英国新闻听力 慈善救助精神病患者

In the African state of Benin, mental illness is still often associated with witch craft and evil spirits. For over 30 years with his charity, a 65-year old mechanic has helped thousands of West Africans affected¹ by mental illness. This report from Benin on the challenges of caring for the mentally ill was compiled by Lola.

They sound like two friends meeting up after a while. We are in a small house.

We’ve had to lock him up because he disturbed people and they come to ours to complain. Sometimes, he attacks people in the street, saying they’ve taken something of his. I’m just overwhelmed by all this.

We do a unique work.

After his business went bust², he sank into depression, and that’s why he says he found God, or rather that God found him.

Mental patients here are considered to be possessed³ by the devil or victims of witch craft. That’s why we go out to explain to people that mental illness is neither of these things, the same way that your heart can fall sick, the brain can fall sick and you have to treat it.

Just getting here can be a very long road. In Benin, when someone becomes ill, their families first instinct is rarely to go straight to a hospital. 80% of people here resort to traditional healers. For the past five years, authorities have been strengthening their efforts to regulate them.

Cheap treatment, a very humane⁴ approach, and a staff only made up of former patients. Those are the keys to the success. Still, the association has attracted criticism.

At the beginning, there was not enough medical care. Yes, they had medicine, but no real psychiatrists⁵. For me, that’s a problem.

There are only around a dozen psychiatrists in the whole of Benin, a country of almost ten million people and half the size of the United Kingdom.

I always give myself up to God’s will.

Now for those of you planning a hiking holiday to Mars, you will be pleased to hear that the British mapping agency Ordnance⁶ Survey has come up with a helpful map of the terrain⁷ there. It’s the first time that OS has produced a map of another planet. But why Mars?

Ordnance Survey is involved in many cutting edge projects. And so we were approached because of our expertise⁸ in location, intelligence and data.

在非洲国家贝宁，人们经常把心理疾病和巫术幽灵联系起来。然而，一名65岁的机械师30多年来慈善帮助了数千名西非精神病患者。洛拉从贝宁发回报道，介绍了照顾精神病患者的重重困难。

听他们说话像久别重逢的老友。我们就在一个小房子里。

我们得把他锁起来，因为他总打扰别人，人家都找上门理论了。有时候他会在大街上打人，说他们拿了他的东西。我真是受够了。

我们的工作是独一无二的。

生意破产以后，他陷入了低迷，但他说就在这个时候他找到了上帝，更确切地说，是上帝找到了他。

这儿的人认为精神病患者是鬼神附体，要不就是受巫术所害。所以我们就出去向人们解释：精神病和这些都无关，就像你心脏生病、大脑生病一个道理，都得治。

到这儿就得走很长的路。在贝宁，如果有人生病的话，家人的第一反应很少有直接去医院。这里80%的人选择去看传统的治疗师。在过去的5年中，政府一直在努力管理他们。

治病花钱少，医生品德高，员工由以前的病人组成——这些就是成功地关键。然而，该机构也招来了批评。

刚开始，他们的医疗服务是不到位的。确实有药品，但没有真正的精神病医生。对于我来说，这就是个问题。

贝宁有一千万人口，国土面积是英国的一半，但整个国家只有大概十几个精神病医生。

我总是遵从上帝的旨意。

计划去火星走一遭的朋友们注意了，好消息：英国制图部门地形测量局研制出一款对你有帮助的火星地形图。这是该测量局第一次绘制出另一个星球的地图，那么为什么选火星呢？

地形测量局参与了很多尖端项目，找我们就是因为我们在地理位置、智能化和数据方面都是专家。

1 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。

2 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

3 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

4 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

5 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分

6 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。