VOA慢速英语2015 囚犯致力于保护地球

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-05 Prisoners Work to Protect the Planet 囚犯致力于保护地球

The United States has the largest prison population in the world. More than 2 million people are jailed. China is second with about 1.7 million.

In some U.S. prisons, inmates² are not just “doing time,” as they often describe their prison sentences. Some prisoners are working to protect the environment.

Near Olympia, Washington, inmates are raising rare and endangered plants, animals and insects for release in the wild. The project began 10 years ago when a state university teamed up with the prison.

Tom Banse went to prison to find out more for the Voice of America. Here is his story.

A prison teaches how to save the planet

Stafford Creek³ prison is in the northwestern U.S. state of Washington. To enter the prison’s garden area you must go through two metal detectors⁵. Then you have to pass through double gates topped with sharp wire and guarded by several armed prison police.

?In the garden, a small crew of inmates is planting flowers. The flowers will be moved after several months to wild areas around Washington's coastline. The plants will provide food for endangered butterflies.

"These plants are so fickle⁶!"

Toby Erhart is an inmate¹ with plenty of time to experiment with growing seedlings⁷. The inmates are paid very little for their work. Mr. Erhart says he believes prisoners and the business of growing rare plants go together well.

"You cannot have a nursery that produces these for money because they would go broke -- or the cost would be so high that nobody could ever restore anything with 'em (them.) That's why this is such a good fit to have prisoners doing this ‘cause (because) ... well, I mean they don't have to pay us much."

Mr. Erhart is serving time for child rape⁸. He says his work growing plants in prison has changed him. He says he is more "conscientious," or thoughtful about doing what is right.

Prison supervisor⁹ Pat Glebe likes to see such change in inmates. He says the prison garden work reduces violence in the prison.  

"It helps with the level of violence in the prison because these inmates all of a sudden have something else to do. They see the value in it. And they see the value of giving back."

Prisoners begin life with a new outlook

Mr. Glebe says many people think they know what the inside of a prison is like, but often they are wrong. Their "preconceived notion," he says, is challenged when they visit Stafford Creek prison.

Stafford Creek prison's conservation nursery opened five years ago. Since then, the nursery has produced more than one million rare and endangered grassland¹⁰ plants.

Inmates in other U.S. prisons are also using conservation projects to turn over new leaves -- or begin life with a fresh, new outlook.

At a state prison in Ohio, inmates are raising endangered small amphibians¹¹ called eastern hellbender salamanders. They will release the animals into the wild.

In Maryland, inmates prepare bags of oyster¹² shells that will be used to repair the nearby Chesapeake Bay.

Oregon state has fertile ground to grow conseravtion projects

In Oregon, the law requires that all prisoners work full-time¹³ or attend classes. Prison managers must find meaningful labor¹⁴ for everyone. This may explain why Oregon's prison system was fertile ground to begin a project such as a conservation nursery.

A combination of federal, state and private money covers most program costs.

Tom Kaye directs the Institute for Applied¹⁵ Ecology, one of the partners in the Oregon Sustainability in Prisons Project. He says, as you might expect, working in a prison can be difficult.

"Just going to visit and volunteer at a prison is no simple task. You have to watch your dress code. You have to watch how you behave in prisons."

But Mr. Kaye says it is a worthy¹⁶ effort. He says the project is the cause of more good than trouble.

“The advantages far outweigh¹⁷ any of these disadvantages because we’re (are) able to get so much more done for ourselves in the mission that we're trying to accomplish."

Inmates who are part of the program make very little money for their work. The pay in the Washington state area is less than a dollar an hour. And the gardening work can sometimes be boring and repetitive.

But these difficulties do not seem to trouble inmate Joseph Njonge. He says he requested a move to Stafford Creek prison because he hoped to work in the conservation nursery. Many inmates seek the nursery jobs. 

"It's hard to get into the program, but when you get into the program, what they teach you is something that you probably won't get somewhere else. You know, ‘cause (because) most of the seeds they are having us grow are endangered - plants you won't find anywhere else in the U.S. except here."

Mr. Njonge is a Kenyan native. He is serving 16 years in prison for murder. The U.S. could return him to Kenya once he is freed. Mr. Njonge hopes his new skills will help him get a job instead. He would like to continue working to protect the environment after his release, wherever he goes.

The Washington state prison environmental science program has expanded in many directions. At this prison, inmates also train ownerless dogs to make them more appealing for adoption¹⁸. Other prisoners are fish farming. They grow a warm-water fish called tilapia in solar-heated tanks. Still more inmates fix bicycles and wheelchairs for the needy¹⁹.

Word in This Story

inmate – n. a person who is kept in a prison or mental hospital

metal detector⁴ – n. an electronic device that gives an audible or other signal when it is close to metal, used, for example, to search for buried objects or to detect hidden weapons.

fickle – adj. changing often

nursery – n. a place where plants (such as trees or shrubs) are grown and sold

preconceive – v. to form (as an opinion) prior to actual knowledge or experience <preconceived notion is a set phrase>

challenge – v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal

fertile – adj. producing many plants or crops : able to support the growth of many plants

boring – adj. dull and uninteresting

1 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

2 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

4 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

5 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

6 fickle   

adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的

参考例句：

• Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.物价的波动往往是由于群众需求的不稳定而引起的。
• The weather is so fickle in summer.夏日的天气如此多变。

7 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

9 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

10 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

11 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

12 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

17 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

18 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

19 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。