2006年VOA标准英语-Skater's Gift Helps Humanitarian Group Bri

By Parke Brewer¹
Turin, Italy
24 February 2006

 
Joey Cheek, left, and Johann Olav Koss  
  
"When Children Play The World Wins."  That's the motto of the international humanitarian² organization called Right To Play.  The group has attracted a lot of worldwide attention at the Turin Olympics after receiving a generous donation from a U.S. speed skater.

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Norwegian Johann Olav Koss won three speed skating gold medals before his home fans at the 1992 Lillehammer Olympics.  During his athletic³ career he won three all-around World Championships in his sport and broke 11 world records.

In 1993 after visiting the African country of Eritrea, he felt moved to help others, so he donated the bonus money he had earned for his 1,500 meter Olympic gold to start Olympic Aid.  It is now known as Right To Play, and Koss is the president of the organization that uses sport and play as tools for development of children in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.

When Right To Play officials came to the Turin Olympics, they had no idea how their mission would spread.  But when American speed skater Joey Cheek decided⁴ to donate his total bonus money of $40,000 for winning gold and silver medals to Right To Play, Koss said he was overwhelmed.

"It's basically all the money the guy ever earned his entire life," he joked.  "Thousands and thousands of additional dollars have been given to Right To Play after he gave a challenge to corporations.  And it's incredible, I will also say, how there have been millions and millions of words written about Right To Play and our cause around the world because of Joey's gesture."

Koss announced that since Joey Cheek challenged Olympic sponsors to match his donations, Right To Play has received more than $300,000 additional dollars.

"That's furthering our reach, and we have over 540,000 children in activities every single week, in Africa, in the Middle East and of course in Asia."

Koss says Right To Play wants to also influence governments to donate as well, because their goal in the next five years is to reach five million children every week.

When donors⁵ give to Right To Play, they can specify⁶ a project where they want their funds to go.  Joey Cheek has earmarked his to help refugees in Chad who have fled the Darfur region of Sudan, where tens of thousands have been killed.

Johann Olav Koss says Cheek has now officially been named a Right To Play athlete ambassador.

"We will have him going to Zambia next month," said Mr. Koss.  "We are very excited about that.  This is a special initiative on HIV AIDS prevention, particularly for young girls and also boys, of course.  And this is in lead up to the international conference on HIV in Toronto.  It's a large international conference coming up in August where Joey also will be present and speak to the global leaders to see how sport can be used as a preventable measure for HIV AIDS."

Joey Cheek says after spending most of his life doing inline skating and speed skating, getting assistance from many others to rise to the top, he felt a need to give of himself.

"I feel that it is imperative⁷ for myself, but also for anyone else who is able to reach a pinnacle⁸ of either their career, or whatever they're striving for, to then reach out a hand and help somebody else up," said Mr. Cheek.  "I've been very blessed in all my travels to see a lot of Europe and a lot of Asia, and I'm very excited now to be able to see some of the poorer countries.

As one final gesture of his good will before he leaves these Olympics, Joey Cheek announced that he is donating the speed skating suit he wore in victory to help raise additional funds for Right To Play.  It will auctioned⁹ next week on the Internet.  Those who want to bid can reach the direct location on eBay through righttoplay.com.  Cheek learned on Friday that he was elected by the U.S. team to carry the American flag during the Winter Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday night.

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 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。

3 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

7 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

8 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

9 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》