英语听力—环球英语 964 Cola Life

 　　Voice 1

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Adam Navis.

　　Voice 2

　　And I’m Rena Dam. 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

　　In rural² Zambia, in Southern Africa, there are not very many people. It is far from the big city, and there is plenty of space. Imagine you enter a small town here. You see only a few buildings. You see a health clinic - a place for medical treatment. In the clinic there are places to keep and sell medicine. But this clinic is empty; there is no medicine here. Next to the clinic is a small store. This store is not empty. It is full of crates⁴, or square boxes. And the crates are full of the sweet soda⁵ drink, Coca-cola.

　　Voice 2

　　People can buy Coca-cola in most places in the world, even rural Zambia. The Coca-cola company has a huge system of vehicles and people that transport the Coca-cola. This system works⁶ very well. But some people wonder if this transportation system can do something more. Can it bring healthy products, like medicine, to areas far away from cities and roads? Today’s Spotlight is on a new project that is trying to do just that. It is called Colalife.

　　Voice 1

　　The Coca-cola company began making Coca-cola in 1886. This soda drink is now one of the world’s most popular products. People everywhere recognize the red sign with white letters. People around the world drink  1,500,000,000 servings of Coca-cola every day. Today, Coca-cola is the largest drink company in the world. People drink Coca-cola even in the smallest villages!

　　Voice 2

　　How does Coca-cola reach these far off places? They have a main office in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. But almost every country has its own factories. They make Coca-cola there and put it into bottles. In most places, small businesses buy Coca-cola from this local factory. They buy the soda in glass bottles. Red crates hold the bottles safely for transport. The small business owns the crates. They can use them again and again to transport new bottles of Coca-cola.

　　Voice 1

　　In busy cities, people transport Coca-cola in trucks. But in rural places, people use different vehicles. People carry crates of Coca-cola on the back of two wheeled bicycles.  Cars and motorcycles transport Coca-cola. Sometimes people even use wheeled carts pulled by horses or donkeys⁷.

　　Voice 2

　　People everywhere want to drink Coca-cola. And local business people can make money by selling Coca-cola. So they find a way to bring Coca-cola to the town. This is why the stores in rural Zambia have Coca-cola even when they do not have medicine or health supplies.

　　Voice 1

　　But the need for health supplies in these areas is great. Many people - especially children - suffer from the common sickness diarrhea. This sickness spreads very quickly. It is common in areas that do not have clean water. Diarrhea can make children very weak and sick. But it has a very simple cure. However, many rural families do not have a way to get health supplies. So children in rural areas often die from diarrhea.

　　Voice 2

　　Harriet Phiri is the mother of four children. They live in a country area near Lusaka, Zambia. She believes her children’s health problems are caused by the lack of clean water. The bacteria carried in the water makes her children sick. She tells the Inter⁸ Press Service News Agency⁹:

　　Voice 3

　　"We do not have clean water except from a shared source, which is far from my home. And it is difficult to fight diseases¹¹ carried in the water. Every year, we have the problem of floods. Almost every three months, we have a case of diarrhea.”

　　Voice 1

　　Many of the families in Zambia have similar problems with disease¹⁰. Simon Berry¹² was an aid worker in Zambia for many years. He saw the terrible effects of diarrhea on children. He tells the Guardian¹³ newspaper:

　　Voice 4

　　“An unbelievable one in every five children there died before the age of five. It seemed insane¹⁴ that you could get this fizzy drink but you could not buy health supplies to stop children dying¹⁵ of diarrhea.”

　　Voice 2

　　But then Simon had an idea. He wanted to use the Coca-cola system to help transport health supplies. He went to the Coca-cola company with his idea. And they agreed to help! So, in 2011 Simon and his team began a new organization. It is called Colalife. Colalife is doing testing to see if Simon’s idea can be successful. Simon Berry wrote in the Guardian newspaper:

　　Voice 4

　　“Why can we not put simple medicines or supplies into Coca-Cola crates? So where ever you can get a cola, you can get health supplies to prevent and treat diarrhoea and malaria¹⁶.”

　　Voice 1

　　Colalife designed a small box called the Aidpod. The box is shaped to fit into the crate³, between the bottles of Coca-cola. Up to ten Aidpods can fit into each crate. The Aidpod box can carry medicine or health supplies. It is made of natural materials.  It can keep out insects and water. This way, the medicine travels safely with the Coca-cola. People like Harriet Phiri can get treatment for their children.

　　Voice 2

　　The aim of Colalife is to put local people in control. Colalife will help each town or area decide what health supplies they need most. Then they will plan to transport these things in the Aidpods. But before this can happen, Colalife must finish their test of the system.

　　Voice 1

　　Colalife is beginning the test in Zambia with very simple, but needed, health supplies. Each Aidpod will contain vitamins and salts for treating diarrhoea. The salts make people with diarrhoea strong enough to be able to drink and eat again. People simply add them to clean water.

　　Voice 2

　　The salts in the Aidpod also come with medical information. The information tells people how to avoid becoming sick. It also teaches people what to do if they do get sick. The Aidpods will also contain soap for washing hands. Washing hands is one of the best ways to prevent disease.

　　Voice 1

　　Colalife is a new project. There are many questions that the Colalife organization needs to answer about how the whole system will work. But if it works, there will be more treatments for diarrhoea for children in rural Zambia. There will be hope coming from a place people do not expect.  And people in far off towns may be able to get health supplies as easily as they get Coca-cola!

　　Voice 2

　　The writer and producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Cola Life’.

　　Voice 1

　　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 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

3 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

4 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

5 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

6 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。

7 donkeys   

n.驴( donkey的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Donkeys are related to horses, and both are part of the equine family. 驴是马的近亲，两者都是马科家庭的一员。 来自辞典例句

8 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

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 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。

11 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

12 berry   

n.浆果(如草莓等)

参考例句：

• This kind of jam is made of berry.这种果酱是由浆果做的。
• Every berry and cherry carried in the ferry is very merry.渡船里载运的每一颗草莓和樱桃都很快乐。

13 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。

14 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

15 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。

16 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。