VOA标准英语10月-Nobel Peace Prize Winners Inspire Young Activists

Nobel Peace Prize winners are helping¹ young people tackle issues from disease to global warming through a group called PeaceJam. Mike O'Sullivan attended a PeaceJam conference in Los Angeles, California, that brought together six Nobel laureates with several thousand young activists² from around the world.
　

Archbishop Desmond Tutu encourages PeaceJam participants to make a difference

With the energy of a rock star, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa told the youth they can make a difference, and the students responded to him.

Over three days, the students talked about global problems from landmines³ to racial hatred⁴.

Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff launched the movement 12 years ago after Suvanjieff got to know some tough street children in Denver, Colorado.

"They didn't know who the president of the United States was and didn't care," Engle said. "And Ivan was just able to keep them talking, and finally they tripped over the subject of South Africa."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a familiar name to the youth. They knew he helped bring change to his country.
　

Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Engle launched the PeaceJam movement 12 years ago after Suvanjieff interacted with tough street children in Denver, Colorado

Engle and Suvanijieff then sought out advocates of non-violence to motivate young people.

The Dalai Lama was the first of 12 peace prize laureates to join the effort.

Others were Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest in Burma, and Iranian jurist Shirin Ebadi.

The laureates mentor⁵ youth projects including a tree-planting effort in East Timor and a clean-water system for villagers near Daramsala, India.

At the conference, Vidal Campos Magno of East Timor and Tenzin Loden of Daramsala, India, discussed their projects.
　

Tenzin Loden of Daramsala, India, tells youth what they can do to better their world at a PeaceJam conference in Los Angeles, California

"And talk about my nation, the importance of peace, and what youth can do for the betterment of this world," Loden said.

Sixteen-year-old Natalie Ramirez of Oxnard, California, talked about her work against gang violence.

Izzy Higuera of East Los Angeles said he hopes to put what he has learned here into action.

"Just talk to other people, try to share the idea, and I'll see what I can do in my community," he said.

Argentinian poet and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel urged the youngsters to pursue their goals with passion.
　

Vidal Campos Magno of East Timor discusses his work promoting peace at the PeaceJam conference in Los Angeles

Betty Williams, a Nobel laureate from Northern Ireland, encouraged them to be bold and confident.

"People think that just because you're a peace person that you're soft-hearted," Williams said.

"But let me tell you something," she said, pointing to her tongue. "This is my weapon of mass destruction."

The conference organizers and Nobel laureates say 600,000 young people have completed more than one million service projects.

Dawn Engle is hoping for one billion so-called acts of peace over the next 10 years.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

4 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

5 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。