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VOA慢速英语2013 WHI Helps Victims of Trafficking

时间:2013-08-11 13:44:49

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WHI Helps Victims of Trafficking

Greetings to one and all, and welcome to another edition of As It Is.  I’m Jim Tedder1 in Washington.  Today we’re off to West Africa to hear about human trafficking in Sierra Leone.  Trafficking often involves selling people into slavery, using them sexually, or even removing and selling parts of their bodies. We’ll have details, and some information about a group whose aim is the help those who have had these horrible experiences. 

Then …look over there.  Isn’t that Barack Obama, the President of the United States?  Well, no, it isn’t, but it sure looks a lot like him.  We’ll hear about a man who makes money pretending to be the man!  As It Is …on your radio and your computer …from VOA.

Estimates say anywhere from 12 to 27 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking.  Humanitarian agencies say human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar a year industry.  Sierra Leone is one of the many countries where it takes place.

The organization World Hope International operates the Trafficking in Persons Recovery Center in Sierra Leone.  WHI describes the center as a place to care for victims after their bad experiences.  John Lyon is the groups’ vice2 president of programs.  He says traffickers get people involved by making false promises of jobs or a better life. 

“In Sierra Leone, what we are finding is two principle forms of trafficking – particularly in the labor3 trafficking area as well as sex trafficking.  It’s hard to put numbers around it.  Every country in the world has problems finding highly accurate numbers of what actually is the scope of this problem.”

He says before you can treat victims of human trafficking, you have to find them. Mr. Lyon tells about a case in northern Sierra Leone where one of the smaller mining companies employed young children in a mine.

“They were burrowing4 under the earth and some of the kids were actually killed in the mine.  The kids were trafficked.  They weren’t paid reasonable wages.  Our program helped identify that case and brought it to the attention of the local authorities and helped prosecute5 the case with the Ministry6 of Mines as well as with the police.”

Human trafficking also comes by the sea.  Mr. Lyon says the group has seen cases involving foreign fishing companies that take girls to their ships for sex.  He said that just outside Freetown, a foreign shipping7 group kept sailing into land near the village where his organization had been working.  Girls would go to their ships. He says the fishing company promised the girls jobs and a better life.  But they were really using the girls for sex. 

John Lyon says the fishing boat set to sea with several girls on board.  WHI reported its finding to local officials.  The officials stopped the ship and rescued the girls.

World Hope International has established 58 parent groups in the country that watch out for possible human trafficking. Mr. Lyon tells about the process.

“In Sierra Leone, the local villages are really the structure that you need to work through to really accomplish any kind of large-scale goal.  And so in these 58 villages, we’ve worked with the villagers to help educate and sensitize the villagers as to what human trafficking looks like.”

The parent groups have helped identify a number of criminal activities, not just trafficking .  Once children or adults are freed from or escape from traffickers, Lyon says, they need help healing and becoming part of their communities again.  That process includes regular meetings by WHI workers with the children and their parents.  It also includes education and physical and mental health treatment.

Mr. Lyon said the center does not limit how long a trafficking victim can stay in its treatment center.

Is that President Obama?  Or not?  

In some countries, people can be put in jail for impersonating a political leader. But in places where freedom of speech is protected, you may see people copying politicians in public or on television. Today, Kelly Jean Kelly tells us about one such impersonator here in the Washington, DC area.

Larry Graves looks a lot like President Obama and Mr. Graves spends much of his time acting8 like the first black president of the United States. He recently spoke9 at an environmental conference in Arlington, Virginia.

“I want to thank the Environmental Information Association for having me here today. Now I understand this is your 30th anniversary, so congratulations.”

As expected, some people attending the conference thought they were seeing President Obama. Mike Farrell was one of them.

“It’s really astonishing how close he actually is -- his mannerisms, the way that he speaks, actually his hair, you know the whole package.”

The crowd smiled and laughed once they understood that Larry Graves was just a President Obama look-alike. His performance includes two men who act as Secret Service agents, protecting the look-alike. Matt Baldwin has worked with Mr. Graves for five years.

“People have actually come up to me and asked 'Is that really the president?' Like really. I’ve had fun with it and I just didn’t say anything.”

Many people wanted to have their picture taken with the look-alike president, including Eric Goeller of Arizona.

“I just sent this picture of myself and Mr. Obama back home and I’ve gotten about 25 text messages.”

Environmentalist Sean Fitzgerald spoke at length with Larry Graves about the dangers of asbestos, which is known to cause cancer.

“I was thinking what would it be like if this was the real president.”

Mr. Graves is shocked that people talk to him like that, even knowing that he is not the president.

“I find it slightly incredulous that people do come up to me with such reverence10, with such respect, with such awe11.”

He says it took time to perfect the way President Obama speaks. He also uses makeup12 to help him look more like the president. This includes, darkening his eyebrows13, deepening his lip color, and adding a mole14.

Besides facial similarities, Larry Graves says he and the president have other things in common.

“We’re about the same size, body size. We’re both left-handed. We both like basketball.”

He has yet to meet the president, but hopes to one day. And he would like to face him in a game of pick-up basketball.

“I don’t think that Obama could beat me in a game of basketball.”

When he is not playing president, Larry Graves works as a substitute teacher in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His fifth grade students watched a video of his performance. At first they thought they were watching the president.

“It looked like our gym teacher but it was really hard to tell.

“It looked just like Obama. It feels like I’m getting taught by a famous gym teacher.”

The students say eventually Larry Graves’ voice gave him away.

Vince Brennan of Vermont was among the delegates at the Environmental Information Association meeting. He enjoyed having the President Obama look-alike stop by.

“It’s great to have great people like the president come down and see us.”

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

 

Goats Get a Capitol Hill Job

While members of the U.S. Congress are on vacation this month, work continues around the U.S. Capitol. Not by Congressional aides, though. A herd15 of goats was set loose in the Historic Congressional Cemetery16 to clean up a snarly17 environmental problem.

The goats came to eat. And, they didn’t lose any time, says handler Brian Knox, who owns a company called Eco-Goats.

“They will eat until midnight and get up and eat at three o’clock in the morning and have something else to eat too," said Knox.

The Historic Congressional Cemetery dates to 1807.  While it’s not officially connected to Congress, the graveyard18 is the final resting place of some 200 Congressmen and their families, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, composer John Philip Sousa and even a circus performer who was killed by a tiger when in town.

The goats are here to remove the overgrown thicket19 that blocks a view of the Anacostia River on one end of the property, says Paul Williams, president of the Association for the Preservation20 of the Historic Congressional Cemetery.   

“We brought in the goats because we have an invasive species problem in our wooded area, not in our burial area. But those vines tend to kill the big mature trees and in turn the trees tend to fall on our historic headstones," said Williams.

Williams says that goats are a more ecologically friendly alternative to removing the vines by handcutting, chemicals or heavy equipment.

Knox has 60 goats on the job.

“So the perfect place to put the goats is where you don’t have anything you want to save, because they are pretty indiscriminant. I refer to them as herbicide with legs," he said.

The animals are confined behind electric and chain link fences to keep them off the actual burial ground, which is neatly21 mowed22.  Paul Williams says while the goats aggressively consume the vegetation non-stop, they are also attracting visitors to the historic landmark23.     

“It really is bringing people. We’re treating it as an education program to bring people into this beautiful cemetery," he said.

Holly24 Howe lives nearby and raced over with sons Quinton, Hollis and Harrison to watch the goats at work.

Brian Knox expects his eco-goats to clear the nearly one hectare plot in about a week. By the time Congress gets back in town, they will be long gone and on to another job.

 

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
2 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
3 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
4 burrowing 703e0bb726fc82be49c5feac787c7ae5     
v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的现在分词 );翻寻
参考例句:
  • What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么? 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句
5 prosecute d0Mzn     
vt.告发;进行;vi.告发,起诉,作检察官
参考例句:
  • I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
  • Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据?
6 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
7 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
8 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
9 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
10 reverence BByzT     
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统,但不被传统所束缚。
11 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
12 makeup 4AXxO     
n.组织;性格;化装品
参考例句:
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
13 eyebrows a0e6fb1330e9cfecfd1c7a4d00030ed5     
眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
  • His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。
14 mole 26Nzn     
n.胎块;痣;克分子
参考例句:
  • She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
  • The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。
15 herd Pd8zb     
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起
参考例句:
  • She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
  • He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见,只是人云亦云。
16 cemetery ur9z7     
n.坟墓,墓地,坟场
参考例句:
  • He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
  • His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。
17 snarly snarly     
adj.善于嚣叫的;脾气坏的;爱谩骂的;纠缠在一起的
参考例句:
  • It was fought in East Main Street in Columbus with a large, snarly nondescript. 这一架是在哥伦布东大街打的,对手是个大膘肥,呲牙咧嘴,是个不伦不类的杂种。 来自辞典例句
18 graveyard 9rFztV     
n.坟场
参考例句:
  • All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
  • Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。
19 thicket So0wm     
n.灌木丛,树林
参考例句:
  • A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
  • We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。
20 preservation glnzYU     
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持
参考例句:
  • The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
  • The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。
21 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
22 mowed 19a6e054ba8c2bc553dcc339ac433294     
v.刈,割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草,然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句
23 landmark j2DxG     
n.陆标,划时代的事,地界标
参考例句:
  • The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
  • The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
24 holly hrdzTt     
n.[植]冬青属灌木
参考例句:
  • I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
  • People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

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