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VOA标准英语2010年-New Film Opens Window to Daily Lives o

时间:2010-07-08 03:05:35

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Mark Hopkins's award winning documentary "Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders," was recently released in movie theaters. The film offers an intimate look into the daunting1 missions of doctors who volunteer for the international humanitarian2 organization "Doctors Without Borders," also called "MSF," for its French name "Medecines Sans Frontieres."

The documentary is the first ever to provide a first-hand look at how the group's medical teams respond to emergencies caused by war, infectious disease or natural disaster.  MSF is known for its daunting missions, for treating overwhelming numbers of victims with limited resources in often deplorable conditions.

MSF gave filmmaker Mark Hopkins and his crew unprecedented3 and uncensored access to its field operations in parts of Africa.

One cannot escape the sense of urgency MSF doctors face every minute in making life and death decisions. These scenes from the documentary are as real and as gritty as they come - with festering limbs, open wounds, cranial surgeries and more. The film shows the volunteer doctors around as they struggle to provide emergency care while staying composed in the face of crisis.

One of these volunteers is Dr. Tom Krueger. He went to Liberia in 2003 after the end of its two back-to-back civil wars, wars in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

"It was pretty much of a shock when I got here," said Dr. Krueger.  "I mean, if you're going to talk to some of your friends of some of the stuff you saw and you can't describe the smells, the feeling of the heat on your body and the sweat running down your back, the smell of the pus that hits your nose of unwashed bodies in a closed room, the circulation, the smell of your own panic when you're not sure what to do…"

Other doctors in the film echo Dr. Krueger's sentiments. They talk about the lack of medical resources. They describe their grueling hours in poor, makeshift facilities.  Many risk their lives as war swirls4 around them.

Dr. Chris Brasher served in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where according to MSF, more than four million people have lost their lives since 1997. He also spent some time in Liberia during the civil wars there. He describes the conditions.

"[There was] no water, no electricity, no food," he recalled.  "[It was] pretty apocalyptic5 really."

Dr. Kiara Lepora is another doctor featured in the documentary.  She has worked in various parts of Africa including the Democratic Republic of Congo, which she told VOA she considers one of the most war-ravaged countries in the world. 

"Because in a way I really was not expecting the type of problems that we face there," said Dr. Leopora.  "The situation is somehow much more unknown to the Western world and was not particularly described in the media and it was particularly touching6."

Dr. Lepora also notes that the organization faces a shortage of veteran doctors.

"There are a lot of doctors who are willing to volunteer once. But not many doctors, who are willing to repeat the experience," she added.

Dr. Lepora says she will probably return to MSF, because she says once she learned how to be effective in a crisis situation, she finds it very difficult not to act when another crisis comes up.

 


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1 daunting daunting     
adj.使人畏缩的
参考例句:
  • They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
  • Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。
2 humanitarian kcoxQ     
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者
参考例句:
  • She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业,并作了很大的贡献。
  • The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
3 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的,新奇的
参考例句:
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
4 swirls 05339556c814e770ea5e4a39869bdcc2     
n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 );卷状物;漩涡;尘旋v.旋转,打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
  • On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处,它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句
5 apocalyptic dVJzK     
adj.预示灾祸的,启示的
参考例句:
  • The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊,语言则是《启示录》式的。
  • Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。
6 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

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