sick again and began to think that her thirteen [13] year old daughter was possessed¹⁴ by an evil¹⁵ spirit. The woman killed her daughter.”
Voice 2
Doctor Mouanga sees a lot of pain in his country. But he is happy he can help.
Voice 3
“People were surprised when I entered psychiatry¹⁶. I could have studied other forms of medicine and worked in a more enjoyable place and earned more money. Now I want to help other people in my country to understand that mental sickness can be treated successfully, that people can recover, find satisfying lives and be useful to society.
“And I want to encourage others to enter psychiatry. There are two [2] young doctors working for me. They say they plan to enter psychiatry. I hope they will turn out to be serious enough to go overseas for the special training; and then turn out to be crazy enough to come back here to work at this hospital. I believe they will, because I know I am not alone in my dream about the hospital. They share it.”
Voice 1
The dream Doctor Mouanga is talking about is his dream of a better future for his patients and the hospital. He knows how difficult his job can be. But he also knows that his job is important.
Voice 3
“In my dream I walk into the psychiatric unit at the University Hospital in Brazzaville, and it has changed. The paint on the walls is no longer peeling. The rooms are happy. A telephone is ringing. One group of patients is in a group treatment meeting; another group is painting pictures with an art therapist¹⁷. I believe my dream can come true, when I look at the progress we have made.”
Voice 2
Much of the information for this program, including Doctor Mouanga’s story came from the WHO’s website. There, you can find more Health Worker Diaries. You can find a link to the WHO’s website on our website.
 

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 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

3 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

4 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

5 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

6 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分

7 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。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 disabling   

使无能力( disable的现在分词 )； 使残废； 使伤残； 使无效

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis is perhaps the most severe and disabling type of the disease. 类风湿性关节炎可能是其中最严重，最能致残的一种类型。
• There was an error disabling the Inbox Assistant rules. 禁用收件箱助理程序规则时出错。

10 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 therapy   

n.治疗；疗法

参考例句：

• The doctor said she should be given a physical therapy.医生说她应该进行理疗。
• She will need to have the therapy repeated every few months.她将需要每隔几个月就进行一次治疗。

13 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

15 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

16 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

17 therapist   

n.治疗专家

参考例句：

• My therapist helped me feel my anger.我的治疗专家帮助我感受自己的怒气。
• Family therapists.家庭治疗师。