This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
A shortwave radio might seem like ancient technology these days. But for some people, it remains their only link to the wider world.
短波收音机如今看来可能像是一种很古老的技术。但对一些人来说，短波收音机仍是他们与外界联系的唯一工具。
Ears to Our World is an organization based in the United States. It provides shortwave radios to schools and communities in some of the poorest areas of the world.
“聆听世界”（Ears to Our World）是一家总部位于美国的组织。该组织为世界上一些最贫穷地区的学校和社区提供短波收音机。
The radio is small, about the size of a book, and self-powered. Users turn a crank. Winding it for two minutes provides about forty minutes of listening time.
这种收音机体积非常小，只有一本书大小。收音机自身可以发电，用户打开发电手柄摇转2分钟，就能提供40分钟的收听时间。
Ears to Our World is supported by private donations and partners including Eton, the company that makes the Eton Grundig radios.
“聆听世界”由私人捐助的支持，其合作伙伴包括制造根德（Grundig）收音机的伊顿公司。
Thomas Witherspoon started Ears to Our World in two thousand eight.
托马斯·威瑟斯朋2008年创办了“聆听世界”组织。
THOMAS WITHERSPOON: "Our radios are going to people who have no other source of international news and information. It's hard for them to learn new languages and be connected to the bigger world.
威瑟斯朋：“我们的收音机提供给了没有渠道获取国际新闻资讯的人们。对他们而言，学习新语言并和世界保持联系非常困难。
"In fact, in a lot of these communities, the feedback we get is before they had their radio, most of their news and information came word of mouth, from other people. So this way they're getting more accurate information. And teachers use this information in the classroom to enhance a student's learning ability about the world around them."
“事实上，我们从大部分社区得到的反馈信息是，在他们得到收音机以前，他们大部分新闻资讯是通过他人之口传来的。因此通过收音机他们能得到更多确切信息。而老师们也能在课堂上利用这些信息，增强学生们对周边世界的学习能力。”
Ears to Our World works with local organizations to get the radios to where they are needed most. Mr. Witherspoon says the radios are now in eleven communities, most of them in Africa.
“聆听世界”组织与当地组织合作将收音机送到最需要的地方。威瑟斯朋先生说，这些收音机现在提供给了11个社区，这些社区大部分在非洲。
He says many of these communities are unable to get information any other way.
他说，这些社区中的大多数无法通过其他方式获得信息。
THOMAS WITHERSPOON: "We take our radios to parts of the world that lack access to the Internet, to a national power grid of any sort. We're talking about places maybe in South Sudan that are very, very remote. No one in the community or the village has power in their homes."
威瑟斯朋：“我们把收音机送到了世界上部分没有互联网和任何电力网的地区。我们提到的也许就在南苏丹非常、非常遥远的地区。这些社区或村庄的人们家里都没有电。”
Thomas Witherspoon says information is the most important tool to improve the lives of poor people.
威瑟斯朋表示，信息是改善穷人生活最重要的工具。
THOMAS WITHERSPOON: "In this economy, information is sort of the lifeline for all of us to function and get along. Especially if you're living in a place where you have no information, information is your way out of poverty."
威瑟斯朋：“在当今经济环境中，信息是我们所有人工作与生活的生命线。特别是在缺乏信息的地区，信息是人们的脱贫途径。”
The self-powered radios are also useful in emergencies. Teachers in Haiti used them to get information after last year's earthquake.
这种自供电收音机在紧急情况下也非常有用。海地的老师们在去年的地震后就使用这种收音机获取信息。
Mr. Witherspoon says Ears to Our World has sent out about one thousand two hundred radios. More than half have gone to earthquake victims, mostly in Haiti. About five hundred have gone to individual teachers and schools.
威瑟斯朋先生说，“聆听世界”组织已经发放了大约1200台收音机。一半以上的收音机提供给了海地的地震灾民，其他约500台提供给了老师和学校。
More recently, Ears to Our World worked to bring the radios to children with vision problems in Belize.
最近， “聆听世界”组织在伯利兹（中美洲国家）为存在视觉缺陷的儿童送去了收音机。
THOMAS WITHERSPOON: "Having a radio that they can control and listen to, and search around on, it just opens a world of information to them."
威瑟斯朋：“有一台他们可以操作的收音机收听、搜索周边信息，将为他们打开一个信息世界。” |