环球英语 — 360：Reuniting Refugees

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹ I'm Adam Navis
Voice 2
And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘We were living in such fear. The big guns never stopped. In April, the people who slept near us were injured. Five people died. There were no medicines to reduce pain. A doctor had to cut off one girl's hand without such medicines. My small daughter was crying and afraid. I decided² then that we had to leave.'
Voice 1
Mister³ Kumar and his family lived on the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka. On this island, rebel⁴ groups and the government had fought for many years. In early 2009, the fighting reached one of its worst points. Mr Kumar and his family lived in a ‘no-fire' area. It was supposed to be safe. But they reported that this was not the case. They feared for their lives. Mr Kumar was one of the many people trapped in the middle of fighting. And so he, and others, fled their town. They left on small fishing boats. The people described their long and dangerous trips across Indian waters. Some people were lost at sea, not everyone survived. Others reached the coast of India. They had become refugees⁶.
Voice 2
The United Nations estimates⁷ that there are around eleven million [11,000,000] refugees in the world today. And this does not include people trying to find safety inside their own countries. June 20th is World Refugee⁵ Day. And in today's programme we look at a new project that aims to help refugees.
Voice 1
Search engines on the Internet are nothing new. Google has become a central part of many people's lives! Want to know the answer to something? ‘Just Google it!' Want to find something?' Google it. But what about finding⁸ missing⁹ people who are refugees? There is now a special search engine for this too. It is called Refunite.
Voice 2
There are lots of projects that aim to reunite divided refugee families. The Red Cross receives millions of requests each year. People from all around the world ask them for help. There are children looking for parents, parents looking for children, lovers¹⁰ divided. Each of them has a tragic¹¹ story to tell. Some have escaped a difficult political situation. Others have run away from armed conflict. The Red Cross and other organisations work hard to try and help such people. But Refunite is different because people can do the searching themselves. So how does it work? Ruby¹² Jones investigates!
Voice 4
I am looking at the Refunite website now.
I can search for someone without giving my name, address, or any details about me. I like that! So, now I choose my language.  They have twenty-four [24] languages.  Right. I am on the search page. I am hoping that the person I am looking for knows about Refunite. I am hoping that they have entered some details so that I can find them.
I describe what they look like in the box marked ‘personal information.' Tall, brown hair, a birthmark on their left leg. I enter their first name.  I select their age - 31.  What sex? Male.  Which country is he from?  I type that in too.  Does he have brothers and sisters?  He is the second child in the family.  I add this detail.
Next, I click on the ‘search' button and wait about a second.  A list of names appears. There are names and descriptions of some people who fit the details I typed in. If I click on one of them more details appear. There is a space where I can type a message for this person. It tells me not to give my personal details unless I am sure this is my friend or family member. I write details that only this person would know.  Then, I click 'send'! What a great website!
Voice 1
Refunite is short for ‘Refugees United'. It was started by two brothers, Christopher and David Mikkelsen. The idea came from their work with a refugee from Afghanistan, Mansour. Mansour fled Afghanistan in 2000. He and his family were supposed to travel together. However, because Mansour was the oldest son, he went first.  He was twelve years old. Mansour travelled across Europe and ended his trip in Copenhagen. He waited hopefully for his family. But they never came. It was in Copenhagen that Mansour met David Mikkelsen. David worked as a teacher at a school for young refugees. David and his brother tried to help Mansour reunite with his family. However this proved very difficult. Finally, they did manage to discover where one of Mansour's brothers was - in Russia! They managed to arrange a meeting. And the brothers were finally reunited. Mansour remembers how nervous and excited they both were:
Voice 5
‘The hairs on the back of our necks were standing¹³ up. Tears flooded our eyes.'
Voice 2
Mansour's story had part of a happy ending. But reuniting the brothers had been a very long and difficult process. And this made Christopher and his brother question why. Christopher said:
Voice 6
‘We began talking about why no one had created a system that could cross borders, barriers, conflicts and official papers
Voice 2
So the idea for the Refunite website was born! And today it is working well. Now, the brothers are trying to spread the word! The website can only help to reunite refugees if they about it. Then, a refugee can visit the website to type in his or her own information so that other people can find them. David adds:
Voice 7
‘We advise everyone not to type their full details. There is no need for you to provide information about your phone number or where you are'
Voice 1
The brothers hope that Refunite will help to reunite many of the divided refugee families and friends across the world. There are still problems to get past. One of the biggest difficulties is making it possible for refugees to use the internet! However, the Refugees United team have ideas for this too. They are speaking to major computer companies. The team hopes to encourage the companies to give equipment to refugee camps. The team are also looking at different technology. They would like to make it possible for people to reach the Refunite website from their mobile¹⁴ telephone.
Voice 2
Christopher and David may not be able to reduce the number of refugees in the world. But the brothers are doing their best to make lives easier for refugees. As their refugee friend Mansour said,
Voice 5
‘Knowing there is someone out there makes all the difference.'
 

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 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。

3 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

4 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

5 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

6 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

7 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

10 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 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。

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 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。