VOA标准英语2010年-Thailand Slum Community Gives to Haiti

In a Valentine's Day with a difference, residents of the Klong Toey slum near Bangkok's port have come to the aid of the children of Haiti.
 
Volunteers and children from the Duang Prateep Foundation, which works with the community, on Sunday walked through narrow lanes and alleys¹ seeking donations.
 
Winnai is an amputee who made his way through alleys in his wheelchair.
 
Winnai says the world has close bonds with the people of Haiti. He says those in Bangkok slum could be seen as better off than Haitians these days. At least the poor in Bangkok can go to the temple for food assistance, but in Haiti all the places of worship were destroyed.
 
Mothers in Klong Toey, one of the poorest districts in Bangkok, spoke² of their anguish³ when they saw the destruction on the television. They gave everything they could spare - sometimes as little as a 20 baht or about 60 cents, sometimes as much as three dollars.
 
Klong Toey residents have long struggled to survive against government evictions, industrial fires and accidents and monsoon⁴ floods.
 
Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, who set up the Duang Prateep Foundation in 1978, says the community identifies with the Haitian people.
 
"Poor people here they are facing many difficulties, for example the fire happened in the community so they have lost their house," she said.  "So they understand how people feel. After seeing the pictures of the Haitians facing the problems they understand right away how painful the hardship the Haitian people are facing so they want to just give a little bit."
 
Prateep says the donations will be passed on to the Save the Children fund.
 
Haitian-born Marie Ange Sylvain-Holmgren, a filmmaker working in Bangkok, sought the foundation's assistance for her country. Sylvain-Holmgren says the poor often are not seen as being able to give, as well as receive assistance. She says the community's generosity⁵ was about more than money.
 
"The way you give it, you given in your hand and its all crumpled⁶ little notes, and it's not a click and transfer from my Visa," she said.  "It's different. They give you a smile at the same time and they give you the heart and they give you the warmth - it's this that is invaluable⁷ - the money will finish, but this will not end."
 
Thailand has contributed over $15 million in public and private aid for Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
 
And on Valentine's Day, Bangkok's poor offered an additional $3,000 to help those suffering half a world away.
 

1 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

4 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

5 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

6 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

7 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。