VOA标准英语2009年-Houston Socialite Champions Afghan Develop

A few years ago, people learned about a little-known chapter in the Soviet¹ Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan through a book and, later, a movie called "Charlie Wilson's War." Wilson was a maverick² Texas congressman³ who found ways of funding Afghan insurgents⁴ with prodding⁵ from his Houston socialite girlfriend, Joanne Herring.
　
Joanne Herring

Wilson was played by Tom Hanks in the movie and Herring was played by Julia Roberts. Herring is now 80 years old but she remains⁶ actively⁷ involved in projects to help Afghanistan, where U.S. forces and their Afghan partners are now fighting the Taliban. She is using her widespread influence to promote economic and social development in the war-ravaged country.

In the 2007 Universal Pictures movie "Charlie Wilson's War," Joanne Herring convinces then-Second District Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson to find funding for the Afghan resistance.

Hanks: "What do you want me to do, Joanne?"

Julia Roberts: "This is what I want you to do. I want you to save Afghanistan for the Afghans."

Herring says the main story told in the film is true, although some of the scenes were invented.

"I never went upstairs in the middle of a party and got in a hot tub with anybody. Nor do I drink triple martinis with three olives," she said.

But Herring did risk her life to enter the war zone in 1980 and she did work hard back home to promote the cause of the Afghan resistance.

Herring came to her Afghan cause by way of Pakistan. For more than a decade she served as Pakistan's Consul⁸ General in Houston, where her husband, Robert Herring, ran an energy company. It was through the Pakistanis that she learned about Soviet atrocities⁹ in Afghanistan and went there with a small crew to make a film, which she later showed to Charlie Wilson.

Now Herring is dedicating herself to a different cause in Afghanistan, this time for peaceful development.

"We are proposing a totally humanitarian¹⁰ plan where we are going to go into the villages and give them food, water, education and medical care." she said.

Herring has identified 10 non-governmental organizations doing projects on the ground in Afghanistan and her goal is to get US government funding to support and expand what they are doing. Among the organizations is Living Wells, which develops water resources, ARZU, which helps Afghan women support themselves selling rugs and a project to grow castor beans for both food and biofuel.

She says it is important these projects operate without US military involvement and avoid the high costs associated with current US aid programs.

"Most Afghans have never seen an American without a gun. If we get some government help, which we hope, we can take these plans and multiply them," Herring said. "It will cost a third of what it is already costing and we know it will work," she continued.

Herring says the non-governmental groups she works with have already proven their effectiveness and just need further funding to expand operations.

"We do not want to tell them what to do. We want them to do what they do. But we want each organization to do one thing that they do better than anybody in the world," she said.

Herring says it would be money well spent since social and economic development would compliment the security operations of the US and Afghan forces and help prevent the Taliban from turning the country into a base for terrorists again.

"Where are the leaders trained? Afghanistan. No other place, Afghanistan. Do you think the Taliban is going to quit training them?" she asked.

But even as the Obama administration sends more troops to fight the Taliban, there are critics of the war calling for a negotiated exit. Joanne Herring thinks the United States has a responsibility to stay there long enough for Afghans to develop a modern and prosperous society that they are capable of defending on their own

1 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。

2 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 prodding   

v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。
• The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 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。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

9 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。