VOA慢速英语 2008 0421a

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

This Tuesday is Earth Day. On April twenty-second, nineteen seventy, millions of Americans took part in activities to bring attention to the environment. Senator¹ Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin had called for a huge protest² against pollution and other threats.
　

The 2008 Goldman Prize winners

An environmental movement was born, and Earth Day is now observed around the world.

Last week, the seven winners of this year's Goldman Environmental Prize were announced in San Francisco, California. Winners are chosen from each part of the world.

The winners of the Goldman Prize for South and Central America are Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza in Ecuador. The two men are leading a major legal case against the Chevron³ oil company. It involves petroleum⁴ pollution in the Ecuadorian Amazon between nineteen sixty-four and nineteen ninety.

The case was brought against Texaco; Chevron bought that company in two thousand one.

The winner of this year's Goldman Prize for Africa is Feliciano dos Santos in Mozambique. He and his band, Massukos, use traditional music to educate villagers about the importance of clean water. He also works⁵ to bring better sanitation⁶ to poor villages.

The prize winner for islands and island nations is Rosa Hilda Ramos of Puerto Rico. She is leading a movement to protect the Las Cucharillas Marsh⁷ from factory pollution. The wetland area is one of the last open spaces near San Juan’s community of Catano.

The Goldman prize winner for North America is Jesus Leon Santos. He is leading a land renewal⁸ and economic development program in Oaxaca, Mexico. He has worked with local farmers to dig waterways and plant about one million trees. Poor land-use methods have done much damage to the soil.

The prize winner from Asia is Marina Rikhvanova. She is working to protect Lake Baikal in Siberia from damage by Russia's growing oil and nuclear industries.

And the winner from Europe is Ignace Schops. He helped raise ninety million dollars to establish the first and only national park in Belgium.

The Goldman Prize is the world's largest prize for environmental activism. The winners each receive one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Rhonda and Richard Goldman established the award. The prize has gone to one hundred twenty-six people over the past eighteen years.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss⁹.

1 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

2 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

3 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

6 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

7 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

8 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

9 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。