VOA慢速英语2010-Development Report - India's Aravind Eye

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

An eye care organization in India is being honored for its efforts. On Tuesday, Aravind Eye Care System will receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian¹ Prize. The award will be presented in Redwood City, California, during a conference of the Global Philanthropy Forum².

Conrad Hilton, who made his wealth in the hotel industry, established the humanitarian prize in nineteen ninety-six. Each year the award is given to a charitable or nongovernmental organization working to end human suffering. The prize includes one and a half million dollars.

Aravind Eye Care System is being recognized for its work with millions of people in India.

Retired³ eye surgeon Govindappa Venkataswamy established the organization in nineteen seventy-six. He wanted to make high quality eye care available to all, especially India's poor. He wanted to prevent needless cases of blindness.

Eight out of ten people with vision problems live in developing countries. The World Health Organization says eighty-five percent of all vision problems could be prevented or cured. That includes seventy-five percent of all blindness.

An estimated forty-five million people are blind, and India is home to ten million of them.

Aravind Eye Care System is the largest eye care provider in the world

Doctor Venkataswamy established the first Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, in Tamil Nadu state, with only eleven beds. Today Aravind Eye Care System is the largest eye care provider in the world. It operates five hospitals and more than thirty eye care centers across India.

About seventy percent of the patients receive free care. The money comes from the thirty percent of patients who can pay for their services.

In nineteen ninety-two, Aravind established what was described as Asia's first training center for the prevention of blindness. Support from the SightFirst program of Lions Club International financed the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology.

Also, the Aravind Medical Research Foundation investigates the causes and treatment of eye disease.

Aravind Eye Care System has been recognized internationally. Its work has been used as a model for establishing similar programs around the world.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts⁴, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 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。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句