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VOA慢速英语2015 苏丹迷失男孩成为美国象棋冠军

时间:2015-02-12 22:34:01

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(单词翻译)

Sudan's 'Lost Boy' Becomes US Chess Champion 苏丹迷失男孩成为美国象棋冠军

In the middle of the 1980s, thousands of boys from Sudan escaped the country's civil war by walking. They walked for weeks, for months, for more than a year. They walked up to 1,500 kilometers across three countries.

They are the so-called1 “Lost Boys of Sudan” and they had little time for games.

But one of them did learn a game to help him ignore his hunger in a refugee2 camp. The game was chess. This boy became an expert. Soon this “Lost Boy of Sudan” found his way to the United States. And now he teaches chess to children in the New York City area.

His name is Majur Juac. And he has come a long way in miles and in experience. Today, Mr. Juac shares his chess skills with students in public and private schools, in chess camps and at other events.

“It is very important to control the center of the board …”

Mr. Juac is from the Dinka tribe3.

Life as a refugee

During Sudan’s civil war he was forced out of the country. He fled to Ethiopia with 20,000 other Lost Boys

Mr. Juac describes a dangerous trip where half of the young travelers did not survive. The boys had to kill wild animals for food. Sometimes they had no water to drink. Mr. Juac says they walked almost a thousand miles.

They made it to Ethiopia. Then, civil war broke out in that country. Majur Juac and his friends had to flee again. Many died trying to cross a river because they did not know how to swim.

“There was (were) animals while we were walking. And there was about a thousand-mile walk and sometimes there was no water. And when the kids were in Ethiopia, we have to go back and cross the river and in that river a lot, a lot actually drowned. People didn’t know how to swim.”

Majur Juac landed in Kenya and lived in a refugee camp. It was there that he taught himself to play chess. He spoke4 to the Wall Street Journal5 newspaper about playing chess there. He said the United Nations had provided6 the chess board. He said he played to avoid thinking about his constant hunger. But he grew to love the game and soon he was defeating everyone he played.

In 2004, Majur Juac arrived in the United States. He began working as a security7 guard. He continued to play chess. He told the Wall Street Journal that he went to a chess tournament in New York while visiting a friend there. He had only meant to watch the tournament. Instead, he entered it. He finished as tournament champion.

That competition led to the connections that began his life as a chess teacher.

Mr. Juac says he believes chess is more than a game. He says chess helps prepares young people for life by teaching8 them patience and math skills.

“Some kids are not interested, so it’s your job to make them like the game, to explain to them what chess is going to help them with. Like, I can tell, this game will give you patience, help with your calculations9, improve your math skills.”

A woman named Julie Cathone is a second grade teacher at Public School, or PS 153 in Queens, New York. She agrees that chess can teach a child many life skills such as planning before you make a move.

“It definitely10 helps them with math skills and it helps them thinking ahead and planning before they make a move and that’s the key to chess."

Lost Boy turned chess master turned role model

Meghan Kelley is the principal11 at PS 153. Ms. Kelley says Majur Juac is living proof12 that a person can overcome great difficulties. She says not only did he discover what he loves to do, but he is also able to make a living doing it. For this, she calls him a role model, a person who others respect and try to be like.

“What a role model. I mean when you think about just overcoming, when we think about finding13 what you love and turning that into your life’s work. The way he interacts14 with the children is amazing.” 

Mr. Juac enjoys the freedom he has in the United States as much or more than his love for chess. He also loves teaching chess to young people.

His supervisor15 Michael Propper says, as a teacher, Majur Juac has one great advantage – his unassuming and humble16 nature.

“I think he’s believable. I think that they look at him and he’s so unassuming that they feel like they can do what he’s doing and that it’s plausible17 to them that as great as he is and as humble as he is, that perhaps they can be too."

Majur Juac still has a big goal ahead of him. That goal is to become an international chess master. With his skill, patience and strength of mind, Mr. Juac’s supervisor and co-workers say they are sure he will reach his goal.

Words in This Story

chess – n. a game for two players in which each player moves 16 pieces across a board and tries to place the opponent's king in a position from which it cannot escape

career – n. a job or profession that someone does for a long time

constant – adj. happening all the time or very often over a period of time

tournament – n. a competition that involves a series of games with many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

role model – n. someone who another person respects and tries to be like

unassuming – adj. not having or showing a desire to be noticed, praised, etc.

humble – adj. not thinking of yourself as better than other people

plausible – adj. believable or realistic


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1 so-called jwvwy     
adj.所谓的,号称的
参考例句:
  • These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
  • Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。
2 refugee lCEyL     
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。
3 tribe XJ2zS     
n.部落,种族,一伙人
参考例句:
  • This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
  • Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。
4 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。
5 journal g3Ex2     
n.日志,日记;议事录;日记帐;杂志,定期刊物
参考例句:
  • He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
  • He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。
6 provided PkNzng     
conj.假如,若是;adj.预备好的,由...供给的
参考例句:
  • Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好,我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
  • I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨,我就来。
7 security iTdzh     
n.安全,安全感;防护措施;保证(金),抵押(品);债券,证券
参考例句:
  • A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
  • There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时,机场的保安措施很严密。
8 teaching ngEziT     
n.教学,执教,任教,讲授;(复数)教诲
参考例句:
  • We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
  • He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。
9 calculations 9a7cbfb33501452ad191bb1f0c3e6209     
n.计算( calculation的名词复数 );盘算;自私的打算;推断
参考例句:
  • We can exclude the possibility of total loss from our calculations. 我们可以在预测中把彻底失败的可能性排除在外。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He scored out both calculations and did them again. 他把两个计算结果都划掉,又把它们计算了一遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 definitely RuJzx0     
adv.一定地,肯定地;明确地,确切地
参考例句:
  • The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛,这个队肯定会输。
  • I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前,我一定回家。
11 principal pQdx2     
adj.主要的;n.负责人,校长,资本
参考例句:
  • When he saw the principal,he raised his hand in salutation.他看到校长时举手敬礼。
  • Their school gave a reception to their new principal.他们学校为新校长举办了一个招待会。
12 proof OSUzB     
adj.防...的,耐...的,能防护;n.校样,证据,证明;vt.检验,给...做防护措施
参考例句:
  • He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
  • The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。
13 finding 5tAzVe     
n.发现,发现物;调查的结果
参考例句:
  • The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
  • That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
14 interacts 43b3555ddf77844107d607e1c64f1dfb     
v.相互作用[影响],互相配合( interact的第三人称单数 );交流;沟通;合作
参考例句:
  • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Antigen interacts with the surface of sensitized mast cells. 抗原与致敏的肥大细胞表面互相作用。 来自辞典例句
15 supervisor RrZwv     
n.监督人,管理人,检查员,督学,主管,导师
参考例句:
  • Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说,我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
  • He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。
16 humble ddjzU     
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低
参考例句:
  • In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
  • Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
17 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的
参考例句:
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

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