英语听力—环球英语 487 Seeing Past Appearances

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. 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
"If people knew us as we really are, without all the things we have gathered and done, would they still love us? Or would they forget us as soon as we were no longer useful? Are we good because of what we do or have, or because of who we are?"
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on the story of two very different men. One man is educated², a teacher and a writer. He is a respected Christian³ thinker⁴. The other man cannot read, write, or speak. He cannot put on his own clothes. What do these two men have in common?
Voice 1
Henri Nouwen was a respected teacher and writer in Christian thought. He held teaching⁵ positions at Yale and Harvard Universities. He wrote books on leadership, love, and forgiveness. But there was something missing⁶ from his life. He had never felt like he belonged.
Voice 2
He looked at many communities, and many places. Finally, he quit his teaching job and moved to the L’Arche community. L’Arche communities exist in many countries. A L’Arche community is several homes in a normal area. People with disabilities live together with people who assist⁷ them. It was at L’Arche where Henri Nouwen met Adam Arnett.
Voice 1
Adam Arnett was born a happy, healthy baby. Yet, around three months old, he suffered his first epileptic seizure⁸. Epilepsy is a condition that affects body control. It can cause seizures⁹, when the body shakes out of control. And in young children, it can cause serious development problems.
Voice 2
Because of a mistake in his care, Adam once received too much medicine. This reduced Adam ability to move or speak. People could not always understand what he needed. Once, Adam fell during a seizure. It was weeks before someone noticed that his teeth had been pushed up into his mouth. Adam was unable to cry for help.
Voice 1
As Adam grew his parents knew they could no longer care for him. They decided¹⁰ to place Adam at L’Arche.
Voice 2
When Henri Nouwen moved to L’Arche, the workers asked Henri to care for Adam. Henri was not sure. He thought that someone else could care for Adam better. It was a lot of work to care for Adam.
Voice 3
“Helping Adam meant the following things: wake him up. Take off his sleeping clothes and put on a bathrobe. Walk him to the bathroom. Cut the hair on his face and wash him. Choose clothes for the day, put them on him. Brush his hair. Walk him to the kitchen and make his meal. Sit next to him as he eats his food. Support his glass as he drinks. Clean his teeth. Put on his coat, gloves, and cap, and get him into his wheelchair¹¹. Then, push him to his program, where he will spend the day.”
“I had to keep asking people, “Why me? What am I doing here? Who is this man who is demanding so much of my time each day? Why should I take care of Adam and not someone whose needs are a bit less?” The answer was always: “So you can get to know Adam.” Now that was a question for me. Adam did not speak or react¹² to anything I asked him. Adam did not smile when I did something well. He did not protest¹³ when I made a mistake. I wondered if he even recognized me. How would I get to know him?”
Voice 2
But the more time Henri spent with Adam, the more he got to know him. And Henri began to change. He began to see things differently.
Voice 3
“My whole life had been shaped by words, ideas, and books. But now what became important to me was Adam and our time together. He gave himself to me, to be cleaned, clothed¹⁴, fed, and walked from place to place. Being close to Adam’s body brought me close to Adam. I was slowly getting to know him.”
“My time with Adam became my quiet hours. It became like a long prayer¹⁵ time. Adam kept showing me in his quiet way, “Just be with me. Trust that this is where you have to be... nowhere else.”
“Working in my office or talking to people, Adam came to my mind. I thought of him as the quiet centre of my life. ... Adam was becoming my teacher, taking me by the hand, walking with me in my confusion¹⁶ through the wild parts of my life.”
Voice 2
People came to visit Henri. These people knew him before he came to L’Arche. To them, he was the respected teacher and writer. They thought he was wasting his time. They thought he should be writing books. But when people finally met Adam, they began to understand.
Voice 3
“Many people who came to visit were affected¹⁷ by Adam’s beautiful, quiet presence¹⁸. Some told me that when they returned home they kept thinking of him. Their time with Adam gave them a chance to think differently about their lives, their goals, and what they wanted. Adam offered those he met a safe space to recognize and accept their own, unseen disabilities.”
"When I had the courage to look deeper, to face my emotional¹⁹ weakness, the word “handicap” started to have a whole new meaning. The fact that my handicaps²⁰ where less seen did not make them less real.”
Voice 2
Adam Arnett died in 1996. Adam was a centering force in the lives of many people. This was not something he could have done better if he had a different body. He was gifted because of the body that he had. Henri said it this way,
Voice 3
“Adam’s humanity²¹ was not reduced by his disabilities. Adam’s humanity was a full humanity, in which the fullness of love became clear to me, and to other people who grew to know him.”
 

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 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

3 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。

4 thinker   

n.思想家，思考者

参考例句：

• There lived in Greece a great thinker named Aristotle.希腊有一个名叫亚里斯多德的伟大思想家。
• He is a loose thinker.他是个思维不严密的人。

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

6 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

7 assist   

vt.协助，帮助，促进；vi.帮忙，参加

参考例句：

• He asked us to assist him in carrying through their plan.他要我们帮助他实施他们的计划。
• We'll assist at your wedding.我们将出席你们的婚礼。

8 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

9 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 wheelchair   

n.(病人等用的)轮椅

参考例句：

• He used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.他的后半生依靠轮椅生活。
• He collapsed the wheelchair and put it on the boat.他将轮椅折叠起来放在船上。

12 react   

vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用

参考例句：

• She didn't look up or react in any way.她既不抬头，也没有任何反应。
• How did he react to your suggestion?他如何对待你的建议？

13 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

14 clothed   

v.clothe的过去式和过去分词；穿…；授以adj.穿…衣服的；覆盖著…的

参考例句：

• a man clothed in black 黑衣男子
• Her partially clothed body was found in woods nearby. 在附近的小树林里发现了她半裸的尸体。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 prayer   

n.祈祷，祈求，请求，恳求；祷文，祷告者，恳求者

参考例句：

• We heard the calling of the bells to prayer.我们听见了召唤祈祷的钟声。
• Everyone in church knelt in prayer.教堂里每个人都跪着祈祷。

16 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

17 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。

18 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。

19 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。

20 handicaps   

妨碍，使不利( handicap的第三人称单数 )； 使（某人）行动和生活不正常

参考例句：

• His lack of English handicaps him. 他的英语不好对他是一件不利的事。
• In the first winter of the war these accumulated and glaring deficiencies were serious handicaps. 战争的第一个冬季，此种累积且显著的弱点，成了严重的障碍。

21 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。