VOA慢速英语2013 计划项目帮助初为父母的人们（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2013-08-12 Program Helps First Time Parents 计划项目帮助初为父母的人们

Hello, and welcome to the Monday edition of As It Is, our daily show for people learning everyday American English.

大家好，欢迎来到星期一版块As It Is栏目，我们在每天的节目中都会给大家提供美式英语学习。

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

我是华盛顿的Christopher Cruise。

Today on the program, we talk with a Roman Catholic clergyman about a unique program that helps young people get out and stay out of criminal gangs in a large American city. 

在今天的节目里，我们会和一位罗马天主教牧师进行交谈，讨论如何在美国的大城市中帮助年轻人走出去，并且远离犯罪团伙。

“Convincing people to give us money to fund this place, that’s hard. Convincing law enforcement and others not to demonize anybody, that was hard.”

“说服别人给我们钱来资助此地，是很困难的。令人信服的强制执法和其他方式不可能驯服人们，这也是很难的。”

And we take you back 162 years to the beginning of a new way to make clothes and pay for products. What happened then changed economic history and is having an impact on us today.

我们会带您回到162年前,做衣服和购买产品会以一种新的方式开始出现。所发生的改变影响了经济和历史的发展，进而也影响到了我们的今天。

“You can have it delivered to your home for just $12 down, and you can pay the balance for as little as a dollar twenty-five a week with the Singer Budget Plan. See it -- the sewing machine for young homemakers.”

“你只要12美元就可以把它送到你家，你也可以有计划的支付余额，每周一美元，二十五周付清。感受它——缝纫机对年轻的家庭主妇（的用途）。

But first, we report on a program that teaches first time parents how to help their children be healthy and happy.

但首先，我们将采访一项计划，那就是教授给初为准父母的人，如何使得孩子健康快乐的成长。

Making Happy, Healthy Babies

让孩子健康快乐的成长

A program in the American state of Virginia is helping tens of thousands of new parents and their babies every year -- even before the children are born.

在美国弗吉尼亚州的一项计划是每年帮助成千上万初为准父母的人们和他们的孩子——（计划内容）甚至包括在孩子出世之前（的帮助）。

“Healthy Families” works with the parents during pregnancy through the first three years of the child’s life -- a time when the brain develops the most.

“健康家庭”计划囊括从怀孕期间至孩子三岁——这段期间是孩子大脑发展最重要的时期。

Julie Taboh visited the program and tells us about it.

Julie Taboh参与了这一计划并且告诉我们关于它（一些细节）。

“Good job!”

“做的非常好！”

Vijan is a happy baby. He likes to explore. He is very sociable and developmentally right on target.

Vijan是个快乐的孩子。他喜欢探索。他很善于交际并且能为正确的目标而努力。

“Good Job! Look at you standing! Awesome!”

“做的非常好！看看你做的！真棒！”

Tina Fontaine is one reason for his successful development. Ms. Fontaine is a family support worker with Healthy Families. She has been visiting Vijan and his mother, Bhawana, before he was even born.

Tina Fontaine 是计划项目成功发展的原因之一。 Fontaine 女士是来自“健康家庭”计划的工作人员。她已经在Vijan 出生之前拜访了他和他的母亲，Bhawana。

“One, Two, and Three!”

“一，二，三！”

She uses books and everyday objects to teach the first-time mother how to support her baby’s development.

她用书本和日常物品教授初为人母的Bhawana如何使得她的婴儿很好的成长。

“The purpose is to build a bond between the parent and the child and to help the child get ready for pre-school.”

“（计划的）目的是建立家长和孩子之间的纽带，帮助孩子准备良好的学前教育。”

During this visit, Ms. Fontaine urges the new mother to read to her son.

在这次拜访期间， Fontaine女士敦促准妈妈读给她儿子。

“How about mommy read the book to you? Can mommy read the book to you? Yeah? You like that idea?”

“妈妈读给你这本书怎么样？妈妈可以读这本书吗？是吗？你喜欢这个主意吗？”

Bhawana recently moved to the United States from Nepal. She enjoys Ms. Fontaine’s visits.

Bhawana最近从尼泊尔搬到美国。她喜欢Fontaine女士的来访。

“She’s like my sister. She’s come, always coming and play[s] with us, play[s] with my baby and I like, she’s like my family member.”

“她就就像是我的姐妹。她来这里，总是和我的宝贝一起玩。她就像是我家庭中的一员。”

Ms. Fontaine also helps 19-year-old Eboni Vaughn. She is five months pregnant with her first baby. Ms. Vaughn has been meeting with Ms. Fontaine every two weeks for the past several months.

Fontaine女士也帮助了19岁的Eboni Vaughn。她是一位已有五个月身孕的准妈妈，这是她的第一个宝贝。Vaughn女士在过去的时间里每两周见一次Fontaine女士。

Like Bhawana, Ms. Vaughn likes the help the program gives her.

像是（帮助）Bhawana一样的准妈妈，Vaughn女士享受项目帮助所带给她自己（的快乐）。

“Miss Fontaine’s visits mean a lot to me because I don’t have someone I can come home to and talk to daily about what’s been going on. So with Miss Fontaine coming, I can express ‘this is what I’m going through, this is how I feel.’ She won’t judge me or the situation. She just gives me the best, best advice.”

“ Fontaine小姐的来访对我有很多的意义，因为我没有家人可以每天倾诉我到底应该每天都做些什么。所以Fontaine小姐的来访，我可以去（向她）表达‘这是我经历的，这是我现在的感受。’她不会判断我（的对错）或是评判我的处境。她只是给我最好的建议”

Healthy Families is part of a national network of home visiting programs throughout the country.

“健康家庭”是此项全国性网络工程的一部分，家访计划遍布整个国家。

I’m Julie Taboh.

我是Julie Taboh。

Homeboys Help Kids Leave Gang Life

Some Los Angeles police officers have called their city the “gang capital” of the United States. They say Los Angeles is home to hundreds of active criminal gangs. 

But the city is also headquarters to a program called Homeboy Industries. It has helped thousands of young people reject a life of crime and choose a better path.

The program is so successful that other countries with crime problems are looking to Homeboy Industries for help.

Mario Ritter reports.

There are more than 450 gangs in Los Angeles. Gang members try to control neighborhoods, or blocks, in the city.

?But downtown LA, near Chinatown, is gang-neutral territory. That is where you can find Homeboy Bakery. Nineteen year old Kevin -- who only uses his first name -- is taking part in the program. He has chosen to spend his days making pastries instead of walking the gang-controlled streets of East Los Angeles.

?“Seeing my best friend die, seeing other family members dying because of this gang life, you know, that’s what opened me, opened my eyes.”

?The bakery is part of Homeboy Industries, a safe place for former gang members and prisoners to prepare themselves for a job in the real world. They take part in an 18-month-long program that includes job training, education, advice on careers and even tattoo removal.

Father Gregory Boyle, a Catholic clergyman, created Homeboy Industries. He says former gang members find they have much in common after they enter the program.

“Everybody wants to feed their kids and pay their rent honestly and nobly. Everybody just wants their mom to be proud of them and their kids not to be ashamed. So that’s your common interest.”

Father Boyle launched the program 25 years ago. At the time, he was working in a neighborhood with the highest level of gang activity in the world. He says many young people wanted to leave gang life, but it was hard to get support from the community.

“Convincing employers to hire them, that’s hard. Convincing people to give us money to fund this place, that’s hard. Convincing law enforcement and others not to demonize anybody, that was hard.”

Father Boyle says the community eventually discovered that sending gang members to prison did not stop the violence. What helped was giving former gang members education, training, and mental health care. Last year, 8,000 former gang members came to Homeboy Industries for help. Father Boyle says 70 percent of those in the program do not return to prison.

Kevin says he has no plans to return to gang life. He has moved away from his old neighborhood and is now going to college. He dreams of working in law enforcement when he graduates.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Making Clothes and History

Finally, on August 12th, 1851, the United States government approved a request from Isaac Singer for a patent. What was his invention? A sewing machine for home use.

Sewing machines were costly. But, Mr. Singer and his partner Edward Clark permitted buyers to pay for the machines on a monthly basis. This made the machines available to a wider group of people. And the I.M. Singer company was the first to permit people to return old machines for money toward the purchase of a new one. Today, stores and manufacturers still use these marketing methods.

I.M. Singer Company became the top maker of sewing machines in the world.

I’m Christopher Cruise, and that’s As It Is on The Voice of America.