英语听力—环球英语 725 Toyohiko Kagawa: Working for the Poor

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I'm Robin² Basselin. 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
Today's Spotlight looks at the life of Toyohiko Kagawa. Kagawa was a man of faith.  But he thought that religious faith was more than just a list of rules. He believed it was about loving and serving other people. In another programme we will look at the work he did to encourage peace in Japan. But first, this programme looks at how Kagawa helped to improve the lives of Japan's poorest people.
Voice 2
2009 is a special year in Kobe, Japan. And the authorities³ there are celebrating. It is one hundred [100] years since Toyohiko Kagawa went to live in the poorest area of the city - the slums⁵. December the twenty-fourth [24th] 2009 will be the exact anniversary⁶ of this event.
Voice 1
Toyohiko Kagawa was born in 1888, in Japan. His family was very rich. But both of his parents died when he was young. So he lived with other members of his family. When he was older, they sent him away to school. There he met some Christians⁸ who talked to him about their faith. Kagawa was very interested and so he also became a Christian⁷.
Voice 2
But his family was not happy about Kagawa's new-found faith. They refused to let Kagawa be part of the family because he was a Christian. So he did not return home to his family. He went to live in the slums - the poorest area of the city.
Voice 1
The houses in the slums were very poorly built. The streets were dirty and disease⁹ was common. But Toyohiko Kagawa wanted to serve the people who lived there.
Voice 2
Life was not easy for Toyohiko Kagawa. Criminals and other people attacked him at his home. And he had little money to support himself. Sick and dying¹⁰ people came to him for help. Then he also became very sick. Toyohiko Kagawa describes how close he came to death:
Voice 3
‘My condition seemed completely hopeless. I could not breathe without a lot of effort. For a week I lay on my bed. I just prayed and waited. I thought that the time had come for me to die. The doctor told me to tell my friends so. For four hours I prayed. I waited for my last breath. Then I had a strange and mysterious experience. It was a joyful¹¹ knowledge of God being with me - A feeling that God was in me and all around me. I felt great joy. I could breathe again. The fever went away. I forgot to die. The doctor came back later that night. He was not happy. He had already written a document for my death. Now he feared that people would call him a terrible doctor.'
Voice 1
Kagawa continued his work in the slums. He decided¹² to set up a group to help poor people to join together to buy the things they needed. That way they could get lower prices. He also helped many workers in low-paid jobs. He set up a school that workers could go to at night. And, he helped to organise¹³ them into a group, a trade union. This meant they could work together to defend their rights.
Voice 2
In 1921, the workers decided to go on strike - they stopped working. They did this so that the authorities would listen to their problems. The workers wanted more rights at work. Kagawa led the workers' protest¹⁴. It was a difficult job to keep the protest peaceful. But then the police arrested Kagawa. Kagawa said,
Voice 3
‘This was the first of my many trips to the police station. They put me in prison for thirteen [13] days. But I had a good time there in prison. It was better than the slums where I had been living. It was clean and organised. I started writing my third book. I could study and pray without other people troubling me.'
Voice 1
Kagawa wrote many books. He wrote books of poems and stories. He wrote about Christianity and politics. He also wrote about the slums and how to improve them. But after working in the slums for a while, Kagawa saw that other people also needed help. Farmers living in the country were also very poor. This was partly because the farmers had to rent the land from rich landowners.
Voice 2
Kagawa created a group to help the farmers have a voice in politics. The group wanted new laws to protect the farmers. Kagawa also showed them better ways to use their land. This included growing more trees on unwanted areas of land. This let the farmers grow new crops. It was also good for the soil.
Voice 1
For many years Kagawa argued that every person should be able to vote. At that time poor people could not vote. So, the government put little effort into helping¹⁵ them. But, in 1925 the government changed the law. Poor men were given the chance to vote. Kagawa explains how this changed the government's attitude.
Voice 3
‘Suddenly everybody became concerned about the poor people in the slums. They discovered what I had said back in 1923 - that the government should re-build the slums. The government then used my suggestions. They gave enough money to rebuild the slum⁴ area in Japan's six largest cities - Tokyo, Osaka, Yokahama, Kobe, Kyoto and Nagoya. So the slums in these cities disappeared. Town authorities built large buildings containing many individual homes. The streets were rebuilt. My many years of concern in the slums - the endless nights of writing about horrible slum conditions - had been a success.'
Voice 2
The authorities in Kobe have not forgotten Kagawa's work. Toshizou Ido one of the people involved in the 2009 celebrations for Kagawa. Toshizou Ido is the governor¹⁶ of Hyogo, the area of Japan that includes Kobe. He says,
Voice 4
‘Money means everything today. The more people possess, the more people value them as a success. But Kagawa's actions were based on the opposite. They were based on people's feelings, on understanding and on working together. So, I believe that it is possible to get many valuable lessons by studying Kagawa's achievements.'
Voice 1
In another Spotlight program we will look at what Toyohiko Kagawa did next. He always believed that violence and war was wrong. So, what happened when his country entered World War Two?
 

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 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 slum   

n.贫民窟，贫民区；vi.（因好奇而）逛贫民区

参考例句：

• These children came from a slum area.这些孩子来自贫民窟区。
• What a wretched existence the people in the slum lead!这个贫民窟里的人们过着多么令人悲惨的生活啊！

5 slums   

n.贫民窟，贫民区( slum的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These slums are an epitaph to the housing policy of the 1960s. 这些贫民窟是20世纪60年代住房政策的遗迹。
• the poverty and squalor of the slums 贫民窟的贫穷和肮脏

6 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

11 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

12 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。

13 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

14 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。

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 governor   

n.统治者，地方长官(如省长，州长，总督等)

参考例句：

• The governor was an expert at fencing with reporters.这位州长是搪塞新闻记者的能手。
• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。