英语听力—环球英语 834 A Marathon Race in Gaza

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
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
The sky began to get lighter³. Children and adults gathered at the starting line. Runners jumped up and down. They stretched their legs. Energy and excitement filled the air. Film cameras recorded the events. The sun slowly climbed higher in the sky over Beit Hanoun, a city in the northeast Gaza Strip⁴.
Voice 2
At the start signal, children ran quickly forward. So did the professional runners like Nader el Masri - a Palestinian Olympic runner. The first 42 kilometer marathon race in the Gaza Strip began. Today’s Spotlight is on the first Gaza Marathon.
Voice 1
There has been conflict in the Gaza Strip since about 1948. This was the end of the Arab-Israeli War. During the time of fighting, many Palestinian people fled from the country of Israel to the Gaza Strip. The countries Egypt and Israel created borders to separate their armies. In between the borders was the Gaza Strip.
Voice 2
The Gaza Strip is very small - only 360 square kilometers. It is one of the occupied Palestinian territories, created after 1948. A Palestinian government is in charge of the area. But Israel still controls most of Gaza’s borders, its air space, and its water space. So Israel still controls who and what can go in and out of the Gaza Strip. The continuing conflict has killed many people.
Voice 1
As a result, the Palestinian refugees⁶ in the Gaza Strip experience conflict and poverty every day. They cannot get the food they need or earn money from trading goods because they do not control their own borders. Even children are affected⁷ by the fighting. Many not-for-profit organizations work to bring aid to these refugees. One of those organizations in the Gaza Strip is The United Nations Relief and Works⁸ Agency⁹ for Palestine Refugees or UNRWA.
Voice 2
Gemma Connell is an aid worker for UNRWA. She wanted to bring a feeling of normal life to the refugees - even if fighting continued around them. She had an idea. The UNRWA should organize a marathon race. The Gaza Strip is 42 kilometers long. It is the perfect distance for a marathon. The runners would begin the race at Beit Hanun. Then they would run south along the coast until they reached the finish line. The race would end in Rafah, a southern city on the border of Egypt.
Voice 1
But Connell did not want to only organize a marathon. She wanted the marathon to help the children of Gaza too. In the Gaza Strip, there are very few safe places for children to play. Every summer, the UNRWA organizes an event for the refugee⁵ children in the Gaza Strip. It is called Summer Games. For 6 weeks every summer, more than 250,000 boys and girls play, swim, and learn team games. Chris Gunness, another aid worker for UNRWA, described the goal of Summer Games.
Voice 3
"Gaza is a very intense¹⁰ and pressure filled environment. In this kind of environment, it is important to have a space where children can just be children. We want to give the children an experience of fun and normal life."
Voice 2
The children of the Gaza Strip enjoy the Summer Games. Twelve-year-old Raghda Salem and Saher  Dahab told the UNRWA,
Voice 4
“Summer Games is important to us. All children should have the right to be involved in organized sports. This is not a normal experience in our lives. But it should be.”
Voice 5
"Summer Games is the best part of my summer. Last year, I learned¹¹ to play the sport volleyball. I made new friends. I played fun team games on the sand beach by the water."
Voice 1
But the government of the Gaza Strip does not always support the Summer Games. So the UNRWA must raise money each year. Connell shared her hopes for the first Gaza Marathon.
Voice 6
"We are hoping this race will raise a million dollars. This money will go towards Summer Games 2011. We want people to get involved. They can support the event three ways. They can run if they are in Gaza. They can hold a sister event like it if they are outside of Gaza. Or they can give money to support a runner.”
Voice 2
The first Gaza Marathon was held on May 5, 2011. 50 runners met at the starting line. 9 people ran the whole marathon. Palestinian Olympic runner Nader el Masri and seven other Gazans ran the full 42 kilometres. So did Gemma Connell and one other aid worker. Connell described her experience to the Guardian¹² news organization.
Voice 6
"I ran through refugee camps. I ran past farmers and street cleaners. They all cheered. They encouraged me shouting: 'Salam Alaikum', meaning peace be on you. The many kinds of places and the welcome were wonderful. There was the extreme beauty of the Mediterranean¹³. All of this gave me the energy to keep going.”
Voice 1
The other runners completed shorter distances. Even children ran in the marathon. UNRWA reported that more than 1,200 children ran in relay¹⁴ teams. One child ran a short distance of 1 to 4 kilometers. Another child began the race where the first child finished. He ran until he finished his part of the race. Then another child began. Some children even ran up to half of the marathon!
Voice 2
It may have seemed like any other day in the Gaza Strip. Soldiers still guarded the streets with their guns. But for many Gazans it was a good day. Nadir¹⁵ al-Masri finished the marathon first. He explained his emotions to the many news organizations that were present.
Voice 7
"This is a very happy day for me because it is the first-ever marathon in Gaza. It is a day of joy.”
Voice 1
One young girl breathed heavily as she ran near the professional runners. For her, the event had even more meaning. It gave her hope for the future because it supported the Summer Games. While she was running, she told a film crew why she believed supporting the Summer Games was important.
Voice 8
“The games help us to reach our aims and achieve our dreams. Thank you all.”
 

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 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

4 strip   

n.长条，条状；连环漫画；n.脱衣舞；vt.脱衣，剥夺；挤干(牛奶)；vt.拆卸；去除(烟叶的茎)；vi.脱衣，表演脱衣舞；剥落

参考例句：

• I need one more strip of cloth to finish this decoration.我还要一根布条来完成这个装饰品。
• We had to strip the old paint from the doors.我们只好把门上的旧漆刮掉。

5 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。

6 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

7 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。

8 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。

9 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

10 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

13 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

14 relay   

n.接力赛，中继转播（设备）；vt.转述，转播

参考例句：

• They will relay your message.他们会转达你的口信。
• This metal tower is used to relay television signals to distant villages.这个金属塔是用于向遥远的村子转播电视讯号的。

15 nadir   

n.最低点，无底

参考例句：

• This failure was the nadir of her career.这次失败是她事业上的低谷。
• The demand for this product will reach its nadir within two years.对此产品的需求在两年内将达到最低点。