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VOA慢速英语2013 People Are Crazy for Lin 林书豪的粉丝们

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AS IT IS 2013-12-26 People Are Crazy for Lin 林书豪的粉丝们

Hello again, and welcome back.  I’m Jim Tedder1 in Washington.  If you like sports, particularly basketball, you are going to like this one.  Have you heard about  Jeremy Lin?  He is an Asian-American player, and the subject of a film about his unusual career. A bit later, we will talk about a mental health issue that people used  to avoid mentioning if they or a family member suffered from it.  And we will meet some courageous2 people who are raising money to fight the disease.

The program coming out of your radio, computer speakers, or smartphone is called As It Is.  It is a way to learn and improve your American English, from the Voice of  America.

92 foreign players from 39 countries began this season in the professional U.S. basketball league.  That is more foreign players than ever before. But none is from  Asia.  At the moment, only one Asian-American plays in the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) and his name is Jeremy Lin. A new film called “Linsanity” shows  Lin's unlikely road to becoming a star last season.

Lin has always loved the game.  He led his high school basketball team to the state championship. But no college offered him an athletic3 scholarship. Lin attended  Harvard, known as one of America’s top universities .  His playing broke Ivy4 League basketball records. Still, no NBA team signed him to play for it.

As Lin struggled to prove he could play in the professional league, a group of Asian-American filmmakers began documenting his rocky start.  Teams would hire him, but  then remove him from the team. Evan Jackson Leong directed the project that watched Lin’s career struggle upward, but then downward again.

"We started this four years ago. You know, as a filmmaking team we went through the same journey that he went through.  You know, getting cut. As his downs were going  down, we were also going down…, because no one really cared about what was going on with our project."Mr. Leong kept the cameras in action during some of Lin's  darkest hours. He filmed him even after the point guard was cut twice from NBA teams. At first, the filmmakers planned to create a Web series about Lin.   They never  suspected what would happen.

The documentary5 captures the story of someone trying to break through barriers in a sport where Asian-Americans are extremely rare.  Lin remembers racial insults from  basketball players and others early in his career.   Still, he fought to stay in the game. When the New York Knicks finally gave him a chance to play in 2012, no one  expected he would lead his team to so many victories.  His performance started a worldwide campaign of fan support known as "Linsanity.”

The film tells how Lin became a big star in the media.  But sometimes even with his success, people used racially suggestive comments to insult him.

Co-producer Brian Yang  said Lin is changing wrong ideas about people who differ from themselves. He is opening the way for more minorities to take part in sports.  "NBA teams are now giving other Asian-American athletes a second look," Yang said. "I think Jeremy's story has affected6 the way coaches and recruiters...think and  that's important."In the documentary, Lin says his religious faith has guided him throughout his  career.  And that made it especially meaningful for his cousin, Allen  Lu, who also helped produce the film.

"For me, the thing that I draw a lot from the journey that we’ve been through is that, is like, where do you draw your hope? Where do you draw your strength? And for  Jeremy and myself, and a lot of us here, you know, we’re Christians7. And that’s where we draw our strength."Christopher Chen, another co-producer, was moved by the  audience reaction when Linsanity opened at the Sundance Film Festival.

"We had always thought that after Linsanity [premiered], this will hopefully impact the Asian community, the Asian-American community.  But what was most impactful to  me is when you have middle-aged8 white women and Latino women, and older black gentlemen, coming up to us, [saying] 'Thank you for telling that story.' That was very  inspirational."Now, at age 25, Jeremy Lin continues to demonstrate an example for children and young people through his charitable foundation.  On the basketball  court, he is now making millions of dollars playing for the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

Depression Often Leads to SuicideLately, thousands of Americans have taken part in “Out of the Darkness Walks.” The walkers remember loved ones they lost to suicide9.  They also hope to raise money for suicide prevention efforts and research into depression. Depression increases the risk of people taking their own lives. VOA’s Steve  Ember joins us with the rest of the story.

Steve Iselin served in the Navy for 20 years. He retired10 13 years ago, and started looking for another job. That is also when he began feeling hopeless.

“I had a great sense of dread11 every day. Agony is another word that comes to mind. I didn’t want to do anything that I would normally like to do. I had no interest  in seeing other people”…

Steve Iselin found a job. But he left after one week because he told himself he could not do the work. Everything he did seemed very difficult. Decisions were painful,  even having to choose what he would wear that day or what to eat. Mr. Iselin was suffering from depression.

Bob Gebbia heads the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He says being depressed12 is very different from being sad or having a bad day. He says that about 20  million people are found to have clinical depression in the United States every year.

Mr. Gebbia says the cause could be a combination of genetic13 influences, changes in brain chemistry or environmental reasons. He notes that some people are more likely  than others to get depressed.

“You may not have had the kinds of experiences in life that bring it out. Let’s say you lose your job, or, you know, divorce, a loss of someone.”

Steve Iselin was lucky. His wife recognized the signs of depression. She helped him get the expert care he needed. But he says that was not true of his brother’s son.  Mr. Iselin says his nephew became depressed a few years later and killed himself.

A year after his nephew’s death, Mr. Iselin visited his brother in San Francisco and heard about the Out of the Darkness Walk. The American Foundation for Suicide  Prevention organized the event. Both men took part. Steve Iselin said that was the first day his brother understood that perhaps he was not to blame for his son’s  death. Since then, Steve Iselin has volunteered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He has taken part in seven community walks.

Thank you, Steve.  By the way, we found out that the most recent walk raised $65,000 for the cause.

And that is all the time we have for this edition of As It Is.  But more Learning English programs are just seconds away.  You can also hear world news at the  beginning of each hour.  I’m Jim Tedder in Washington, and this is the Voice of America. 


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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 courageous HzSx7     
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的
参考例句:
  • We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
  • He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。
3 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
4 ivy x31ys     
n.常青藤,常春藤
参考例句:
  • Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
  • The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。
5 documentary wsxx5     
adj.文献的;n.纪录片
参考例句:
  • This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
  • I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。
6 affected TzUzg0     
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。
7 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
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。
8 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
9 suicide ssAwA     
n.自杀,自毁,自杀性行为
参考例句:
  • The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
  • The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。
10 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
11 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
12 depressed xu8zp9     
adj.沮丧的,抑郁的,不景气的,萧条的
参考例句:
  • When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
  • His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。
13 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

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