VOA常速英语2007年-American Mentors Make Internet Connections to N

By Paige Kollock
New York
03 December 2007
 

The Internet, Web cameras and other high tech connections allow people to stay in touch easily and quickly. They also allow new relationships to form, sometimes among complete strangers. Paige Kollock reports on one way technology has helped two people from opposite sides of the globe form very strong bonds.

Stacia Murphy manages to connect with her net buddy¹ 'Blessing²' - "Hello Blessing, can you hear me?

Stacia Murphy is doing the same thing she does every week, twice a week. But it still excites her. She is connecting to her net buddy, "Blessing" in South Africa.

As part of a mentoring³ program called Infinite Family, Murphy uses a web camera to speak to Blessing. They have been corresponding for about eight months. Murphy acts as a parent and a friend to the 13-year-old orphan⁴.

Murphy says, "The other day she asked me if I knew how to go on I-space ['myspace'], and I said, 'No', and she said, 'Well I do.'"

Former consultant⁵ Amy Stokes started Infinite Family as a way to connect adult mentors⁶ in the U.S. with orphaned⁷ or vulnerable children in South Africa. Statistics from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) show that by 2010, one-fifth of South African children will be orphaned.

Such high numbers are blamed on South Africa's AIDS epidemic⁸ that kills some 400,000 people a year. Stokes explains how the idea evolved.

"The idea for Infinite Family came when we adopted our son in 2003 from Johannesburg, South Africa," she said. "And going around touring the different orphanages⁹, we understood that there were this great number of children that were going to grow up without an individual adult paying attention to exactly what they needed."

Infinite Family has "coordinators" on the ground in South Africa who bring the children to a computer center and teach them how to use web cameras and instant messaging. Their American mentors also are trained, and must make a one-year commitment to the program.

Murphy says it hardly feels like an obligation.

"It's a matter of making sure I'm near a computer at 12 on Wednesday and 9:30 on Sunday morning, wherever I am," she said. "So for me it's minimal¹⁰."

But can videoconferencing be an adequate substitute for real human interaction?

It does not Stockes says, but it does have a positive impact.

"There is nothing that can replace a parent or a guardian's hug, or being tucked in bed by somebody you love. But video and technology can allow a very strong relationship and a very serious bond to be created,"  she said.

The best part, Stokes says, is that the mentors are helped by the program just as much as the children.

Simple words such as "I love you" are always welcomed.

1 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

2 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

4 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

7 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

9 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

10 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。