环球英语 — 419：World Challenge: Your Vote Matters

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I'm Robin² Basselin. 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
"And the winner is...the Hashoo Foundation³'s Plan Bee Project... for their work to empower women in Northern Pakistan through the making and selling of sweet honey."
Voice 1
Last December, the organization Hashoo Foundation won a competition called World Challenge. World Challenge honours special small businesses. These businesses help their local communities economically, socially and environmentally. The competition is supported and managed by the BBC, Newsweek magazine and the energy and oil company Shell. The winning prize is worth 20,000 dollars. The winner can use this money to invest⁴ in and develop their business.
Voice 2
You may remember another Spotlight program on World Challenge. That program told about the competition and last year's winner - The Hashoo Foundation. Today's Spotlight program will look at three of the 2009 World Challenge finalists. We will also tell you how you can be a part of the competition by voting for your favourite business.
Voice 1
2009 is World Challenge's fifth year of competition. This year the final entries are better than ever. The judges have narrowed the hundreds of entries to twelve finalists. But this does not make it much easier to choose a favourite. All twelve small businesses are doing amazing, creative and responsible work around the world.
Voice 2
One of this year's exciting finalists is a project called Patterns of Change. Patterns of Change is the project of an organization called Afghan Hands. This organization was started by a native Afghan named Matin Maulawizada. Today, Matin is famous in the world of fashion and film. He works⁵ with many Hollywood film stars and clothes models. He is very successful. However, his success has not made him forget the people in his home country. He knows that many people there still suffer from poverty and a lack of education.
Voice 1
After years of war in Afghanistan, there are many war widows⁶ - women whose husbands have been killed in the fighting. These widows often have little education. They also have limited ways to earn money. Matin knew he wanted to help these Afghan widows. So, he began Afghan Hands.
Voice 2
Afghan Hands pays women to make beautiful clothes and bags using traditional Afghan designs and methods. Matin helps sell these products internationally. He uses the money earned to pay the women for their work. And he uses it to pay for their educations. Through this project, the women from Afghan Hands are able to earn a good living and increase their education?????. And the beautiful products of Afghanistan are being worn and used all over the world.
Voice 1
Another World Challenge finalist is a project called "No Beating Around the Bush." This is a project of an international non-governmental organization called Bushblok. Bushblok works to protect cheetahs⁸ in the South Africa country of Namibia.
Voice 2
Cheetahs are a large member of the cat family. They are known for their great speed and for the round, black marks on their body hair. Cheetahs are strong animals, but they are in danger of dying⁹ out completely. This is because people are slowly destroying their natural living environment.
Voice 1
Cheetahs live in grassland¹⁰ areas. However, too much animal farming, over hunting and fires have killed much of Namibia's grasslands¹¹. Today, these once grassy¹² areas are filled with large, sharp thornbush plants. These thornbush plants are not native to Namibia's grasslands. They are an invasive species¹³ - a not native plant that grows and spreads out of control.
Voice 2
Bushblok has created an interesting product to reduce the amount of this thornbush. They harvest the thornbush. Then they use the harvested material to make a clean burning product. This is Bushblok.
Voice 1
Bushblok can be burned like coal to cook, and heat or even power homes and buildings. But unlike coal, the Bushblok does not pollute the air. This locally made product has many advantages. It provides local jobs. It creates a cleaner kind of energy. And it also repairs the local grasslands. This is helpful both to the cheetah⁷ population and farmers wanting to grow crops.
Voice 2
Danamon Go Green is the last finalist we will look at in today's program. The Danamon Bank of Indonesia started the Danamon Foundation. This organization builds on-going, community based social programs. Danamon's World Challenge project is called Nothing Wasted. And this project is built around two of the most important social and economic industries in Indonesia - the local market and farming.
Voice 1
Danamon says that every day Indonesia's markets produce thousands of tons of food waste. They also say that 70 to 90 percent of that waste can be made into natural fertilizer¹⁴. Such fertilizer provides much needed minerals for farmland. It also improves the quality of crops.
Voice 2
So, Danamon Go Green and local governments work together on the Nothing Wasted project. Together they collect and sort waste from the local markets. And Danamon uses the waste to produce high quality fertilizer for local farmers.
Voice 1
Danamon also works with people who live and work in the local markets. They teach people how to keep living spaces cleaner and improve their health. They also teach how getting rid of waste in responsible ways helps projects like Danamon Go Green use waste to help others.
Voice 2
Afghan Hands, Bushblok and Danamon Go Green are only three of the twelve amazing World Challenge 2009 finalists. Other finalists include many different kinds of programs - energy, poverty, health and environmental. These programs are also from countries all over the world like Thailand, Israel, Haiti, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and Kenya. One of the finalists is even a project recently reported on by Spotlight Radio - the African women engineers trained at Barefoot College in India.
Voice 1
Each of these small businesses has a creative and wonderful story about how they are helping¹⁵ their local communities. Spotlight encourages you to visit the World Challenge website to learn more about each finalist.
Voice 2
You will find the stories of these companies encouraging, and you can also be part of the competition by voting. Online voting for the 2009 World Challenge begins September 28th. Visitors can vote once for their favorite finalist. And voting ends November 13th. The winner of the two thousand nine World Challenge will be announced on December fifth. For complete competition details, visit the World Challenge website.
Voice 1
By voting in this year's World Challenge competition, you could help a small business serve its local community in big ways. And you can make a positive difference just by clicking your computer mouse.
Voice 2
A leader in the Shell company, named Roxanne Decyk, explains well the importance of taking part in the competition,
Voice 4
"In today's difficult times, it is more important than ever that people feel empowered and encouraged to make a positive difference in the world, and World Challenge does just that."
 

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

4 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

5 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。

6 widows   

n.寡妇，遗孀( widow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are financiers who spoiled widows of their money. 他们是掠夺寡妇钱财的金融家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Widows were forbidden to remarry and were stoned to death if they did. 过去寡妇是不允许重新嫁人的，否则，就要被乱石砸死。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

8 cheetahs   

n.（奔跑极快的）非洲猎豹( cheetah的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Unlike lions or cheetahs, leopards are secretive, solitary cats. 花豹不像狮子或印度豹，是属于较神秘而隐居的大猫。 来自互联网
• Among this lot are cheetahs, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, spotted hyenas and elephants. 印度豹、狮子、花豹、犀牛、斑点土狼、大象等，都是此地的居民。 来自互联网

9 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

10 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

11 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

13 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

14 fertilizer   

n.肥料，化肥

参考例句：

• Fertilizer enriches the soil.肥料使土壤肥沃。
• Get some more fertilizer for the garden.给花园再多施些肥料。

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。