环球英语 — 420：Set Free to Serve

　　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
A large man sits quietly on a chair. There are marks of suffering on his face. Much of the skin on his arms and legs is covered with tattoos³. These are pictures worked into the surface of the skin. The man will never be able to wash them off. Behind the man, on the wall, someone has painted a picture. It shows a dove – the bird of peace. It is flying through a circle of fire. But the fire does not harm the dove. It remains⁴ free to fly above the danger. The man loves this picture. For him, it tells the story of his life. He has experienced much danger. But now, with God’s help, he lives a life of peace. So who is this man? And what is his story?
Voice 2
The man’s name is Pedro Martin Nunez. His story is reported in the British newspaper ‘The Times’. The Times says that Pedro is now the leader of a church centre in Northern Mexico. He lives and works in one of the poorest areas of a city called Juarez. But Pedro was not always interested in God and religion. In fact, when he was a child, his home was very different – he lived in a prison!
Voice 1
Pedro’s mother was addicted⁵ to illegal drugs. She could not live without heroin⁶. When Pedro was only a small boy, his mother killed his father. The authorities sentenced her to eight and a half years in prison. They sent her to El Cereso. This prison was famous for all the wrong reasons. Living conditions were very bad. Prisoners could easily buy illegal drugs there. And different groups of prisoners – gangs – fought each other. But Pedro’s mother was not alone going to El Cereso. Pedro went with her. He was only two and a half years old.
Voice 2
Pedro’s mother completed her sentence. And the authorities released her and Pedro when he was ten years old. Pedro’s time at El Cereso prison had influenced his behaviour. He had received an education – he had learned how to break the law! And he soon started making trouble. Pedro was in and out of children’s prisons until the age of sixteen. And even then, he continued to do wrong. By this time, the authorities believed that children’s prisons were not punishing Pedro enough. So they decided⁷ to treat Pedro more severely⁸. Pedro explained what happened:
Voice 3
“The authorities thought that spending some time in an adult prison would frighten me and make me behave better... but it was like going back home. El Cereso was where I had grown up. My grandfather sold illegal drugs there. My mother and her brother had served prison sentences there. So, I knew a lot of people inside the prison. I asked people to paint tattoos on my skin. I took drugs. And I spent time with men who were serving very long sentences. It was a way to enter into the world of hardened criminals.”
Voice 1
Pedro soon joined one of the gangs in El Cereso. These groups of men often caused violence in the prison. And at age nineteen, Pedro killed for the first time. Pedro can never forget this day. He said:
Voice 3
“I broke seventeen building bricks on the man’s head. And I stabbed him with a knife seven times.”
Voice 2
The authorities wanted to give Pedro a long sentence for this act of violence – forty years. But, Pedro was only nineteen years old. And because of that, they reduced the sentence to fourteen years. After this, Pedro became a hero to the men in his gang. They appointed him as one of the leaders. And he continued with his life of crime inside the prison.
Voice 1
However, a tragic⁹ event caused Pedro’s life to change. By this time, Pedro depended on drugs – just like his mother. One day, he heard the news that his mother had died. She had injected too many drugs into her body at one time. This filled Pedro with great sadness. He felt that he had nothing to live for. And, he tried to kill himself several times. During the last attempt, he tried to hang himself with a blanket. Suddenly, he had a vision – like a living dream. In the vision, he saw himself bending over his mother’s coffin¹⁰ – the box containing her dead body. He saw himself circle the coffin with his arms and made a promise to his mother. He declared that he would take care of his brothers for her. All three of his brothers were also addicted to drugs.
Voice 2
About that time, something else happened. Pedro met another group of people in prison. These people followed the teachings of Jesus Christ – they were Christians¹¹. They also had a great effect on Pedro’s life. He explained:
Voice 3
“Their kindness greatly affected¹² me. They gave me clothes and food. And they prayed for me. They taught me not to use bad language and not to smoke and take drugs. It was very difficult. But they told me to keep going. God had mercy on me. It was the start of big changes.”
Voice 1
Pedro believed that it was God who made the big changes in his life. And he began to talk to other prisoners about his experiences. Many of them listened to what he had to say. And their lives changed too. And in 1999, Pedro became leader of the prison church of El Cereso!
Voice 2
In 2003, the authorities released Pedro Nunez from prison early. His good behaviour influenced their decision. Now, Pedro is a family man. He is leader of a centre for men who have spent time in prison. They too want to experience God’s help in changing their lives. Pedro helps them to do this through prayer and studying the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, Pedro does not forget where he has come from. He says:
Voice 3
“I still cannot believe the change that has come over my life.”
Voice 2
But he knows that he is in the right place to help these former prisoners. He says:
Voice 3
“I have to show these men that I am as serious about religion as I was about violence...people give me a lot of respect. Once it was for killing¹³, but now it is for changing lives.”
 

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 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

6 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

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 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 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。

10 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

11 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

12 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。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。