2006年VOA标准英语-Group of Youths Travels Across US to Combat AID

By Suzanne Presto¹
Washington, D.C.
19 September 2006
 
watch Bus Tour report

Five young Americans spent two months traveling across the United States recently on a two-month bus journey.  But this was not a romantic cross-country trip of self-discovery. These five youths were on a mission to raise money to combat AIDS in Africa. VOA's Suzanne Presto caught up with the five during their travels in Washington and has more.

 
The school bus used for the Living Hope tour
The driver of a yellow school bus revs² its engine. A black-and-white mural painted on the bus's side shows children's faces, the phrase "Close the Gap," and a large number "three."

According to the UNAIDS organization, nearly three million people were newly infected with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa last year. Nearly three million people around the world last year died of AIDS.

Five young Americans spent two months of their summer on this renovated³ school bus.  They traveled across the country, with stops in 23 U.S. states, and speaking engagements at dozens of schools, churches and youth rallies.

The five share one mission -- educating young Americans about the AIDS crisis in Africa.

 
Nathaniel Elliot
Eighteen-year-old Nathaniel Elliot came up with the idea after he learned a sobering fact.

"Two years ago, I found out that, by the time I graduated high school, there would be more than 40 million people HIV-positive, and mostly in Africa, and, for some reason, that grabbed me (caught my attention)," said Elliot.

So, the teenager decided⁴ to see what he could do to help.

"Originally, my friend and I had always planned, just for the fun of it, to drive across the country -- just because, no reason, just fun for our senior year," Elliot explained. "But, when I found out that fact, I realized we could use it for something good, and not just our own pleasure.  And, through that, the idea of building schools came around, you know, spreading awareness⁵ is a major goal." 

 
Speaking at one of their cross-country stops
Elliot spread the word that he was looking for people to share his mission of educating young Americans, and getting them involved.  An anonymous⁶ donor⁷ gave him the bus.  And about 30 people applied⁸ for the trip. Elliot helped select four of them, ages 17-to-23.

During the coast-to-coast trek⁹, the five young men stopped in Washington to speak at a Christian¹⁰ youth rally. 

They look like average college-aged boys -- short hair, shorts or jeans.  But they stand apart from the thousands of young people in the crowd.  They are each wearing a bright orange-and-black T-shirt emblazoned with a map of Africa and the name of their mission motto: "Living Hope."

 
Chris Franklin and Derick Henderson in a quiet moment on the bus
Twenty-three-year-old Derick Henderson explains the reason for their cross-country journey.

"We're traveling to raise awareness, and to raise money to help orphans¹¹ in Africa," said Henderson.  "And the money we raise from traveling in this bus will provide schools for them to go to."

At every stop along the way, they raise funds to build schools for children affected¹² by AIDS in the southern African nation of Zambia.  And they urge young people to get involved in helping¹³ others.

Chris Franklin gets excited as he paces the floor, speaking to youths assembled for this seminar.

"We want to get our whole generation to do something," exclaimed Franklin.  "We want to get our whole generation to come together, and say, 'We care!' "

 
Donors can write messages on the roof of the bus
Franklin says the five are motivated by their shared Christian faith and a desire to help Africa, a continent they have separately visited on mission trips.

"We have two (main) goals and one small goal.  Our first goal is to raise $250,000, which is to build schools down in Zambia.  Part of the biggest thing to combat AIDS is education.  Our second goal is spreading the awareness of AIDS.  And our third goal is just to say, 'Hey, it's time that our generation starts caring,' " said Franklin.

Another member of the team is Scott Brookens, who is the group's video and Web master.  He tells the gathered crowd that he documented the trip, and posted videos on the Web site, www.Lhbustrip.com.

"I love telling stories, and the way I do that is through the medium of film," Brookens said.

 
Tommy Francovitch 
And 17-year-old Tommy Francovitch is a natural, speaking to crowds at their educational and sales booth at the Washington conference.

"Every 60 seconds, in the next minute, five people will die in Africa alone from AIDS," Francovitch told visitors to their booth.

In addition to speaking at these youth rallies and conferences, the young men sell DVDs, bracelets¹⁴ and T-shirts bearing the name of their mission -- Living Hope.  They say they are teaming up with a non-profit organization, called World Vision, and all the money they raise will go to building schools in Zambia.

 
Josh Arthur
Eighteen-year-old Josh Arthur heard the youths speak in Washington.  "I've learned a lot about the epidemic¹⁵ through them, and they bring it to a more personal level, through some of the videos they have taken and the work they're doing," Arthur said.

The Living Hope bus is an attraction in itself.  People donate money to sign the bus's roof, or to have their pictures taken alongside the bus's painted exterior¹⁶.

But no one spends more time inside this bus than the five youths.  They sleep in bunk¹⁷ beds, update their itineraries¹⁸ at their desk, and dine from the microwave and mini-fridge on board.

"It's actually very cozy¹⁹, and we look forward to staying in our beds," Henderson noted²⁰.  "So, wherever we stop, what we really need is just a place to shower, but as far as accommodations go, we got them."

The five young men managed to raise $40,000 during their travels. That was short of their goal, but they said it is enough money to build one school in Zambia.  The five are all back in school now. But they say they are determined²¹ to continue raising money and AIDS awareness. 

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 revs   

abbr.revolutions （复数）旋转，回转，转数n.发动机的旋转( rev的名词复数 )v.（使）加速( rev的第三人称单数 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The engine was doing 6000 revs. 引擎转速为6000。 来自互联网
• Shared primary objectives included the highest possible torque and fast response from low revs. 共同的主要目标包括尽可能高转矩和响应速度快的低转速。 来自互联网

3 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

10 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。

11 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 bracelets   

n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

16 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

17 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

18 itineraries   

n.旅程，行程( itinerary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Submit weekly status reports and monthly itineraries to Region Vice President. 每周递交工作报告，每月递交工作计划给总经理。 来自互联网
• Big Ticket ItemsBig Savings-Complex international itineraries can offer opportunities for significant savings. 复杂线路节省更多：复杂的国际航线其实有更多的省钱机会。 来自互联网

19 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

20 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

21 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。