2007年VOA标准英语-Sharapova Named UN Goodwill Ambassador

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
14 February 2007

The United Nations development aid agency has appointed tennis star Maria Sharapova as a goodwill¹ ambassador. From U.N. headquarters, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports Ms. Sharapova made a cash donation to help with Chernobyl recovery projects.

Maria Sharapova at the United Nations, 14 Feb 2007

Maria Sharapova has come a long way in her 19 years. Now she wants to go back to her roots.

The world's top-ranked women's tennis player signed a letter Wednesday committing herself to promoting United Nations aid programs as a celebrity² goodwill ambassador.

The teenage tennis sensation has lived in the United States for most of her life. But she was born in Soviet³ Siberia in 1987, and remains⁴ a Russian citizen. Her parents had moved to Siberia to escape the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident a year earlier, near their home in what is now Belarus. Her grandmother still lives in the Belarus town of Gomel, just across the Ukrainian border from Chernobyl.

She said one of her reasons for wanting to become a goodwill ambassador is her concern for the forgotten victims of Chernobyl.

"I was born in Siberia and I moved from Siberia when I was two years old because of Chernobyl, because both of my parents thought for my safety and the radiation that it was not right for me to live there," she said. "So that's why it means so much to me to be part of project because I was part of it as well."

Sharapova handed a check for $100,000 to U.N. Development Program official Ad Melkert. She says the money will be used to help residents in and around Chernobyl.

"This money is going to go toward computer centers in the affected⁵ areas of Chernobyl," she said. "They're going to go to sports centers, family hospitals. Places like that."

The UNDP's Melkert said Sharapova's presence will help to shine a spotlight⁶ on efforts to help the world poorest.

"We struggle with the knowledge that one billion people don't even have access to a glass of drinkable water, and two billion people do not have access to electricity, and therefore we must work with the private sector⁷, with foundations, with individuals," she said.

Like any teenager, Sharapova giggled⁸ when she was introduced to a packed news conference as the U.N.'s newest celebrity goodwill ambassador. Her first reaction was an expression of wonder at her surroundings.

"This is my first time here to this headquarters, and I just got to see all the different settings you see on TV, so it's pretty cool to sit in a chair and feel official for a little bit," she said.

As a UNDP goodwill ambassador, Sharapova joins several other celebrity envoys⁹. Others include Norway's Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, Japanese actress Misako Konno, along with three soccer stars, Ronaldo of Brazil, Zinedine Zidane of France, and Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast.

For her services, the world's highest paid female athlete will earn a salary of $1 a year.

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 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。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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。

6 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。