名校励志英语演讲 57:拯救世界 拯救儿童(在线收听

   And yet, less than 33% of British children ages two to eight have a regular bedtime story read to them. You may not think much of that until you take into account that 75% of their parents DID have that bedtime story when they were that age.

  然而英国只有不到33%的2至8岁的孩子能固定地在晚上睡觉前听段故事。如果大家想想75%的家长在那个年龄的时候都能在睡前听故事,那么你们可能就会深思。
  Clearly, we do not have to ask ourselves where all of this pain, anger and violent behavior comes from. It is self-evident that children are thundering against the neglect, quaking against the indifference and crying out just to be noticed. The various child protection agencies in the US say that millions of children are victims of maltreatment in the form of neglect, in the average year. Yes, neglect. In rich homes, privileged homes, wired to the hilt with every electronic gadget. Homes where parents come home, but they're not really home, because their heads are still at the office.
  显然,我们没必要问自己所有这些痛苦、愤怒和暴力行为从何而来。显然,孩子们正在对这种忽视发出怒吼,以对抗来自长辈的漠视,他们大声疾呼只是为了引起注意。在美国,各种儿童保护机构表示,平均每年有数百万儿童成为被忽视的受害者。没错,是被忽视的受害者!富有的家庭,享有特权是家庭,完全被电子器件束缚了。父母回到了家里,可是他们的心并不在家里,他们还想着工作上的事情。
  And their kids? Well, their kids just make do with whatever emotional crumbs they get. And you don't get much from endless TV, computer games and videos.
  那孩子们呢?啊,他们只好以所能得到的破碎的爱勉强生活。在无休止的电视节目、电脑游戏和录像带上又能得到多少感情呢!
  These hard, cold numbers which for me, wrench the soul and shake the spirit, should indicate to you why I have devoted so much of my time and resources into making our new Heal the Kids initiative a colossal success.
  我觉得,这些扭曲灵魂震撼心灵的冷酷无情的数字正好可以让大家明白,我为什么要花费这么多的时间和资源来使我们新成立的拯救儿童组织一开始就能获得巨大成功。
  maltreatment
  n. 虐待
  eg. Maltreatment of old people, women and children is prohibited.
  禁止虐待老人、妇女和儿童。
  to the hilt
  最大限度地;完全地
  eg. She's up to the hilt in trouble.
  她深深地陷入麻烦之中。
  gadget
  n. 小玩意;小配件
  eg. A bottle opener is a kitchen gadget.
  开瓶器是厨用小器具。
  crumb
  n. 面包屑,碎屑;折磨
  eg. I failed my exam, and my only crumb of comfort is that I can take it again.
  我没考及格, 唯一可宽慰的是还能补考。
  wrench
  vt. 扭伤;扭曲;折磨
  eg. The plumber took out a wrench and tightened the bolt.
  管子工拿出一把扳手拧紧了螺栓。
  colossal
  adj. 巨大的;异常的,非常的
  eg. The colossal monument bestrode the harbour.
  巨大的纪念碑高耸于海港上。
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