环球英语 — 399：Youth Gangs in Britain

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Ruby¹ Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. 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
Sasha smiles. She looks at two pictures. The first one is of her son Ricky. He is nineteen [19]. He is a strong handsome young man. The second picture is of her daughter Saffron. The girl smiles brightly in the picture. Sasha is so proud of them. Ricky is studying at university. And Saffron is doing very well at school. Sasha is thankful. She knows that life could have been very different for them. For many years they lived in a rough area of London. Many children did not do well there. Crime rates were very high. Sasha had to fight to keep her children away from trouble.
Voice 2
In Britain, cities are facing a growing problem. Increasing numbers of young people are joining criminal groups - gangs⁴. Gangs often steal cars, sell drugs, and even hurt other people. In today’s Spotlight we examine the growing gang³ problem in Britain. We also tell of efforts to help young people. But first we tell more of Sasha’s story. We tell how she protected her children from gang activity.
Voice 1
She was only sixteen [16] when she had her first child Ricky. She did not have any job skills. But she wanted to give Ricky a good life. So she took childcare classes. And she got a job. She cared for children. Sasha’s life began to improve. But then she had her second child.
Sasha could not pay for the cost of housing⁵. She needed help. So she went to her local government office, the council⁶. The council provides low-rent houses for poor people. Sasha moved to a council estate⁷. Council estates⁸ are areas filled with low cost houses and apartments. They often contain big blocks of buildings. Hundreds of families live in these buildings. However council estates do not have a good name. Often crime rates are higher in these areas. Many young people are under pressure to join gangs.
But Sasha was determined⁹. Her children would not join a gang. She had dreams for them. She worked cleaning jobs to support them. Later, she went to university and got a degree. Every day her children saw her example and her love for them. In 2007, her son Ricky showed her how thankful he was. He entered her into a competition for being a great mother. And Sasha won! She won for being Britain’s Most Exceptional¹⁰ Working Mother. Sasha is very happy about the award. But she is even happier with the success of her children.
Voice 2
However not all children are as lucky. Experts say that children who do not feel supported at home may join gangs. Gangs cause them to feel important. And gangs provide a sense of belonging. To some children the gang becomes their family.
Voice 1
In housing estates in Scotland¹¹, children as young as ten years old join gangs. They want to copy the older children. Gangs fight with other gangs. Often they organise¹² the fights before they happen. The gangs meet. They have big sticks with them. They hit each other. As they get older, they fight with knives and guns. Gang members often get hurt or die.
Voice 2
The young people say they fight because they have nothing to do. They are bored. They also fight over issues of respect. And they fight over territory. Sometimes council estates border each other. There are many gangs on these estates. Each gang occupies a particular area, often several streets. They call these streets their territory. A gang member who walks into a different gangs’ territory may be attacked. If a gang member gets on a bus, he crosses into another gang’s territory. This is dangerous. So some gang members even have to pay for a taxi to drive them to school. Gang members can feel trapped in their territory.
The British government has tried to offer games and training at centres for young people - youth centres. But gang members often cannot get to them without crossing territories. So they do not get help. And many gang members do not finish their schooling¹³. This leaves them with few job skills.
Voice 1
But an organisation¹⁴ in Glasgow is reaching out to these young people. It is helping¹⁵ gang members leave their territories. The organisation is called The Gladiator Programme. The Gladiator Programme organizes play areas for younger children. And it organizes sports events for teenagers. It operates a very successful football programme. It transports gang members out of their territories so they can play football. They often play with enemy gang members. Some of them have even become friends. They are learning¹⁶ that people they thought were enemies can be their friends.
Voice 2
In London, Camila Batmanghelidjh started another organisation to help children. It is called Kid’s Company. She believes that children join gangs for different reasons. One reason is that they do not want to be victims. Joining a gang makes them feel strong. Camila wants children to receive more support before gangs find them. Kid’s Company aims to do this. It has a centre in one of the roughest areas of London. It provides children with emotional¹⁷, practical and educational support. Children can meet with trained counsellors to talk about their problems. They can get help with educational needs. They can have a safe place to go.
Voice 1
Kid’s Company also works¹⁸ with schools. It offers programmes in thirty-three [33] schools. It sends counsellors to the schools. The counsellors work with groups of children, parents and teachers. They try to help children with behaviour problems. These children are not interested in school, or studying. The counsellors find ways to get children interested.
Voice 2
But that is not all Kid’s Company does. It also offers a particular programme for children over the age of fourteen. Many of these teenagers left school early. Kid’s Company started the Urban Academy¹⁹. At the Urban Academy teenagers can learn skills such as reading and mathematics. They can also take business, art, and music classes. Their learning can better prepare them to return to school. Or they may even seek a job afterwards.
Voice 1
The Gladiator Programme and Kid’s Company are organisations that offer hope to young people. They reach children at an early age, to stop them from joining gangs. Along with caring parents, they help gang members find better possibilities in life. They are like a bright light, a light to guide children to a better life.
 

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 gang   

n.一伙，一帮；结伴的朋友

参考例句：

• The gang live abroad,beyond reach of the British police.这帮匪徒住在国外，英国警方鞭长莫及。
• Some gang came in and shot the place up.有股匪帮进来对这个地方开枪扫射。

4 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

5 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

6 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

7 estate   

n.所有地，地产，庄园；住宅区；财产，资产

参考例句：

• My estate lies within a mile.我的地产离那有一英里。
• The great real estate brokers do far more than this.而优秀的房地产经纪人做得可比这多得多。

8 estates   

n.（人生的）阶段( estate的名词复数 )；个人财产；不动产权；（较高的）社会地位

参考例句：

• New housing estates have mushroomed on the edge of the town. 城郊的新住宅楼发展得十分迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The two estates join at this point. 两块房地产在这儿邻接。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

11 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

12 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

13 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。