VOA慢速英语--维吉尼亚州清真寺开始医院探视计划

AS IT IS 2016-08-22 Mosque¹ in Virginia Starts Hospital Visiting Program 维吉尼亚州清真寺开始医院探视计划

A young member of a Muslim religious center near Washington, D.C. has created a program for people who are suffering health problems. But the program does not try to heal their bodies; it aims to help their hearts.

Eliya Hammad is a Palestinian student at George Washington University. She encourages volunteers to visit people who are in the hospital who do not have friends or family members who can visit them. She created the volunteer program at the Darul Hijra mosque in Falls Church, Virginia.

Some people who come to the United States do not yet have friends or family members in their new home. Being alone in the hospital can make even small medical problems seem major. Hammad says this experience happened to her.

“I'm here in this country mostly without my family. I have, like, a stone in my kidney² and it’s a one-day surgery, but I felt the need. A lot of people, they don’t have family here.”

So in 2009, Hammad created a program to send visitors to lonely people in the hospital. More than 30 people volunteered in the first year of the patient visitor program.

Reverend Graham Bardsley is the chaplain of Virginia Hospital Center.

“Visitors from the mosque have badges⁴ that look very much like mine -- a picture, an indication of the fact that they've had a TB test, which is required annually⁵, for the protection of the patient.”

Lyali Khalf is one of the volunteers.

“I started (with) the program in January. And I visit approximately between three or four patients a day. So maybe about 12 to 15 patients a week.”

Surraya Hussain is also a volunteer.

“Minimum is once a week. But sometimes I come by myself because I have the kids, so sometimes I sneak⁶ (in at) nighttime, when it's not a visitation time. And I can talk to them.”

Imam Johri Abdul Malik is one of the leaders of the Darul Hijra Islamic Center.

“The people who come and visit patients in the hospital, many times we think they're giving something to the sick person. Really? That is between you and Allah -- that you gave a gift to a person who is sick or who had a baby and you were there.”

Hammad says it is not easy to find volunteers for the program. But she and her team say they will continue the program because it is so rewarding.

Words in This Story

mosque – n. a building that is used for Muslim religious services

kidney – n. either of two organs in your body that remove waste products from your blood and make urine

surgery – n. medical treatment in which a doctor cuts into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts

chaplain – n. a religious leader who performs religious services for a military group (such as the army) or for a prison, hospital, etc.

badge³ – n. a small object (such as a tag, pin, or metal shield) that is worn or held up by a person so that it can be easily seen, that has writing (such as a person's name) and often a picture on it, and that shows who the person is

TB – n. abbreviation⁷ for tuberculosis⁸, a serious disease that mainly affects the lungs

approximately – adj. close in value or amount but not precise

sneak – v. to move quietly and secretly in order to avoid being noticed

rewarding – adj. giving you a good feeling that you have done something valuable, important, etc.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 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。

3 badge   

n.徽章，证章，标记，标识，象征

参考例句：

• Every student should carry a school badge.每个学生都应该佩带校徽。
• The olive leaf is a badge of peace.橄榄叶是和平的象征。

4 badges   

n.徽章( badge的名词复数 )；象征；证章；[美国俚语]警察

参考例句：

• Mayors wear chains round their necks as badges of office. 市长们戴着象征职位的项链。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The badges come in twenty different colors and shapes. 这种徽章有20种不同的颜色和形状。 来自辞典例句

5 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

6 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

7 abbreviation   

n.（用词首字母组成的）缩写

参考例句：

• A.D.is the abbreviation for"advertisement".A.D.是advertisement的缩写。
• The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.堪萨斯州的邮政缩写是KS。

8 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。