偶像励志英语演讲16:教育的民主化:哥伦比亚女歌手夏奇拉在牛津大学的演讲(3)(在线收听

   They need us to cure a child with Leukemia or AIDS with a simple pill or with a breakthrough vaccine. We need to live in a world in which together we can find a solution to global warming so we don't have to worry every time a single storm begins to form on the horizon. We need to find new ways to distribute food so no child goes to bed hungry.

  他们需要我们用一粒简单的药片或一种突破性的疫苗来治好孩子的白血病或艾滋病。我们需要生活在这样一个世界里,我们可以共同寻找全球变暖的解决方案,这样我们就不用担心随时可能有风暴发生。我们需要找到新的方法来分配食物,让孩子们不会饿着肚子睡着。
  And I know that education is our ticket.
  我知道教育就是我们的方法。
  How do I know? Because I've seen it.
  我是如何知道的呢?因为我亲眼所见。
  I was born and raised in Colombia, a country marked by civil war, civil conflict, social strife and inequality. Growing up in the developing world, where education is perceived as a luxury and not as a right, like it should be; where children beg for an education and parents are desperate to provide it; where if one is born poor, one is destined to die poor.
  我出生并成长于一个充满内部冲突、社会矛盾和不平等的国家。在这样的发展中世界,接受教育是一种奢侈品而不是一种权利;孩子们乞求接受教育,父母们渴望为孩子提供受教育的机会;如果一个人生来贫穷,那他注定要贫穷着死去。
  But the good news, is that there is an exit strategy to break the cycle of poverty in which millions are trapped because of lack of access to education. From the moment I turned 18, I decided to establish my own foundation in Colombia. And since then we have been working on providing high quality education, nutrition for children and occupational training for their parents. We have been building schools that also work as community centers for families that have been displaced by violence and who have lost everything they had.
  但好消息是,有一种方法可以打破这种数百万人因为贫穷而缺少教育继而不得不继续贫穷的恶性循环。在我刚满18岁的时候,我决定在哥伦比亚建立我自己的基金会。从那时起,我们一直致力于为孩子们提供高质量的教育和有营养的食物,并为他们的父母提供职业培训。我们建造学校,同时这些学校也作为社区中心收容那些因为暴力事件而流离失所的家庭和一无所有的人们。
  重点讲解:
  1. on the horizon
  已露端倪的;即将发生的;
  eg. Suddenly, with war on the horizon, the army seemed in danger of disintegration...
  随着战争即将爆发,军队似乎突然面临分崩离析的危险。
  eg. There are glimmers of hope on the horizon.
  就快看见希望的曙光了。
  2. perceive...as...
  看作;视为;认为;
  eg. Stress is widely perceived as contributing to coronary heart disease.
  压力被广泛认为是导致冠心病的一个因素。
  eg. They strangely perceive television as entertainment.
  奇怪的是,他们居然将电视看作娱乐。
  3. be desperate to do sth.
  极需要的;渴望做某事;
  eg. They were desperate to keep the marriage hush-hush.
  他们很想秘密结婚。
  eg. He is desperate to pursue his vocation as an artist.
  他不顾一切地从事艺术的职业。
  4. be destined to do sth.
  (命中)注定的;一定的;
  eg. He feels that he was destined to become a musician.
  他觉得自己注定会成为一名音乐家。
  eg. Everyone knew that Muriel was destined for great things.
  所有人都知道缪里尔命中注定要成就一番伟业。
  5. work on
  从事于;致力于;
  eg. This is something I'll continue to work on.
  这是我将要一直做下去的事情。
  eg. She is working on a new dictionary.
  她一直在忙着编写一本新词典。
  名人简介:
  音乐人生
  夏奇拉仿佛是为音乐而生的精灵。她8岁就开始创作歌曲,10岁开始在各种音乐大赛中获奖,由于她的声线过于出众甚至被开除出讲求和谐的学校合唱队。1990年,13岁的夏奇拉被SONY旗下的新力音乐相中签约。翌年推出首张个人专辑《奇迹》,将自己8到13岁之间创作的作品集结而成,与此后陆续发行的两专辑,共创下800万张的总销量。1998年夏奇拉在拉丁葛莱美奖中摘得“最佳流行女歌手”和“最佳摇滚女歌手”大奖,两年后又在葛莱美奖抱走“最佳拉丁专辑”大奖。2001年11月,夏奇拉推出首张英语专辑《爱情洗礼》,并包揽词曲创作和制作。发行首周就冲至Billboard榜第3名,随后获得10个国家的金唱片认证,共创下逾1300万张的销售。
  夏奇拉当今拉丁音乐最有影响力的歌手地位就此奠定。2002年首届拉丁MTV音乐录影带大奖颁奖,她一口气拿下“年度最佳艺人”等五项大奖。去年6月推出拉丁专辑《媚惑约定》,更创下美国排行史上拉丁专辑最佳单周销售纪录。为表彰夏奇拉的成就,家乡巴兰基利亚市特别为她制作了一座16英尺高的钢质雕像,这座耗时一年多的雕像06年初完成。夏奇拉开心之余表示,希望这座雕像能够激励当地人民跟她一样,不要被严酷的现实环境打倒,坚持追寻自己的梦想。在2010年世界杯上,shakira演唱主题曲《waka waka》。但对于她,却始终找不到一个太确切的词来形容。有时她宛如热情奔放的西班牙女郎;有时却宛如惹人怜爱的纤弱女子。她可以妖艳,可以娇美,可以不羁,可以柔情,也可以深邃而神秘。在当今变幻无常的流行乐坛里,如一的坚持自己的风格实在是一种难能的可贵,也许所有喜欢Shakira的fans也都会有这种可贵而继续自己的坚持吧……
  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/oxlzyj/245081.html