英语听力—环球英语 456：The Hidden Face of AIDS

　　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 3
‘If only he had apologised. I never wanted to leave him. I would have willingly spent the rest of my days with him.’
Voice 1
Umadevi is a young, beautiful woman. She is wearing a bright orange sari. Her long dark hair falls over her shoulders. Umadevi sits at a meeting with other Asian women. It is a self help group. The women are all HIV positive. They have the virus that leads to the AIDS disease³. Umadevi has had sex only with her husband. She caught the virus from him. He had visited sex workers and paid them for sex. Then, he had sex with her. Umadevi is left with more than a deadly virus. She is also left with many social problems. In her community people do not talk openly about HIV/AIDS. Many families reject daughters with HIV. Umadevi will die, possibly alone, because her husband was unfaithful. In today’s programme we discuss the problem of women like Umadevi. And we tell how there is hope and help for them.
Voice 2
Ask someone whom they think of when they hear about HIV or AIDS. Whose face do they see? They may tell you that they think of sex workers. Or they may say they connect HIV with homosexual men - men who have sexual⁵ relations with other men. Or, they may think of drug users⁶ - especially people who share injecting equipment. They make these suggestions because they know some of the ways that people catch HIV - through sex, blood - body fluids⁷. They read reports that connect particular groups of people to HIV/AIDS. However, not many people will think of young faithful⁴ wives, like Umadevi. Yet HIV is growing in this group of women. Here is another story - of a woman called Kousalya Periasamy:
Voice 1
Kousalya was young when she got married. In the early days it looked like her dreams of happiness were coming true. But her happiness ended very suddenly. She did not know then that her new husband was HIV positive. Kousalya said,
Voice 3
‘It was very horrible of him to marry me. He tested HIV positive before we married. The doctors asked him not to marry. But he did not listen.’
Voice 1
Kousalya’s husband died a few months later. So, the young woman was left without a husband. Before he died, her husband had passed the HIV infection to her. She was left to face a community that did not know about or understand HIV. To them, the virus bought shame. Kousalya did not know what to do. She went into a deep, dark depression. She thought about killing⁸ herself. But her friends persuaded her not to.
Voice 2
Slowly, after some time, Kousalya wanted to live again. She wanted to fight against opinion that blamed the woman for AIDS. She believed the best way was through education. So, she went and spoke⁹ to other women.
Voice 3
‘I talked about what happened to me. I advised all girls to ask for a blood test report before they marry. I told them, "If you do not - you could have a future like mine."’
Voice 1
Kousalya visited the HIV positive women in her hometown, Namakkai. This lies in the Tamil Nadu district in South India. Kousalya wanted the women to join in her fight against the disease. But they were afraid of being rejected. They did not want people to know that they were HIV positive.
Voice 2
Kousalya then moved to Chennai. Here, she joined the Indian Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS. With the group’s help, Kausalya began ‘The Positive Women’s Network’, or PWN+. PWN+ provides help and support to women with HIV. The team of advisors¹⁰ includes doctors and social workers. They give help and education. They work to empower women. PWN+ also gives social support. This is very important. Many of the women have experienced¹¹ pain from community and family rejection¹². A group like PWN+ means that they are not alone. Here is one woman’s experience;
Voice 1
Padmaja was happily married for two years. Then, her husband became sick. Doctors told them that he had AIDS. Padmaja and their daughter went for tests. The tests showed that they were HIV positive. Her daughter was just twelve months old. She got the virus before she was even born, inside her pregnant¹³ mother. Padmaja remembers,
Voice 4
‘Our own relations rejected us. Our brothers and sisters avoided us. They feared they would catch the disease. We became like untouchables.’
Voice 1
Padmaja’s husband could not pay for the medical costs alone. So Padmaja went to work for the PWN+. She said,
Voice 4
‘We needed the money. And now that I work here, I can get medicines and more, the information on HIV, AIDS. The support group meetings make me happy. Sharing the sadness helps with the pain.’
Voice 1
However, Padmaja’s life is still far from easy. Like many of the women, she often looks to the past and wishes it were different:
Voice 4
‘There are lots of ‘if onlys’ in my life. ‘If only my husband had not gone to a sex worker. If only he had not caught the virus. If only he had not passed it on to us. If only our daughters were not born...’
Voice 1
Padmaja voices the thoughts of many women at PWN+. The high number of women there makes one thing clear. To avoid HIV, both people in a marriage must be faithful. One faithful person is not enough. But this fact puts many married women in a very difficult situation. Cultural and social laws often deny women rights when it comes to sex. They cannot ask their husbands to use condoms for protection. So this life saving¹⁴ information may not help them. For many women, their husband’s lives are of greater value than their own. These cultural and social roots are very deep and strong. But these women possess another, very powerful force. That is the love they have for their children. The lives of future sons and daughters are at risk if wives catch HIV. A mother’s love is powerful enough to give her the strength to fight against HIV/AIDS. It is powerful enough to drive women to act - to protect their children’s future.
 

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 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。

4 faithful   

adj.守信的，忠实的，如实的，可靠的

参考例句：

• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever.他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。
• We must be honest and faithful to the people.我们对人民必须忠诚老实。

5 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

6 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

7 fluids   

n.液体，流体( fluid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is taking cold fluids. 他正在喝冷饮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can contract Aids if your bodily fluids come into contact with the bodily fluids of someone else who is infected with HIV. 如果你的体液与染有HIV者的体液接触，你就会染上艾滋病。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

11 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

12 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

13 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

14 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。