英语听力—环球英语 560 The Umuvumu Tree Project

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Robin² Basselin.
Voice 2
And I'm Steve Myersco. 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
"You killed my wife and my child. But I will not do wrong to you. I will forgive you.
Voice 4
"The only child I had was killed but I have forgiven so I will be free and I will have peace in heaven."
Voice 1
These are the words of two people involved with the Umuvumu Tree Project in Rwanda. Both people had family members that were killed during the Rwandan genocide. Starting in April of 1994, extremists from the Hutu tribe³ tried to kill all Rwandans from the Tutsi tribe. The killing⁴ lasted only one hundred [100] days. However, even in this short time, over eight hundred thousand [800,000] Rwandans were killed.
Voice 2
Today's Spotlight will be on the Umuvumu Tree Project and its work to bring peace between genocide criminals and their victims. This project's hope is that people all over Rwanda will speak words of forgiveness, like those you heard in the beginning of this program.
Voice 1
Almost twenty [20] percent of all Rwandans were killed during the genocide. Every Rwandan knew someone who had been killed. Many people lost their whole families and communities. Extreme hate and sadness became a normal part of life. And when the violence ended, the country remained divided.
Voice 2
After the genocide, the prisons became over-filled with criminals. The prisons had to hold ten times the number of people they were designed for. The legal courts were also over-filled with cases. The government struggled to bring justice for all the victims. They also struggled with how to reform the prisoners.
Voice 1
Finally the government recognized that it would take hundreds of years to hear every genocide prisoner's case through the official court system. They decided⁵ to release thousands of prisoners charged with lesser⁶ crimes. But these prisoners did not go free. Instead, their cases were heard through traditional, community based courts. In these traditional courts, trusted community leaders decided if a prisoner should be sent to prison, made to complete community service or be set free.
Voice 2
This new process helped increase the number of trials. This was good. However, the process also greatly increased the number of genocide criminals that were released. These released prisoners had already served many years in prison. Now they would have to live among their former victims.
Voice 1
The release of these prisoners was difficult for many Rwandans. How could these criminals and their victims learn to live with one another again? This is the question that the Umuvumu Tree Project hoped to answer.
Voice 2
Bishop⁷ John Rucyahana is the leader of the Umuvumu Tree Project. He helps genocide criminals and victims meet each other. He wants them to find peace together. This peace process is not just an idea John had to help other people. It is a process that he has had to go through as well.
Voice 1
When the genocide happened in Rwanda, John was out of the country. When he returned, he found that his niece had been killed. He also learned that the killers⁸ did terrible things to his niece before killing her - things like cutting off the skin of her arms and forcing her to have sex with them.
Voice 2
The events of his niece's death were horrible. John felt so angry at the killers. At first, he wanted them to suffer and be judged. However, he knew that because he was a Christian⁹ priest¹⁰, he could not go and kill them. He knew this was wrong.
Voice 1
So instead, John looked to his Christian Bible for answers. He found his answer in the story of Jesus' death. The Bible says that Jesus was hung on a wooden cross to be killed. John shares what he learned from this story,
Voice 5
"You know, when Jesus Christ was still hanging on the cross, when nails were still in his hands and feet, and he was not wearing any clothes, and he was being shouted at by extremist religious leaders standing¹¹ under the cross, he did not wait for the pain to go away. He cried to the Father, "Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." The fact that Jesus called out during his pain is a guide and a teaching for us to forgive."
Voice 2
John knew that he could not wait until his pain was gone. So, even in his pain, he forgave his niece's killers. Now, John encourages many other Rwandans to do the same thing.
Voice 1
The process is not easy. It is long and includes many steps. But this is the model of the Umuvumu Tree project. The project brings both criminals and victims together to discuss what the Christian Bible says about six important ideas.
Voice 2
First the person must accept that he or she is responsible for his or her actions. Second he must confess. He must admit that he has done wrong. Third, he must repent¹². That is, he would be truly sorry for anything bad he has done and he would stop doing them.
Voice 1
The fourth idea the groups discuss is victims forgiving the people who hurt them. Next they talk about making amends¹³ - trying to find ways for the criminals to pay back their victims. The last issue they talk about is reconciliation¹⁴. Reconciliation is the final goal of the Umuvumu Tree Project. It would mean that both the criminals and victims would learn to find peace with one another.
Voice 2
Reconciliation requires a person to change his or her thoughts and feelings. A woman called Jeannette lost seven family members in the genocide. She recently took part in the Umuvumu Tree Project. A Newsweek magazine writer talked with her in one of the project's Reconciliation Villages near Kigali. The writer asked her "What was it like to stand next to your neighbour who admitted killing women and children?" Jeannette said,
Voice 6
"In the beginning, it was very difficult, but now I forgive him."
Voice 1
Fifteen [15] years after the Rwandan genocide, the people of Rwanda are still healing from the violence. And groups like the Umuvumu Tree Project are helping¹⁵ individuals and communities move past the anger and hate of genocide.
Voice 2
John believes that reconciliation is the only hope for Rwanda's future. He told a news group called ‘Religion and Ethics¹⁶' about the process.
Voice 5
"You need to bring both parties together, give them time, cry with them, pray with them, talk with them until you bring them to the level of recognizing that we are... going to live together again... Reconciliation does not always work quickly. We have to give it time... We have to hold onto the process until the work is finished. We may even die doing it. But we have to continue doing it anyway."
 

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 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

4 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。

5 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。

6 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

7 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

8 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

9 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。

10 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

13 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

14 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

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 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。