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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-11-26 New Center in South Africa Honors Nelson Mandela

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AS IT IS 2013-11-26 New Center in South Africa Honors Nelson Mandela

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is. I’m Steve Ember.

Today on our program we travel to Africa. 

Our first stop is South Africa. We have a report on a new center set up to honor former president Nelson Mandela.

Then we turn to Zimbabwe to examine that nation’s health-care system.

[From a “Peanuts” television program]

Lucy: “Do you think I’m beautiful, Charlie Brown? You didn’t answer right away. You had to think about it, didn’t you? If you really thought I was beautiful, you would have spoken right up. I know when I’ve been insulted.”

Charlie: “Good Grief!”

And finally – Oh good grief, Charlie Brown! – we remember the   creator of the popular “Peanuts” comic strip, Charles Schulz. He was born on this date.

But first, we hear about a new center – and a movie – about South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.

Officials in that country have opened the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg. The opening took place just a few days before the first South African showing of a Hollywood movie based on Mr. Mandela’s life.

The former president is 95 years old and suffering from health problems. But officials say he has much to teach the nation, and the world.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation invited many well-known South Africans to the new exhibit of Mr. Mandela’s life. President Jacob Zuma, for example, praised the man whose struggles ended white, minority rule in the country. Mr. Mandela was the country’s first black president in 1994. 

The airy, modern new space presents many artifacts, from official documents to personal belongings1. Pictures show Mr. Mandela at different periods in his life – from a schoolboy to a young lawyer, from a longtime prisoner to president. 

Visitors may also learn a few new personal details of a man about whom so much has been written.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison. Visitors will see a copy of his extremely well organized office and read letters in his handwriting. They can look at his Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Mandela won the prize in 1993 for his part in ending  South Africa’s official system of racial separation.  

But perhaps the most interesting objects are kept underground at the center. Thousands of documents written by and about Mr. Mandela and his leadership are kept there. Researchers are working continually to save these papers and include them in the historical records.

At the opening ceremony for the center, Mr. Mandela’s grandson Mandla praised the effort. He said seeing his grandfather’s work meant a lot to him and the family.

“For me, in person, my grandfather has always been the magnet, the unifying2 factor of around us as a family. And it is one thing for me that today, we see people from all walks of life unifying, coming together in his honor, in the realization3 of his legacy4.”

President Zuma praised the man whom he looked up to when he, Mr. Zuma, was entering politics. Several pictures of Mr. Mandela also show a young Mr. Zuma. 

President Zuma said Nelson Mandela taught his nation a valuable lesson. Like many South Africans, the president called Mr. Mandela “Madiba.”

“It was Tata Madiba who led us in the important program of reconciliation5 and reaching out to one another. It is from him and his generation that we were reminded once more that what unites us far outweigh6 that which divides us; that humanity is one and that our destiny is linked.” 

Sello Hatang directs the Centre of Memory. He says he hopes the center and the movie will show Mr. Mandela as a man of complexity7. He hopes that the movie will, in his words, “at least open other windows into the life and times of Nelson Mandela.”

As It Is is coming to you from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

Concern grows over health care in Zimbabwe…         

And now to the nearby country of Zimbabwe for a look at its health care system. The Health Transitional Fund has greatly improved the health care system in Zimbabwe since 2009. The fund depends on donations from Western countries, including those of the European Union. Recently, EU officials warned that donors8 might cut back on financing if Zimbabwe does not provide more money to its health care system. Bob Doughty9 has more on the story.                                                                  

Health care in Zimbabwe was deeply affected10 at the height of the country’s economic collapse11. As recently as four years ago, some babies were born without medical attention.

Yet today, the health care system is still facing problems. They include use of old equipment, lack of needed drugs, high cost services and not enough health care workers, especially experts.

But a top government doctor notes many changes since Western countries established the Health Transitional Fund, the HTF, to improve the public health system. Dr. Kudzai Masinire says that since the HTF was created, most health centers are now offering many life-saving drugs that formerly12 were not available. He says the HTF has also been able to keep health professionals working across the country.

Earlier, a number of doctors and nurses objected to poor working conditions. They left Zimbabwe for countries like Great Britain and New Zealand in hopes of finding better jobs.

Since 2009, Western countries have provided more than 500 million dollars. But now, the question is, will the West keep paying for Zimbabwe’s health system? The current budget of 380 million dollars is not enough to keep the health care industry operating on its own. Concern about health care is growing.  I’m Bob Doughty.

[Vince Guaraldi Trio plays “Linus and Lucy” theme from “Peanuts”]

It’s As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

And now, we remember American cartoonist Charles Schulz. He was born on November 26th, 1922. He died in 2000.

Charles Schulz created the much loved comic strip “Peanuts,” which first appeared in newspapers in 1950. His gentle comic strip told the story of a boy named Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, their dog Snoopy, and friends Linus and Lucy.

[From a “Peanuts” television special]

Lucy: “Aren’t the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I can just lie here all day and watch them drift by…”

Schulz won many honors for his work, including the Reuben Award in 1955 and again in 1964. The awards came from the National Cartoonists Society. He also was named International Cartoonist of the Year in 1978

Lucy: “What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?”

Charlie: “Well…I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.”

As It Is is a production of VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember. Thanks for joining us. See you next time.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 belongings oy6zMv     
n.私人物品,私人财物
参考例句:
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
2 unifying 18f99ec3e0286dcc4f6f318a4d8aa539     
使联合( unify的现在分词 ); 使相同; 使一致; 统一
参考例句:
  • In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外,他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
  • There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题,把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。
3 realization nTwxS     
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解
参考例句:
  • We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
  • He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。
4 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
5 reconciliation DUhxh     
n.和解,和谐,一致
参考例句:
  • He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
  • Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
6 outweigh gJlxO     
vt.比...更重,...更重要
参考例句:
  • The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
  • One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。
7 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
参考例句:
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
8 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
10 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。
11 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
12 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

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