VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-10-06 Soccer Players in Africa Get a Buzz
时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2013年VOA慢速英语(十)月
AS IT IS 2013-10-06 Soccer Players in Africa Get a Buzz 1
Hi. Thanks for joining us again on “As It Is.” I’m your host, Kelly Jean Kelly.
Today Christopher Cruise 2 and I are talking about young entrepreneurs 3 … and one of the most popular sports in the world.
“Soccer is the international language of the world. People play soccer everywhere and they get a lot of joy out of it. And it brings communities together.”
That was Dave Stahl. He played soccer in college, at Chico State University in Northern California.
One of Dave’s teammates was Michael Mitchell. Michael joined the Peace Corps after graduation and worked for two years in Niger, in West Africa. When Michael returned, he and Dave developed an idea. It was called “Project Play Africa.” They believed that soccer could improve the lives of African children.
Dave and Michael spent 15 years organizing Project Play Africa. They raised thirty thousand dollars in donations. Then they ordered two thousand soccer balls from China.
Dave and Michael flew to Niger, rented a car, and drove into the countryside. They gave soccer balls and air pumps to the people they met.
“We’re driving down the road and going by this little village and we see about a dozen kids trying to play soccer and they were literally 4 kicking around a sock filled with sand.”
Dave and Michael say the children were very happy to get the soccer balls. But the two friends realized that they needed to focus their efforts. So in 2011, Dave and Michael started a soccer league in Libore, outside Niger’s capital city of Niamy. They asked local clubs and schools to help.
“It engaged boys and girls, which is very unusual for a Muslim country, you know that the parents were letting their girls participate in an activity because usually the girls are doing housework, fetching water and wood and so on.”
Dave says the tribal 5 and political leaders of Libore supported the league. And, the village and school were proud of their teams.
Dave says one of the best parts of the trip was watching the boys’ and girls’ championship soccer games.
“The field was totally lined with spectators 6 and they had a lean-to tent at the center of the field where the mayor and the chief and the dignitaries were sitting.”
Dave says Project Play Africa’s next challenge is to find a soccer ball that is not too expensive and easy to transport. And, one that can survive for more than a few weeks on Niger’s rocky playing fields.
I’m Christopher Cruise.
Two young women in New York City are also trying to bring soccer balls to Africa. But their soccer ball has a generator 7 inside it. They call their invention the Soccket.
The Soccket collects energy when you play with it. Then, you can use the Soccket for electricity. For example, you could plug a light or a cell phone into the Soccket. The Soccket can store up to 24 hours of power.
Jessica Matthews and Julia Silverman developed the Soccket when they were college students at Harvard. Jessica’s family is from Nigeria. Julia is from Chicago, but she had spent time in Africa. They both knew that the lack of energy in Africa was a problem. So, they tried to use soccer to improve energy poverty.
In 2011, Jessica and Julia started an organization to distribute the Soccket. The organization is called Uncharted Play, and it is based in New York City. Uncharted Play does not sell the Soccket directly. Instead, it partners with companies and NGOs to give the Soccket to communities that need it.
“We don’t make any profit right now. Just kidding, we do.”
Alison Dalton Smith is the communications director at Uncharted Play. She explains that Uncharted Play is not exactly a business…and not exactly an NGO. She calls it a “social enterprise 8.” In other words, the organization is a business designed to solve a social problem.
Alison says starting or working for a social enterprise is increasingly common among people born in the 1980s or later.
“We want to dedicate 9 our lives and our education to making the world a better place for everyone, not just for ourselves.”
In fact, Alison is so dedicated 10 to making sure people in Africa get the Soccket that she worked for free. Now, she is one of seven paid staff at Uncharted Play. At 30, she is the oldest person who works there. None of the employees receives health insurance or retirement 11 savings 12. But Alison says money is not as important to her right now as connecting to others.
“I know that my peers 13 in this age group, in the millennials, we … I notice that we have a very different engagement 14 with the global community, and we grew up with the Internet. I think we feel much closer to each other, and we identify more as global citizens than an American, or a New Yorker, or a female, or whatever. There’s a real bond that I find amongst my peers here in the US and also from my experiences traveling and living outside of the US, where we’re driven by more than just making it. There’s something more.”
But, she adds that she is lucky. She can work in a job she loves because she already has some money saved. And, she says helping 15 distribute the Soccket is one way she can make the world better for everyone, not just for herself.
That’s our show for today. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
- My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
- A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。
- They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
- She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。
- He is one of the entrepreneurs of the concert. 他是这场音乐会的主办人之一。
- Entrepreneurs are free to develop their businesses. 企业家们可以任意发展自己的企业。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
- He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
- The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
- The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
- The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
- This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。
- They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
- The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。
- She vowed to herself that she would dedicate her life to scientific studies.她默默地发誓要献身于科学研究。
- To my father I dedicate this volume in token of affection and gratitude.我谨以此书献给我的父亲,以表示对他的爱戴和感激之情。
- He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
- His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
- She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
- I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
- I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
- By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
- She enjoys the respect of her peers. 她受到同侪的尊敬。
- She peers into my eyes. 她盯着我的眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你,因为我有约在先。
- It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。