VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-07-07 Obama Seeks to Increase African Electricity, Trade

AS IT IS 2013-07-07 Obama Seeks to Increase African Electricity, Trade

Hi again. Welcome back to As It Is. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

President Barack Obama returned to the United States this week after visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania with his wife and two daughters. One issue that the president spoke¹ about was power.

“Access to electricity is fundamental² to opportunity in this age. It’s the light that children study by. The energy that allows an idea to be transformed into a real business. It’s the lifeline for families to meet their most basic needs. And it’s the connection that’ s needed to plug Africa into the grid³ of the global economy. You got to have power.”

During his visit, President Obama promised to give $7 billion to increase electricity production in sub-Saharan Africa. The program is being called Power Africa.

Obama said it will double the number of people in Africa who have electricity in the next five years. The program will be started in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania.

The president also spoke about increasing trade between sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. He told African and American business leaders in Tanzania that he believes Africa is the world’s next major success story. And, he said, America wants a relationship with Africa based more on trade than aid.

Many people saw President Obama’s trip as a response to China’s heavy investment⁴ in Africa. Observers⁵ say America needs to have a bigger economic role in the continent.

During the weeklong visit, the Obama family also visited Robben Island in South Africa. That is the prison where former South African president Nelson Mandela spent 18 years. He was imprisoned⁶ for fighting to end the country’s apartheid regime⁷.

Mr. Obama also joined former president George W. Bush in Dar es  bombings of the American embassy⁸ there.

Reporter Michael Shear⁹ wrote in the New York Times that the president’s critics say he missed a chance to visit countries that are creating problems.

For instance¹⁰, critics say he could have visited Kenya, whose president has been charged with crimes against humanity¹¹ by the International Criminal Court. Or, he could have gone to the Republic of Congo and talked about ending the country’s long history of violence.

Aides traveling with the president reportedly said the trip was designed to show positive opportunities in Africa.

One positive opportunity in Africa is the chance for young people to come together and make music. Mario Ritter brings you the story of some South African singers and dancers who share their knowledge with American students.

Bokamosa Youth is the name of a South African organization.  For over 10 years, about 20 Bokamosa members have spent a month at a high school and college in the United States.

The program offers more than just an exchange between two cultures. It gives young people the opportunity to talk about what is important to them, and to imagine a different kind of life for themselves.

While the Bokamosa Youth perform, many of the American students join in.

“Bokamosa has been doing that here for years, so many of us are familiar with this.”

Drew Looney is in his third year of high school at Saint¹² Andrew’s Episcopal School in the eastern state of Maryland. Singing together helps the American and South African students get to know each other.

Teachers at Saint Andrew’s say meeting the South Africans makes some American students think about living or working in another country one day. And attending an American school, even for only a few weeks, often makes members of the South African group decide to get more education.

“I wanted to go a mile from where I was.”

That was Themba. He is 19. Like other members of Bokamosa, he grew up in a town outside of Pretoria called Winterveldt.

“I can say it’s a place under construction.”

As part of Bokamosa, students also write poems and perform plays for schools and churches in Winterveldt. A lot of their creative work discusses issues in the community. For instance: teenage pregnancy¹³, finding¹⁴ a job, or women entering the corporate¹⁵ world. 

“Normally a woman doesn’t work, a man must provide. These plays, they address the issues because sometimes conflicts arise when men can say:  'No, you want to take away my pride?'”

Thapelo is 27. Bokamosa helped him with his education. Now he volunteers for the group as a drama director.

Thapelo works¹⁶ with young people like Lovely, who said she used to be very shy.

“Here I am now. I can be able to stand in front of many, many people and present myself.”

Roy Barber¹⁷ goes to Winterveldt in the summer to help Lovely and other participants create plays and develop songs. The rest of the year he teaches music and other classes at St. Andrew’s, back in Maryland.

He says making music and telling stories helps young people look at their lives and make choices -- or, put another way, to find their voices.

I’m Mario Ritter.

1 spoke   

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。

2 fundamental   

adj.基本的，主要的；基本原则，基本法则

参考例句：

• The fundamental way out for agriculture lies in mechanization.农业的根本出路在于机械化。
• Fresh air is fundamental to good health.新鲜空气对健康是不可缺少的。

3 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

4 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

5 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 regime   

n.政体，政权，制度

参考例句：

• Under the new regime in our office,no one is allowed to leave early.在新的办公制度下，谁也不能早退。
• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime.人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。

8 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

9 shear   

n.修剪，剪下的东西，羊的一岁；vt.剪掉，割，剥夺；vi.修剪，切割，剥夺，穿越

参考例句：

• Every spring they shear off the sheep's wool and sell it.每年春天他们都要剪下羊毛去卖。
• In the Hebrides they shear their sheep later than anywhere else.在赫伯里兹，剪羊毛的时间比其他任何地方都要晚。

10 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

11 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

12 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

13 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

14 finding   

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。

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

16 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。

17 barber   

n.理发员，美容师

参考例句：

• She asked the barber to crop her hair short.她叫理发师把她的头发剪短了。
• My Mum took me to the barber's.我妈带我理发去了。