【一起听英语】印第安部落的反抗

 Dima: Hi, welcome to this edition of 6 Minute English with me, Dima Kostenko

Kate: and me, Kate Colin. I am going to be your language guide over the next 6

minutes, and we're talking about a protest by an Indian tribe whose historical

land - the Niyamgiri Mountain range - is about to be used for industrial mining.

But before we look at the story, I thought it might be a good idea to go through

some of today's vocabulary.

Dima: OK, shall we do it now?

Kate: Yeah, sure. First, the adjective 'indigenous¹'. We use this word when we talk

about people or sometimes things that have always naturally lived in a place,

rather than arriving from elsewhere. Secondly², the verb 'to displace', meaning

to force people to leave the place where they normally live. And finally,

another verb: 'to worship' - that's to have deep faith in someone or something,

to be fully³ devoted⁴ to them and to treat them as divine.

Dima: That's 'to worship', 'to displace' and 'indigenous' Well, the latest protest by the

indigenous tribal⁵ people in India, known as the Kondh, was given a fresh start

last week. It was then that demonstrators in London protested outside the

headquarters of Vedanta, a company that looks set to mine around 250 square

kilometres of the Kondh land for the bauxite⁶.

Kate: Bauxite, that's another name for the world's main type of aluminium⁷ ore. And

aluminium of course is a light metal which is silver in colour and is used in

many different ways, especially for making cooking equipment and aircraft

parts. 

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Dima: In a moment we'll hear from Dr Bratindi Jenna, an activist⁸ who works with the

community. Dr Jenna says the 8,000 people who live in the mountains

completely rely on their surroundings for everything: food, water, livelihood⁹

and, importantly, faith. And here comes this week's question for you Kate.

What or who do you think many indigenous people in the world often worship?

Is it their tribal chief (because of his position)? Is it church? Or is it nature?

 

Kate: Answers

Dima: You'll hear the answer in Dr Bratindi Jenna's words - let's listen and check if

you got it right:

Clip 1 0'22"

Indigenous people across the world worship nature. They worship something which has

contributed to their existence for generations. That's their lifeline. It has river, it has food, it

has everything. Indigenous people are the owner of the land - and first of all we displace them

and we give them some job which has no meaning for them.

Kate: Dr Jenna says indigenous people across the world worship nature. Which

means I was right/wrong with my earlier guess…

Dima: And how does she explain this devotion to nature Kate?

Kate: Well she says that's because nature has given them the land they live and feed

on for many generations, from parents to children. Dr Jenna doesn't believe in

displacing people because for them, she says, things can simply lose their

meaning.

Dima: So that's what last week's protests in London were all about. But

understandably perhaps, the mining company sees the situation differently. 

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Let's listen to Vedanta's Chief Executive, M. S. Mehta. He says on the whole

India's systems balance well the economic and social development.

Kate: This is a good word to know and use: 'to balance', meaning to give several

things equal amounts of importance, time or money so that a situation is

successful. And another expression I wanted to mention is 'a final stamp of

approval', or 'a final seal of approval'. This phrase is used when it has been

officially decided¹⁰ that something should definitely happen.

Dima: That's 'to balance' and 'a final stamp of approval'. Listen out for these words -

and also try to find out which very important Indian institution has given their

final stamp of approval to Vedanta's project:

 

Clip 2 0'22"

The issue has been in debate for last three years. And all the regulatory agencies in India have

had a look at it and the Supreme¹¹ Court of India had got it re-verified and put the final stamp

of approval [in] August last year. India has a very good legal system, regulatory system both

balancing development and the social development. I think we've got to start respecting the

legal system.

Dima: Did you hear the answer? Which important Indian institution has given its final

stamp of approval to the mining project?

 …

It was the Supreme Court of India. Still campaigners are not convinced. They

say they want Vedanta to give up the mining project and to leave the area for

good. Until then, they say, they won't stop their fight.

Kate: Quite a dramatic story - and you can find out more about it by following the

links from our website, bbclearningenglish.com. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009

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Dima: But before that, can I ask you to go through some of today's key words and

phrases again Kate?

Kate: Responds. We began with the adjective indigenous, meaning people that have

always naturally lived in a place, rather than arriving from elsewhere. Then we

talked about displacing, that's when people are forced to leave the place where

they normally live, and worshiping. 'To worship' means to have deep faith in

someone or something, to be fully devoted to them and to treat them as divine.

We mentioned bauxites - that's another name for the world's main type of

aluminium ore. And aluminium of course is a light metal which is silver in

colour and is used in many different ways.

We had the verb to balance, meaning to give several things equal amounts of

importance.

And just one more phrase to remember: a final stamp of approval. This

phrase is used when it has been officially decided that something should

definitely happen.

Dima: I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. Until next week.

Both: Goodbye! 

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

7 aluminium   

n.铝 (=aluminum)

参考例句：

• Aluminium looks heavy but actually it is very light.铝看起来很重，实际上却很轻。
• If necessary, we can use aluminium instead of steel.如果必要，我们可用铝代钢。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。