一位“前”儿童士兵的心声

18 一位“前”儿童士兵的心声

Former Child Soldier Speaks Out
Breck Ardery
United Nations
13 Jun 2001 01:53 UTC

A former child soldier from Sierra Leone says a cycle of revenge¹ is often created by the use of child soldiers.
Ismmael Beah says he joined the Sierra Leone army at the age of 14, after his parents died during the conflict with Revolutionary United Front guerilla forces. At the time, he thought 1)military service was a good way to 2)avenge² the deaths of his parents.
But now, at 19 years old and attending college in the United States, Mr. Beah says he has a different 3)perspective. "I realize that that [seeking revenge] causes even more trouble because once you are part of the military or RUF you kill other people's parents," he said. "Then, they in turn will join the military or the RUF to avenge the deaths of their parents. It is just a continuous trend of revenge and revenge, and it will not bring a stop to anything."
Mr. Beah told reporters his 4)initial 5)enthusiasm about being an armed soldier at the age of 14 6)faded quickly under actual 7)combat conditions. "When you actually go to the front line to fight it is a whole different issue," he said. "I was in an 8)ambush and I saw friends of mine that I joined the military with, at the same time, being shot and killed. I really did not want to pull the 9)trigger, but I had no choice."
Mr. Beah says child soldiers can be rehabilitated³ and that, having suffered in war, they can become effective 10)advocates for peace.
Mr. Beah's appearance at the United Nations was 11)sponsored by the Coalition⁴ to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The group is urging all nations to sign and ratify⁵ a U.N. treaty that 12)prohibits military service by anyone under 18 years of age.

(1) military service n.兵役
(2) avenge[E5vendV]vt.为...报复, 报仇
(3) perspective[pE5spektIv]n.观点, 看法, 观点, 观察
(4) initial[I5nIF(E)l]adj.最初的,初始的n.词首大写字母
(5) enthusiasm[In5Wju:zIAz(E)m; (?@) -Wu:-]n.狂热, 热心, 积极性
(6) fade[feId]vi.(声音等)减弱下去, 褪色, 消失vt.使褪色n.淡入, 淡出
(7) combat[5kCmbAt]n.战斗, 格斗v.战斗, 搏斗, 抗击
(8) ambush[5AmbJF]n.埋伏, 伏兵v.埋伏
(9) trigger[5trI^E(r)]vt.引发, 触发n.板机
(10) advocate[5AdvEkEt]n.提倡者, 鼓吹者vt.提倡, 鼓吹
(11) sponsor[5spRnsE(r)]vt.发起, 主办v.赞助
(12) prohibit[prE5hIbIt; (?@) 5prEJ-]vt.禁止, 阻止

 

1 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

2 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

3 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。