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
Nagaraj now owns his own brick-making company.
He was seen smiling in front of an audience holding a brick in his hands that he
had made himself.
He said, "This is a brick that I made with my own hands. It's much better stone,
much better quality.
A free brick for a free man." Now let's take a look at the end of Nagaraj's
story at the top of page 43, line one.
(Music).
International Justice Mission.
Nagaraj is far from alone in facing injustice in modern times.
Millions of people around the world are currently held as slaves, including
almost 2 million child prostitutes, and transporting slaves internationally is a
US$32 billion industry.
In many countries, widows have no defense against neighbors stealing their land,
and police can imprison or beat innocent people without fear of punishment.
Tragic circumstances like these are heartbreaking, but for lawyer Gary Haugen,
the world's injustice fueled his passion to make a difference.
So Nagaraj is now a free man thanks to the International Justice Mission.
So because of that, he was able to have freedom.
And people came in, the investigators came in, he works for himself now.
Now Nagaraj is far from alone in facing injustice in modern times.
So when we say someone is far from something else, what does that mean?
Well, that means that it's almost the opposite of it happening, so.
Many other people, or he is far from the only person, which means there are many
people that are suffering from injustice today.
That's right. Millions of people, in fact, around the world are currently held
as slaves.
Right. Now "injustice" here is referring to "not justice." The prefix "in-"
means "not." So that means that life is not fair.
People are not being treated fairly.
And millions... millions of them, Kaylah, like you said, are suffering from
this.
That's right. "They're being held as slaves." That means they are forced into
slavery.
Someone owns them, someone makes them work for them.
And they're probably not treated very well.
Yeah. This is a really sad.
And even more sad is the fact that almost 2 million child prostitutes are held
around the world too.
That's terrible.
That's right.
We're talking slaves. They maybe do labor.
But also children are stolen from their homes.
Everything is taken from them.
And they're forced into prostitution, which we have talked about that before.
And that is where you pay for sex.
So these kids are being forced to do this.
Right. They're being transported internationally.
And that is actually a US$32 billion industry.
That is a lot of money people are making off of selling slaves and moving them
around.
That's right.
That includes all slaves, both adults and children.
But US$32 billion is a huge industry.
Yeah, it really is.
It's so sad to think that so many people are not only getting benefits of having
slaves but making money off of them as well.
These people are not being treated properly.
Well, in many countries, widows have no defense against their neighbors or from
people stealing their land.
So you were not only talking about children and people forced into slavery,
these are just people who are weak, who don't have the ability to protect
themselves.
Right. Now friends, let's take a look at the word "widow" here.
The word "widow" is referring to a woman whose husband has already died, so
she's no longer married but she is now by herself.
And that would make her a little bit weak.
That's right. Now Ryan, I think it's interesting to look at the stories we've
talked about so far.
First we saw a man who was working as a slave.
And then we talked about children being forced into slavery.
And now we're seeing a woman.
So this is affecting people of all age groups in all different... both genders
all over the world in all different cultures.
So this is a big problem.
We'd like to think slavery is over, but it's not.
Right. It's happening in so many different ways.
This is really sad.
And that's why this topic is very serious.
It's important to think about.
That's right.
Well, we see that she, as a widow, would not be able to protect her home or to
protect her land from people taking it.
And also police can imprison or beat innocent people without fear of punishment
in a lot of countries.
Right. Now "imprison" here means to put someone in jail.
And of course, police can put someone who's innocent, someone who hasn't done
anything wrong in jail.
Now in a lot of countries, the police are wonderful.
They work well, they are living by justice.
But in some countries they are not.
And these tragic circumstances are heartbreaking.
Yes. "Heartbreaking" means it's very sad.
But the lawyer Gary Haugen, the world's injustice fueled his passion to make a
difference.
That's right. He was "fueled." That means it encouraged, it pushed him further.
It made him want to be a difference.
Well, that is our Grammar on the Go sentence, so let's talk to Liz.
Hi, friends.
Greetings from Bangkok, Thailand.
My name is Liz, and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
Our article today is about International Justice Mission and what this
organization is doing to help victims of injustice in many places around the
world, including Thailand.
And here's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Tragic circumstances like these are heartbreaking, but for lawyer Gary Haugen,
the world's injustice fueled his passion to make a difference.
Notice the phrase, fueled his passion.
To fuel something means to give something what it needs to have energy.
And when you fuel someone's passion, that means you help make someone's interest
or enthusiasm become even stronger.
In the case of today's sentence, Gary Haugen has this passion to make a
difference in this world.
And seeing all these heartbreaking circumstances of injustice in the world just
makes him feel more strongly about making a difference.
To fuel one's passion is a very poetic way to talk about how someone's
enthusiasm or interest in something increases.
And you're more likely to hear it used in formal situations like in speeches or
in writings.
Let's look at some example sentences.
Watching his grandmother prepare meals in the kitchen every day fueled Ricky's
passion for good food and cooking.
Or: Seeing stray dogs and cats wander in the streets fueled Nicole's passion to
help and protect homeless animals.
If you want to see more example sentences, they're available in today's Grammar
Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off.
Bye-bye.
OK. So we've seen just how bad injustice can be in the lives of many different
people.
But luckily, this lawyer named Gary Haugen wants to make a difference.
OK. Now let's go visit the Chat Room and see what's happening there.
Oh, no, I can't believe that!
Hey! What's wrong, Ken?
I forgot to bring my book bag, and three of my books are due today.
Oh. Well, take it easy.
You still have 24 hours to return your books.
I do?
Oh. That's good to know.
If I may ask, is there anything else fueling your anger?
Feeling my anger?
What do you mean?
No, Ken, not feeling, fueling.
Is there anything else that might be causing you to feel so angry?
Actually, there is.
I had an argument with one of my friends yesterday, and I have been in a bad
mood ever since.
Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Ken.
I hope you and your friend can work things out.
Thanks.
I guess you could say that my bad relationship is fueling my anger.
You know, "fuel" as a verb can also be used with feelings like curiosity and
passion.
So could I say that my desire to master English fuels my passion for learning?
Yes. That's a good example.
There are other ways that we use the imagery of "fuel" and "starting fires" in
English as well.
Speaking of anger, I have read of people burning with rage.
Can people burn with any other emotions?
Sure! You might talk of someone burning with passion.
Both rage and passion describe extreme emotions.
Well, thanks for the lesson, Bryan.
Your teaching continues to fuel my passion for learning English.
I'm glad.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And we're running out of time. I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
Thanks again, Michelle.
We appreciate those tips.
Now in the mid-1980s, Gary Haugen served the committee of the National
Initiative for Reconciliation, or the NIR, in South Africa.
The NIR? What did they do?
Well, they were a group of Christian leaders who set out to fight for political
justice and racial understanding.
So is that how the International Justice Mission got its start?
Not quite.
Haugen left South Africa to work for the Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights in
New York,
where he conducted an investigation of injustices committed by members of the
Philippine government.
Ah, so then he started IJM, right?
No, Ryan. Sorry. Not quite yet.
After leaving the Lawyer's Committee,
he worked with the United States Department of Justice gathering evidence
against people committing war crimes.
After witnessing many of the injustices of the world, Haugen finally decided it
was time to found his own organization that would set out to make things right.
Wow! What a great man.
Friends, join us tomorrow as we take a closer look at how IJM serves justice.
Until then, I hope you have a wonderful Monday.
Bye-bye, friends.
Bye-bye.