环球英语 — 236：Big Brothers and Big Sisters

Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for Spotlight¹. 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
A child’s relationship with his parents is very important. But for some children, something damages this relationship. Maybe one parent is missing or dead. Maybe poverty has caused struggle. Maybe bad friends are taking the place of a parent. Today’s Spotlight is on a group that helps children who are in difficult situations. This group is called Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Voice 2
Do you have a brother or sister? If you do, you know how important this relationship can be. Young boys want to be like their older brothers. Young girls depend on their older sisters. In a healthy family, brothers and sisters share a special connection. The group Big Brothers and Big Sisters understands this special connection.

Voice 1
Big Brothers and Big Sisters started with several different people. In 1902, Ernest Coulter was working in court rooms in New York City. He worked especially with young boys who committed crimes. He thought that these boys needed someone to guide them. He wanted to find adults to be friends with these boys.

Voice 2
At the same time, a group of women was helping² young girls. The Ladies of Charity was a group of nuns³ – Christian⁴ workers. These women cared for the sick, the poor and the lonely people in their community. They saw many young girls who were missing a parent, or in trouble. These young girls needed help.

Voice 1
In the city of Cincinnati, Ohio another man was thinking the same thing. One day, Irvin Westheimer saw a boy looking for food in a waste container. Mr. Westheimer gave the boy a meal. He met the boy’s family. And he learned that the boy’s father had died. Mr. Westheimer began to spend more time with the boy. He began to understand how important adults are in a child’s life. He wanted to help more boys in similar situations. He decided⁵ to start an organization to help these boys.

Voice 2
Mr. Westheimer gathered other men who wanted to help. They became friends with these troubled boys. They acted like good older brothers.

Voice 1
Mr. Coulter did the same thing in New York. He formed a group of men to help boys in need. These men were guides to the boys. The group called the men Big Brothers. The group called the boys Little Brothers. The Big Brothers were mentors⁶, or guides, to these Little Brothers. And the groups were also both called “Big Brothers”.

Voice 2
Mentoring⁷ is a kind of relationship that has existed since ancient times. Older people become friends with younger people. The older people share their knowledge. They show the young people how to behave. They talk together and share common interests. These mentors guide the young people to become better adults.

Voice 1
Over time, more Big Brothers groups started forming in other cities in the United States. Big Brothers groups started sports teams for teenagers in their communities. The groups even collected money to help young people attend college.

Voice 2
The Ladies of Charity, in New York, changed their name to the Catholic⁸ Big Sisters in 1905. As time went on, the group continued to grow. And, just like the Big Brothers, more Big Sisters groups formed as well. Seventy [70] years later these groups joined together. In 1977 Big Brothers and Big Sisters became one group.

Voice 1
Today, Big Brothers and Big Sisters is the oldest youth mentoring group in the world. Big Brothers and Big Sisters serves over two hundred eighty thousand [280,000] children around the world. The Big Brothers and Big Sisters are not paid for their work. They give their time and energy freely.

Voice 2
The success of Big Brothers and Big Sisters has also spread to Cambodia. A group of Christians⁹ saw the value of the mentoring relationship. They to help children whose parents had died from AIDS. The group asked ten Christian young people to become mentors to these children.

Voice 1
These big brothers and big sisters visit the children every week. Each child in the program now has a friend. This friend spends time with them. This friend listens to them. And this friend encourages them. The big brothers and big sisters spend time listening, talking, playing, praying, eating, and having fun with their little brother and sisters.

Voice 2
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cambodia wants to make the lives of these children better. They want to help these orphaned¹⁰ children grow to be successful adults.

Voice 1
Philippa Miner helps organize Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cambodia. She recently wrote that there are currently¹¹ just over one hundred [100] big brothers and big sisters meeting with orphans¹² in the area. But she says that the Big Brothers and Big Sisters only serve a small amount of orphans in the country. Philippa says that there are around four hundred and seventy thousand [470,000] orphaned children in Cambodia. There are many more children who need the help of Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Voice 2
Big Brothers and Big Sisters is also working in Canada. Mitka is a single mother living in the city of Guelph. She says she is glad that Big Brothers and Big Sisters exists. She tells about the experiences of her son, Reza.

Voice 3
“Reza’s father died while I was pregnant¹³. When we moved to Guelph, we had friends here. But they were too busy to spend time with Reza. Within two years of being matched to his big brother Josh, I saw a change in Reza. Josh had goals. By knowing him, Reza learned it is good if he has goals. Now he knows what to look for in the future. He is more social now, not as shy. He is out making friends. He now knows how to make new friends. It was a great two years because it was a time when Reza was still growing up and he needed a role model, someone to guide him.”

Voice 1
Big Brothers and Big Sisters continues to help children. And Big Brothers and Big Sisters exists in many parts of the world. If you are interested in becoming a big brother or big sister where you live, contact a Big Brothers and Big Sisters office near you. You can make a difference in a child’s life!

 

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 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 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。

6 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

7 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

8 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

9 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

10 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

11 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

12 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。

13 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。