节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-02-20
难易度:High
关键字:brutality, investigator, injustice, imprison
(Music).
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
My name is Steve.
And with us today is Ryan.
Hey, Ryan.
Hey, Steve.
Now Steve, some people find it difficult to give an accurate example of justice,
but we all know injustice when we see it.
That's right.
Injustice occurs when human rights are violated.
Some actions, such as theft and murder, are commonly recognized as unjust by
governments and prohibited by law.
That's right, Steve.
But, however, there are also forms of injustice that may still persist in a
society.
Well, what might some of those be, Ryan?
Well, criminals exist outside of the law who violate individuals' rights to life
and safety.
They can often go as far as genocide, torture and slavery.
And what's truly sad, friends, is that sometimes these unfair conditions are
imposed by the government itself, leaving victims nowhere to turn.
Luckily, these unfortunate souls are not left to defend themselves.
An organization that exists sets out to protect the weak and punish those who
are truly guilty.
Hmm. So join us on page 42 as we look at one of these organizations called the
International Justice Mission.
(Music).
International Justice Mission.
Punishing the guilty and protecting the weak.
A slave since the age of 12, Nagaraj was forced to make bricks, laboring for
long hours in intense heat.
His owner's brutality terrified the slaves, but the worst part for Nagaraj was
seeing his children with no education or hope for a better life.
It seemed they were trapped in an environment where heat and excessive work were
already making them sick.
But then, investigators from International Justice Mission (IJM) collaborated
with local authorities to free 78 slaves, including Nagaraj, along with their
families.
Today, Nagaraj is still making bricks - but now he works for himself as a free
man.
OK, friends, now we're taking a look at another serious article this month.
We've already covered a few, Kaylah, but now we're looking at our ORGANIZATIONS
article.
That's right.
We've talked about some serious topics.
We've talked about AIDS and how we can stop AIDS from spreading.
We've talked about bullying and how we can be a difference in people's lives.
Well, this is another way you can be a difference in people's lives around the
world - the International Justice Mission.
OK. Now the word "justice" here is referring to when things are done fairly,
when people are treated correctly.
And of course, it's international, so it happens all around the world.
This organization wants people to be treated fairly.
That's right.
But Ryan, how do they do this?
OK. Well, we see they punish the guilty and protect the weak.
Tnd the word "punish" here means to pay for something that you did wrong.
That's right.
They are going to make the people that have done something wrong pay for what
they did,
as well as protect the weak - take care of people who cannot take care of
themselves.
OK. Now these both sound like good things to do, Kaylah, so let's take a look
first at an example.
We... first we see a slave since the age of 12, Nagaraj was forced to make
bricks, laboring for long hours in intense heat.
OK. So he was a slave, which means he's not free to do what he wants, he works
for somebody else but not for pay.
Right. So that means he's working for them, he's laboring, or working, for long
hours in very intense heat.
That means it's very hot.
This doesn't sound fun at all.
No, not at all.
And making bricks is a lot of work.
You have to bring all the materials together.
It's a lot of physical labor as well as very time-consuming.
So he's been working in these harsh conditions, these terrible conditions, since
the age of 12, but his owner was even worse than that.
Right. His owner, we see he had a lot of brutality and that terrified the
slaves.
Now here, what does the word "brutality" mean, Kaylah?
"Brutality" is a form of behavior; it refers to when you treat someone so awful
it's just terrible.
You... you're awful, you're mean to them and you have no guilt about it at all.
So he was... he would probably beat his slaves, he would hit them, he would hurt
them, he would insult them.
He was terrible and never felt any guilt.
Yeah, it's so sad that this happens in the world that people can be so cruel and
so violent.
But the worst part for Nagaraj was seeing his children without education or even
a hope for better life.
So he started at the age of 12, but we see here he sees his own children, so
he's grown into a full adult.
For him, it seemed that they were trapped in an environment where heat and
excessive work - that means working all the time - were just what they had to
do.
Yeah, it was already making them sick.
So this is really bad.
But then investigators from International Justice Mission collaborated with
local authorities to free the slaves.
But this is wonderful!
So he was working as a slave, his children were not getting to go to school,
they were getting sick from working such... in such terrible conditions.
And then the International Justice Mission stepped in and worked with people in
the area, people that are in charge in the area to help free 78 slaves.
Yes. Now there were investigators here.
And "investigators" are people who try to find out what happened during a crime
scene.
And they certainly did!
And they actually worked with the authorities - with the police - to free 78
slaves, including Nagaraj with their families.
So he was able to be freed, and his family along with him.
Now today, Nagaraj is still making bricks - but now he works for himself as a
free man.
So he still does this hard labor.
This is all he knows to do, so this is what he does for a living.
But it is better because he is treated better, he gets his own money, he is
working to support his own family.
Yes. Now Kaylah, a brick-making is not easy.
A brick is uh... similar to a stone.
It's made out of straw and mud, and it takes a lot of work to put it all
together.
But now, instead of making bricks for his slave master, Nagaraj is making them
for himself because he is free.
Now let's take a look at the skit.
I see you have bricks.
Oh, yes.
I have spent my whole life with bricks.
What do you mean?
I was a slave since the age of 12.
I was forced to make bricks.
Forced to make bricks?
Yes. I labored long hours in intense heat.
My owners brutally terrified me.
Oh, that's heartbreaking.
But the worst part was seeing my children with no education or hope for a better
life.
Your children were trapped?
Yes, trapped in an environment of heat and excessive work.
Oh, your poor children.
Yes, it was already making them sick.
What an injustice!
I know. But then, (Background Noise) IJM came to the rescue.
(Background Noise) IJM?
Yes, International Justice Mission.
Investigators collaborated with local authorities and freed my family and me.
But you still have bricks.
Well, yes, I still make bricks.
But now I work for myself.
I am a free man.
But these are modern times.
I'm shocked you face such injustice.
I'm not alone.
Millions of people around the world are held as slaves.
Many of them are children.
These tragic circumstances are heartbreaking.
Yes. May injustice fuel people's passion to make a difference.
Yeah!