环球英语 — 383：A Positive Side to Pain

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Gabby was a normal, healthy baby - for the first four months of her life. But after this, Gabby’s parents noticed that something was wrong. Gabby’s father, Steve, explained more:
Voice 3
“I was rubbing³ some medicine on the soft part of Gabby’s mouth - where her teeth were growing. Suddenly, she bit down hard on my finger. It was so hard that I could not deal with the pain... I pulled my finger out - and one of Gabby’s teeth came out with it! Gabby continued to play. She did not seem to notice that this had happened.”
Voice 1
Gabby continued to bite on any object she could find - books, playthings - even her own fingers! Trish is Gabby’s mother. She was very worried about Gabby’s behaviour. She remembered:
Voice 4
“Gabby damaged her fingers very badly. They looked like uncooked meat! She bit them so much.”
Voice 2
Gabby’s parents took her to see many different doctors. But, not one of them could discover the reasons for her strange behaviour. Trish decided⁴ to do her own research. She looked on the Internet. And, she found some pictures of children’s hands. Their fingers were in the same state as Gabby’s! Trish was very excited. Had she found some answers at last?
Voice 1
Trish read that these children suffered from a rare⁵ medical condition - Hereditary⁶ Sensory⁷ Autonomic Neuropathy - HSAN. People who have this condition are born with no nerve⁸ endings. They cannot feel changes of temperature. And, they cannot feel pain. And this is what Gabby was suffering from. People with HSAN can still hurt themselves very easily. They have no power to protect themselves from danger. They have lost the ‘gift’ of pain.
Voice 1
In an earlier “Spotlight”, we talked about pain. We discussed how physical and emotional⁹ pain can cause many difficulties¹⁰. And we looked at how expressing our pain can help in the healing¹¹ process. In today’s programme, we consider the question: does pain have a positive side?
Voice 2
Paul Brand was a doctor. In the 1940s, he moved to India. He worked there for many years. Doctor Brand was famous for his work with people who had leprosy. Leprosy is a disease¹², not a genetic¹³ problem like HSAN. But leprosy also deadens people’s power to feel pain. Doctor Brand treated many patients with terrible injuries. And through this, he came to believe that pain is truly a gift. He wrote:
Voice 5
“If I had the power to take away physical pain from the world, I would not do it. My work with people who cannot feel pain has proved something to me. Pain protects us from destroying ourselves.”
Voice 2
Doctor Brand had not always believed this. He explained how he changed his mind:
Voice 5
“I started to study medicine. I believed then that my purpose was to reduce pain and suffering - and to save lives. I have spent my whole life treating people with pain and without pain. And I would say that this has changed my purpose...it is now to help suffering people and improve their quality of life. I used to think of pain as an enemy. But today I think of it as a help.”
Voice 2
Doctor Brand continued:
Voice 5
“I have often heard people tell God how unhappy they are when they have pain. They do not blame God for giving us a signal¹⁴ that tells of disease or injury. But why make it so unpleasant¹⁵? And why not make it easy to stop?”
Voice 1
Many people throughout¹⁶ history have asked this question - why is pain so unpleasant? And what about human suffering - that causes pain? Many people do blame God for their suffering and pain. But is this fair? C S Lewis was a twentieth century teacher and writer. He was also a Christian¹⁷. He wrote a book about this issue¹⁸. He called it, “The Problem of Pain.” In it, he argues that suffering was not part of God’s plan for his creation¹⁹. However, God created humans with free will - they could choose to act as they pleased. Sadly, humans chose to act against God’s wishes. They rebelled²⁰ against God. They broke their close relationship with God. Breaking from God brought sadness and suffering.
Voice 2
Lewis believed that God can use pain to bring people back to him. He wrote:
Voice 6
“God speaks quietly to us in our pleasures. He speaks more loudly through our conscience²¹. But he shouts in our pain. It is his loudspeaker²² to wake up a world that cannot hear.”
Voice 2
But can a God who permits²³ pain and suffering still be loving? Lewis believed that he could. Lewis felt that people were confused²⁴. They did not understand that sometimes, love involves pain. Instead, they only wanted God to be kind to them. He wrote:
Voice 6
“Kindness does not care if its object becomes good or bad. It only wants it to escape suffering. Love is different. It permits people to suffer. This is better than them being happy in wrong and undeserving ways.”
Voice 1
Lewis also believed that one day the world would be as God first planned. God would create a new heaven and a new earth - with no more death or crying or pain. And that could give great hope to people who were suffering.
Voice 2
Doctor Paul Brand was also a Christian. And he shared C S Lewis’s opinions. He suggested a way to learn how to deal with pain and suffering. Brand looked at how sports people deal with pain. He described how athletes like to push their bodies as hard as they can. They welcome the physical feeling that this brings - a feeling that is almost pain. He wrote:
Voice 5
‘If they manage to control their body, pain is not an enemy, but a friend. I believe that all of us, early in life, should develop the same attitude towards pain. It is not an enemy from outside. It is part of ourselves.”
Voice 2
What are your experiences of pain? How do you deal with it - is it an enemy or a friend? Write and tell us! Our address is radio @ English . net.
 

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 rubbing   

n. 摩擦, 研磨, 按磨

参考例句：

• This insect makes its strange noise by rubbing its back legs together. 这只昆虫摩擦它的两条后腿发出一种奇怪的声音。
• Jerry was already unhappy because he fumbled the ball,but his teammates kept rubbing it in. 本来杰瑞就很不高兴，因为他失了球，而他的队友们还一再提那件事。

4 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。

5 rare   

adj.稀罕的，罕有的，珍贵的，稀薄的，半熟的，非常的；adv.非常

参考例句：

• It is rare to see a man over 160 years old.很少见到一个人能活到160岁。
• The zoo has a lot of rare animals in it.这个动物园有许多珍奇的动物。

6 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

7 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

8 nerve   

n.神经；勇气，胆量，沉着，果断

参考例句：

• Did he have the nerve to say that?他竟有脸说这话吗？
• He never got up enough nerve to meet me.他从没有足够的胆量来见我。

9 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。

10 difficulties   

n.困难( difficulty的名词复数 )；难度；难事；麻烦

参考例句：

• I am acutely aware of the difficulties we face. 我十分清楚我们面临的困难。
• the difficulties of English syntax 英语句法的难点

11 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》

12 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

13 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

14 signal   

n.信号，暗号

参考例句：

• This is a signal failure.这是明显的失败。
• A train must not pass a signal that is at danger.火车切不可越过危险信号。

15 unpleasant   

adj.使人不愉快的，使人厌恶的，煞风景的

参考例句：

• A very unpleasant thing has happened.一件令人很不愉快的事发生了。
• The kind advices are often unpleasant to the ear.好言常常不入耳。

16 throughout   

adv.到处，自始至终；prep.遍及，贯穿

参考例句：

• These magazines are sold at bookstores throughout the country.这些杂志在全国各地书店均有发售。
• Guilin is known throughout the world for its scenery.桂林以山水著称于世。

17 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。

18 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

19 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

20 rebelled   

v.反抗政府( rebel的过去式和过去分词 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• When the nobles rebelled, the king battled them. 当贵族谋反时，国王便出兵攻打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tribes rebelled against the government. 各部落反叛政府。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 conscience   

n.良心，道德心

参考例句：

• Guilt had been eating into his conscience for some months. 几个月来内疚一直折磨着他的良心。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

22 loudspeaker   

n.扬声器，扩音器

参考例句：

• The loudspeaker's stopped working.扩音器不响了。
• There is a loudspeaker in a radio.收音机里有个喇叭。

23 permits   

许可( permit的名词复数 )； 许可证； 执照

参考例句：

• The building permits are granted by the City Building Department. 建筑许可证由城建局签发。
• This task permits (of) no delay. 这项任务不允许有任何耽搁。

24 confused   

adj.困惑的，烦恼的

参考例句：

• They asked so many questions that they confused me.他们问了许多问题，都把我弄糊涂了。
• A wise man is never confused.智者不惑。