VOA慢速英语2009年-Health Report - An 1859 Battle in Italy, a

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

The International Red Cross Movement grew out of a major battle in the unification of Italy. The Battle of Solferino took place one hundred fifty years ago, in June of eighteen fifty-nine. This past week, volunteers from Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world gathered in Solferino to mark the anniversary.

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About eight thousand people marched in a torch-lit event called the Fiaccolata. They followed in the footsteps of those who took injured soldiers from Solferino to the nearest village, Castiglione.

Hannigton Segarunaya, national youth president of the Ugandan Red Cross Society, says the visit made him want to work harder to help people.

HANNIGTON SEGARUNAYA: "I am going back to Uganda in Africa to make more moves for humanity¹. I know where the young people come together, we have the possibility of doing whatever it takes to make the world a better place."
　
The Battle of Solferino

In the battle, allied² French and Sardinian troops defeated the Austrian army. Around six thousand men were killed and more than thirty thousand were wounded.

Yet, says Swiss historian³ Francois Bugnion, the battle lasted only twelve hours. He says a Swiss businessman named Henri Dunant was horrified⁴ by what he saw.

FRANCOIS BUGNION: "Thousands of wounded were brought to the next town of Castiliogne where he arrived and there was practically no medical assistance. So he saw hundreds of men, thousands of men, suffering awfully⁵ from very deep wounds and left to die without any real assistance."

He says Henri Dunant quickly took action. The businessman got local women to provide food and water. He also got them to dress the wounds of soldiers without concern for their nationality.
　
Henri Dunant

Dunant later wrote a book called "A Memory of Solferino." In it, he launchedtwo ideas. One was the idea of voluntary relief societies to provide assistance to the wounded or other people. This led to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The second idea was a treaty protecting the wounded and medical personnel⁶ on the field of battle. This, explains historian Francois Bugnion, is the origin of the Geneva Conventions⁷.

Stephen Ryan is the communications officer for youth and volunteers at the International Federation⁸ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He says it is important to get young people involved in volunteer work at an early age.

STEPHEN RYAN: "Young people need to be given the opportunity to really feel like they are making a difference in the world. It gives people the opportunity to make change that they would like to see in the world."

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, with reporting from Solferino by Lisa Schlein. Archives of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

4 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

5 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

6 personnel   

n.[总称]人员，员工，人事部门

参考例句：

• The personnel are not happy to change these rules.全体工作人员对改变这些规定很不高兴。
• Personnel has lost my tax forms.人事部门把我的税收表格给弄丢了。

7 conventions   

（某一职业、政党等的人士召开的）大会( convention的名词复数 )； 协议； 习俗； （美国）全国代表大会

参考例句：

• They broke away from conventions. 他们打破了常规。
• They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. 他们不顾社会习俗，并未意识到自己在做些与众不同的事。

8 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。