环球英语 — 378：Thinking About Pain

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Christy van Aragon.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. They are easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
“I was reporting on the allied³ armies invading⁴ Iraq. Some time later, I became sick. My body’s defence system started to attack my nerves⁵. This meant that I could not move parts of my body. I cannot describe the pain. It was too terrible. I was powerless. I felt alone with my pain.”
Voice 1
Pain. Suffering. Power. Andrew North battled with these three things. He is a reporter for the BBC. His struggle started in 2003. Andrew was working in Iraq. He reported on how the war in Iraq affected⁶ the people of Iraq. A short time later, Andrew North faced another kind of war. This time, the fighting was inside his own body. He was unable to move his face and other parts of his body. He was in great pain.
Voice 2
Later, Andrew recovered from his sickness. But the experience had affected him greatly. He began to wonder about other people’s experiences of pain - did pain affect everyone in the same way? Andrew decided⁷ to make some radio programmes about the subject. In today’s Spotlight, we examine the issues that Andrew raises in his programmes. And we hear about some new ideas concerning⁸ the treatment of pain.
Voice 1
Andrew met many victims of torture⁹ during his time in Iraq. One of them was Samia Ibrahim. Samia was a prisoner. In prison, Samia received many beatings. He suffered terrible pain. He remembers that once, the room seemed to become black. He felt like he was falling asleep. Samia could not stop the torture to his body. However, he could protect his mind. Samia explains:
Voice 4
“I had no power and I had to submit¹⁰. Let them do what they want! I cannot resist it. The only thing I can do is protect my inner¹¹ self... I thought about the people who were torturing¹² me. I felt that they were not human... In a sense I felt that I was more powerful than them even though I had nothing. They made me stronger.”
Voice 1
Samia’s body was suffering extreme pain. But his mind had taken control - it protected him.
Voice 2
Andrew North talked to other victims of torture. Luis Munoz is from Chile. He suffered torture during the rule of President Augusto Pinochet. He reacted differently than Samia Ibrahim. Luis described the experience:
Voice 5
“Your brain seems to trick you. You start to believe that you did not do anything to prevent what was happening to you. It is as if you helped these people in their crime against you. You begin to think it was your responsibility to protect yourself as a human being and that you failed.”
Voice 1
Samia and Luis represent two different reactions to pain from torture. And Doctor Amanda Williams says that this is normal. She is a psychotherapist at University College, London. She says:
Voice 6
“For some people, the pain is like a prize for surviving. But for others, it turns into a sense of helplessness¹³ that they carry inside them. This can cause a lot of damage - it is like the torture lives on inside them.”
Voice 2
But both Samia and Luis have learned¹⁴ from their pain. Luis says:
Voice 5
“I have become more human. I connect more with nature and with other people...That is why I am skilled¹⁵ at helping¹⁶ people - because I can feel their pain.”
Voice 2
Andrew North believes that accepting pain and talking about it can turn it into a positive experience. He says:
Voice 3
“Looking back, it would have helped me to write about my pain in 2003...(Then), doctors concentrated on my physical condition. They did not do much about my pain and how I would deal with it. That was my battle - to fight alone.”
Voice 1
Doctor Allan Basbaum is an expert on pain and its treatment. He claims that this kind of behaviour by doctors is common:
Voice 7
“Doctors who are experts in other areas have almost no training in how to treat pain...The problem is that pain is a product of the body’s system of nerves. And... we cannot see pain - so it is very difficult to measure.”
Voice 1
Doctor Basbaum believes that medical workers need to treat the whole person - not just the physical problem. And part of this is letting the patient express their pain.
Voice 2
Deborah Padfield agrees. She is an artist. And, she works¹⁷ at a London hospital. She listens to patients describing their pain. She encourages them to compare their pain to every-day objects. Then, she takes pictures of those objects with a camera. The patients’ pain then becomes something outside their own bodies - a picture that they can see and touch. This helps patients to describe their feelings more easily. Doctor Basbaum explains why this is a good thing:
Voice 7
“It is very important for patients to be able to express their pain... The kind of drugs that doctors will use depends on how patients describe their pain. So, patients need to try and use the best words they can.”
Voice 1
So, can expressing our pain to others help in the healing¹⁸ process? Andrew North believes it can. And so do some people who listened to his programmes. Many of them sent messages to the BBC website*. One of them was from Scott Cozza. He wrote:
Voice 8
"Pain comes in many forms: physical, emotional¹⁹, spiritual... And…pain can connect us all. Human suffering is heart-breaking. We must permit ourselves to feel another’s pain. We must not walk the other way. We must reach out (to them).”
Voice 1
And Andrew North continues,
Voice 3
“Pain is part of what makes us human…without it we would never develop as people.”
Voice 2
Andrew North is not the only person to think about this issue. In another Spotlight programme, we will consider some other people’s opinions on pain. Can it ever have a positive side?
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

4 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》

5 nerves   

n.神经紧张 vt.鼓起勇气

参考例句：

• What he said at the meeting strung her nerves up. 他在会议上的发言使她的神经很紧张。
• At the end of a day's teaching, her nerves were absolutely shattered. 教了一天课，她精疲力竭。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 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。

8 concerning   

prep.关于，论及

参考例句：

• What do you know concerning this?关于这事你知道些什么？
• Some senior students wrote in asking for information concerning postgraduate studies.一些四年级学生写信询问有关研究生课程的信息。

9 torture   

n.折磨；v.折磨，使痛苦；使苦恼，使为难

参考例句：

• No torture would make him speak.任何严刑拷打都不能使他开口。
• Through those long years of imprisonment and torture,he remained faithful and unyielding.在那些遭受囚禁和酷刑的漫长岁月里，他始终坚贞不屈。

10 submit   

vi.(to)屈服，听从vt.呈送，提交；主张

参考例句：

• He was losing the fight but he would not submit. 他战败了,但不屈服。
• I will not submit to such treatment. 我不甘心忍受这样的待遇。

11 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

12 torturing   

使痛苦( torture的现在分词 )； 使苦恼； 使焦急

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He saw himself as a possible second in such a torturing destiny. 他觉得他自己很有可能是第二个受那样残酷命运支配的人。

13 helplessness   

n.无可奈何状态，无能为力；无助的状态

参考例句：

• Jim signaled his helplessness to Mary to leave the party. 吉姆无法从宴会脱身时，他向玛丽使了个眼色，表示无可奈何。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The incident left me with a sense of helplessness. 这次事件使我产生一种无能为力，听天由命的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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》

19 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。