英语听力—环球英语 678 Education for Child Soldiers

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Marina Santee.
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 1
John lives in the country of Liberia, west Africa. He became a child soldier when he was only six years old. Rebels⁴ came to his community. They beat his father and they put his father in jail⁵. Then the rebels asked John to join them and fight. John agreed. He was afraid that his father would be killed if he refused.
Voice 2
The United Nations Children’s Fund⁶, or UNICEF, is an organization that offers health services and education to children around the world. UNICEF estimates⁷ that there are 300,000 child soldiers involved in conflicts around the world. Some children are as young as six years old. Children fight, carry messages, and cook. Some children are used as sex slaves. Today’s Spotlight is on these child soldiers. Through education, organizations like UNICEF are offering former child soldiers hope for a better life.
Voice 1
So what happened to John? The rebels took John and 175 other children. The children left their homes. Then the children trained for war. The training lasted for three months. The rebels took the children to the front lines of the war. Some of the children, like John, were so small that they pulled their heavy guns through the dirt. John told UNICEF,
Voice 3
“…The rebels gave us lots of drugs to make us feel strong and brave and to follow their orders no matter what.”
Voice 1
Today John is eighteen years old. He has been in school for seven years. He hopes to become a doctor. Rebels have asked him to fight again. But he has refused. He said,
Voice 3
“My education is too important to me.”
Voice 1
There are many organizations working around the world to try and end the use of children in war. There are many ways that these organizations try do this. First, they work directly with governments to negotiate⁸ to remove children from their armies. Then the children can begin educational programs. UNICEF is one of these organizations that tries to help. UNICEF works⁹ to protect children as they return to life away from the military. UNICEF returns children to their communities and helps them deal with their bad memories. But most of all, UNICEF provides children with three or more years of school.
Voice 2
Education is a very necessary part of the life of former child soldiers. Education offers the hope of future work. Without education, the children are not able to choose another way of life. Many children have lost their whole family to the war. They do not have any way of learning¹⁰ the skills that they need for work. This means that they often do not have any place to go. Many times they become soldiers again.
Voice 1
Mr. Jean Claude Legrand works for UNICEF as an adviser¹¹ on the protection of children in war. He told the United Nations magazine Africa Recovery¹²,
Voice 4
“The best way to support a child is to provide him with education and an opportunity for an income.”
Voice 1
The United Nations is also working to send former child soldiers to school. Mr. Olara Otunnu works for the United Nations. He represents children who are involved in military conflicts. Mr. Otunnu told Africa Recovery that requiring children to fight in a war is bad for the children and bad for the community. This is because they miss many years of school. The children grow up but they do not understand how to live in peace.
Voice 2
Children become soldiers for many reasons. Rebels force some children to join against their will. Other children join to escape poverty or to fight for family members who have been hurt in the war. For some children, joining the war is a way to survive. The army will give them one meal a day.
Voice 1
This was the situation for Djibril Karim. He joined the army in Sierra Leone when he was thirteen years old. Every person in his family was killed by the rebel³ forces. Djibril had no place to go. He looked for a safe home for many months. He finally settled in a small town that was controlled by the army. But to stay there as a refugee¹³, Djibril and the other children were required to work in the camps for the soldiers. There was no school.
Voice 2
As rebels killed more and more adult soldiers, the army needed to use the children. The army told the children that that they could fight or they could leave. The children knew that if they left the rebels would kill them.
Djibril and his friends trained for one week and then went into battle. The army officers told them to kill or be killed.
Voice 1
At first, Djibril was too frightened to fight. He did not want to kill anyone. Many of the rebels were children too. The soldiers standing¹⁴ next to Djibril were hit with bullets¹⁵. He saw their blood on his clothes. He knew he had to shoot his gun. Later, Djibril was commanded to torture¹⁶ and even kill some of the rebels. Djibril stopped caring about his life.
Voice 2
Even a small amount of education can help a child like Djibril care about his life again. In Sudan, some former child soldiers have been given enough training to become school teachers. These teachers are able to help the next generation of child soldiers. They even teach them how to feel like children again! With education, these children do not feel like they need to return to the army.
Voice 1
Jean-Claude LeGrand reports that in Sierra Leone the civil war started briefly¹⁷ again in 2000. Rebels tried to use former child soldiers in their war. The rebels were surprised when no one wanted to join them. These former soldiers were choosing a new life. And this new life is one that UNICEF and the UN hope to support for all child soldiers.
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Kathryn Hoffman. The producer was Josh Leo The voices were from the United States. All quotes have been adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users¹⁸ can hear our programs, read our scripts¹⁹, and see our word list on our website at This program is called Education for Child Soldiers.
If you have a comment or question for Spotlight you can email us. Our email address is radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!

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 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

4 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

5 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

6 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

7 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 negotiate   

v.洽谈，协商，谈判，顺利通过，成功越过

参考例句：

• I'll negotiate with their coach on the date of the match.我将与他们的教练磋商比赛的日期问题。
• I managed to negotiate successfully with the authorities.我设法同当局进行了成功的协商。

9 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。

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 recovery   

n.恢复，痊愈；追回，寻回，收复

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。

13 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

14 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。

15 bullets   

n.弹药；军火

参考例句：

• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
• The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。

16 torture   

n.折磨；v.折磨，使痛苦；使苦恼，使为难

参考例句：

• No torture would make him speak.任何严刑拷打都不能使他开口。
• Through those long years of imprisonment and torture,he remained faithful and unyielding.在那些遭受囚禁和酷刑的漫长岁月里，他始终坚贞不屈。

17 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

18 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。

19 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。