彭蒙惠英语：Demining Cambodia by Hand

Demining Cambodia by Hand

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To do his work, Aki Ra consults former Khmer Rouge¹ soldiers, men he fought with and against at various times. For a fee, they tell him where to look for explosives. He uses basic tools, no metal detectors³ and no safety gear. He is not afraid.

 

His museum contains tons of defused mines, heaped in corners, stacked on shelves. Little cards describe each mine’s use, its origin and the way it kills. He has explosives made in Bulgaria, China, Poland, Russia, Vietnam, and the United States. He has others used not only in Cambodia, but also in Africa, Central America and the Middle East. He also maintains a defused minefield where visitors can walk among the traps.

 

Tourists are fascinated, but the government doesn’t like Aki Ra’s landmine⁴ museum. Authorities frequently confiscate⁵ his ordnance⁶ and place it in the nearby “official” War Museum. Then they demand money or force him to buy cigarettes, food and other things for them, Aki Ra says.

 

Ra remains⁷ undeterred

 

He subsists⁹ on visitor donations, a few dollars a day. “It’s enough for me but it’s not enough for many children,” he says, speaking of the disabled orphans¹⁰ under his care. “They have no leg, no arm, or no eye.”

 

Aki Ra knows his youth was not normal, not good. He killed entire units of enemy soldiers, then switched allegiance when necessary. “I thought that the whole world existed like we did,” he writes in his history. “The brutality¹¹ and hardship, the starvation and all the guns, became my normal world.”

 

Now he talks of redeeming¹² his country. He demonstrates demining maneuvers¹³, shuffling¹⁴ his toes, zigzagging¹⁵ his steps. “I know how to walk in the minefield.” Aki Ra believes he is special, that he has a special talent. Some say he’s brave and fearless, some think him an enigma¹⁶, some call him crazy.

 

No matter what people say, Aki Ra will persevere¹⁷, doing what few others dare to do—doing whatever he can to help his country.

 

Vocabulary Focus

confiscate (v) [5kCnfiskeit] to officially take private property away from someone, usually by legal authority, and especially as punishment

subsist⁸ (v) [sEb5sist] to obtain enough food or money to stay alive

allegiance (n) [E5li:dVEns] loyalty¹⁸ and support, especially for a leader, country, group or belief

enigma (n) [i5ni^mE] someone or something that is mysterious and difficult to understand

 

Specialized¹⁹ Terms

metal detector² (n phr) 金属探测器 a machine that one can move over the ground or a surface to discover if metal is present

defuse (v) 拆除雷管或引信 to remove the mechanical or electrical mechanism²⁰ used to ignite an explosive device, such as a bomb

ordnance (n) 军械 military supplies, such as weapons, ammunition²¹, and combat vehicles

 

徒手为柬埔寨清除地雷

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阿基·拉曾于过去不同时间，与柬共部队并肩作战，也曾与柬共部队对抗。他如今依赖前柬共军人所提供的信息完成工作。他支付些许费用，这些前柬共军人则说出何处可找到地雷。阿基·拉仅使用基本工具，没有金属探测器，也没有安全装备。他并不害怕。

阿基·拉的博物馆内收藏大批拆卸下来的地雷，堆积于角落或架子上。小小卡片上说明地雷用途、来源及杀人方式。他有保加利亚、中国、波兰、俄罗斯、越南及美国制造的地雷。他不仅有曾用于柬埔寨，也有曾用在非洲、中美洲及中东的地雷。博物馆内也有已拆除雷管的地雷区，让游客可以步行于地雷陷阱之间。

虽然游客们深受吸引，柬埔寨政府却不喜欢阿基·拉的地雷博物馆。政府常没收他所收藏的军械，将之转放于附近“官方”战争博物馆。阿基·拉说，政府人员之后会向他要钱或强迫他为他们购买香烟、食物及其它东西。

 

不为所动

阿基·拉靠游客每日捐赠的几美元维持生存。“几美元对我已经足够，”他指着所照顾的残疾孤儿说：“但对多数儿童而言并不够。他们已失去腿、手臂或眼睛。”   

阿基·拉知道自己童年并不正常、也不好。他曾杀过整个部队的敌军，之后必要时还转换效忠对象。“我以为全世界都和我们一样，”他在自传中写道：“暴行与困苦、饥饿与枪支成为我的正常世界。”   

现在阿基·拉谈着如何挽救国家。他踮起脚尖迂回前进，示范扫雷技巧。他说：“我知道如何在地雷区行走。”他认为自己很独特，拥有特别才能。有人说他勇敢、一无所惧，有人认为他是个谜，有人则认为他疯了。   

无论人家怎么说，阿基拉将坚持不懈，持续做着很少人敢做的事，尽他所能堆助国家。

（有关阿基．拉的更多故事，请阅读卡伦·科特斯着的《今日柬埔寨：战后生活》）

 

1 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

2 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

3 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

4 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

5 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

6 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 subsist   

vi.生存，存在，供养

参考例句：

• We are unable to subsist without air and water.没有空气和水我们就活不下去。
• He could subsist on bark and grass roots in the isolated island.在荒岛上他只能靠树皮和草根维持生命。

9 subsists   

v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This plant subsists in water holes only during the rainy season. 这种植物只有雨季在水坑里出现。 来自辞典例句
• The hinge is that the enterprise subsists on suiting the development of data communication. 适应数据通信的发展是通信企业生存的关键。 来自互联网

10 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

13 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

14 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

16 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

17 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。

18 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

19 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

20 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

21 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。