环球英语 — 352：Freedom Writers

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Ruby² Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. 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
For Erin Gruwell, walking into Wilson High School was like entering a battle field. The year was 1994. It was Erin’s first teaching³ job.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is about Erin Gruwell. Erin is a teacher who believed in the students of Wilson High School. This story is about change. It is a story about hope.
Voice 2
Wilson High School is in Long Beach California, in the United States. It is a city school, in a poor and violent community. The students are from age fourteen to age eighteen. And many have problems learning⁴. There are fights every day in this school. Many students belong to street gangs⁵ - violent groups. Some carry guns. Others use and sell drugs. Gangs fight for control of the city. Many students believe they will be killed before they are eighteen years old. One student says it this way,
Voice 3
“I have lost many friends in an undeclared war. It is a war between colour and race. It is a war that will never end. It is a war that leaves family and friends crying for those people who have died.
Voice 2
At Wilson High School races did not mix. White students stayed with white students. Black students with Black students. Asian with Asian. Latino with Latino. A student said this about beginning school,
Voice 4
“On our first day of high school, we shared only three things: we hated school, we hated our teacher, and we hated each other.”
Voice 1
In her first year, Erin Gruwell worked with some of the most difficult students. She saw that her students had no hope. Everyone had told them that they would never be worth anything. Teachers, parents and other students had dismissed⁶ them. As Erin thinks about that first day she says,
Voice 5
“I did not know how to change their attitude. I wanted to let them know they had a chance. That someone cared for them. I knew I would not give up on them. I was going to find a way to reach these students.”
Voice 2
But the students believed Erin would give up on them. The students tried to estimate⁷ how long she would stay. No one estimated⁸ very long. One student made it his goal to make Erin cry.
Voice 1
The student’s lives outside the class were difficult. Some students travelled a long way to school every day. Other students had parents who beat them. Some students lived on the street. Week after week, Erin did her best to teach. The students did their best to survive one more day.
Voice 2
One day, things began to change. A student made a picture of an African American boy in the class. The picture had a very large mouth - it was a stereotype⁹ of African Americans. It was funny to the students. But it was not funny to Erin. She told the class that it was like materials used by Nazis¹¹ during World War Two. The students looked back at her with empty faces. No one knew what she was talking about.
Voice 1
So Erin changed her teaching plan. She got new books for the students, using her own money. She started with The Diary of Anne Frank¹². Anne Frank was a Jewish¹³ girl. She lived in the Netherlands during World War Two. And she had to hide from the invading¹⁴ Nazi¹⁰ soldiers. The Nazis killed many people - including many Jews. Violence surrounded Anne. She was trapped. She felt helpless¹⁵. She wrote about these feelings and thoughts in her diary - a daily record of her life. The students related¹⁶ to all these things, as they read her diary.
Voice 2
Erin had the students write about their lives. Like Anne Frank, they wrote about their difficult situations. Erin’s class became a place where the students could share their struggles. It became a place where they did not feel so alone.
Voice 1
The students began to listen during class. They showed more respect to Erin. They stopped judging each other based on race. They began to care about one another as people. The students decided¹⁷ to call themselves the Freedom Writers.
Voice 2
Erin had the students write letters to Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank during the war. Miep answered these letters. Miep travels often, to speak with people around the world about her experiences during the war. And on one of her speaking trips, she visited Wilson High School. Miep told the students that they are heroes. This is because they are working for their dreams. The students felt special and important.
Voice 1
Erin took the students on trips too. Many students had never travelled out of Long Beach. Now, someone trusted and respected them. That was something they had never felt before.
Voice 2
During this time, Erin had to fight for many things. She was not doing things like everyone else. Some teachers envied her when she became popular. Erin also spent her own money for books and materials for the students. And she would stay late at school, so that the students could stay too. They did not have other safe places to study.
Voice 1
As the students wrote about their lives, Erin began gathering¹⁸ the stories together. She did not know if anyone would want to publish them. But she knew that the stories were worth reading. And others agreed. In 1999, these stories were published in the book “The Freedom Writer’s Diaries”.
Voice 2
Eight years later the book was made into a film. With the book and the film, the story of Erin and her students has become more popular. Because of this, Erin is now able to take her special teaching method to other schools.
Voice 1
Writing their stories did not make life perfect for the students. They still live in a divided community. They struggle against drugs and gangs. They cannot escape their situation. But the students have found their voice. They can control who they are going to be. One student said it this way,
Voice 3
“I suppose it is never too late to change. If I did it, other people should be able to as well. It all depends on how much you want to change. I am blessed to have another chance at a clean start.”
Voice 2
Erin took a chance. There were jobs that would have been easier and safer. But she had hope. She was willing to take a risk to improve her students’ lives.
One student decided that,
Voice 4
“Before, if I saw something bad happen, I probably would not have acted. I used to think, ‘If it does not effect me, why do anything?’ I know now that there is not a day that will go by when I will do nothing. It is better to take a chance and make a change, than to stand by and do nothing.”
 

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 gangs   

n.（罪犯有组织的）一帮( gang的名词复数 )；一伙；（闹事青少年的）一群；（工人有组织的）一队

参考例句：

• Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city yesterday. 成群结伙的年轻人昨天在城里横冲直撞。
• a vicious turf war between rival gangs of drug dealers 对立贩毒团伙之间的猛烈火并

6 dismissed   

v.解雇( dismiss的过去式和过去分词 )；（使击球员或球队）退场；使退去；驳回

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。

7 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。

8 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

9 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

10 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

11 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

13 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

14 invading   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的现在分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage. 侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The invading army desecrated this holy place when they camped here. 侵略军在这块圣地上扎营就是对这块圣地的亵渎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 helpless   

adj.无助的，无依无靠的；不能自力的

参考例句：

• The other team was helpless and we had a real field day.对方队很弱，我们轻易取胜。
• They felt helpless to do anything about it.他们对这事感到无能为力。

16 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

17 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。

18 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。