VOA慢速英语2010年-Development Report - How Manute Bol Us

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Manute Bol played ten years in the National Basketball Association. But he will be remembered as much for his shot-blocking in the NBA as for his charity work in Sudan. He died June nineteenth from kidney¹ failure and a rare and painful skin disorder².

He became sick while working in his homeland. He was forty-seven years old. A funeral took place last week at Washington's National Cathedral.

Manute Bol was born in southern Sudan. He stood two hundred thirty-one centimeters -- tall even for a Dinka, some of Africa's tallest people.

His father, a tribal³ chief, did not think basketball was "good work for a Dinka." But the teenager chose it over herding⁴ his family's cattle.

He did not have much luck, though, the first time he went up to dunk the ball. As he once told the Washington Post: "When I came down I hurt my teeth in the net."

In the NBA, Manute Bol averaged less than three points a game on offense⁵. But on defense⁶, he became one of the most feared shot-blockers in the league. Former player Rory Sparrow says he was not afraid of anyone -- not even Michael Jordan.

Manute Bol speaks in March 2006 at a rally⁷ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the Sudan Freedom Walk, a march from New York to Washington

RORY SPARROW: "He just laughed and said, 'What Michael Jordan? Why should I be afraid of Michael Jordan? I kill lion. He come in, I block his shot.' And sure enough, he blocked his shot. Michael made a couple of dunks. But hey, Manute stood his ground."

He finished his career as the fourteenth best shot-blocker in NBA history. He enjoyed his fame. But he never forgot his people. Years of civil war left southern Sudan in ruins. He estimated that he lost two hundred fifty members of his extended family.

He helped raise money for refugees⁸. Reports say he donated nearly all of the estimated six million dollars he made playing basketball.

Before his death, he was working with the Sudan Sunrise group to help bring the country together. His goal was to build forty-one schools.

He took his Christian⁹ faith seriously. "God guided me to America and gave me a good job. But he also gave me a heart, so I would look back," he said in Sports Illustrated¹⁰ magazine in two thousand four.

That year, Manute Bol broke his neck in a car accident. He was thrown from a taxi. After recovering, he moved to the state of Kansas, and met United States Senator¹¹ Sam Brownback.

SAM BROWNBACK: "I can’t think of a person that I know of in the world that used their celebrity¹² status for a greater good than what Manute Bol did. He used it for his people, he gave his life for his people."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Michael DeFabo. I'm Bob Doughty
 

1 kidney   

n.肾，腰子，类型

参考例句：

• Several of the patients had received kidney transplant.病人中有几位已接受了肾移植手术。
• The operation to transplant a kidney is now fairly routine.肾脏移植手术如今已相当常见。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 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。

4 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

5 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 rally   

n.集会，公路汽车赛；v.集合，恢复，振作

参考例句：

• The grand mass rally was held on the square.广场上举行了盛大的群众集会。
• The team captain vainly tried to rally his troops.队长试图振作部队的士气，但没有成功。

8 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

11 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

12 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。