【英语听和读】罗宾

 Dima: Hello, I'm Dima, and today we are seeing … a doctor. But not an ordinary

doctor. Robin¹ Coupland is the adviser² on armed violence for the International

Committee of the Red Cross who has spent many years as a field surgeon

treating victims of landmines⁴.

Landmines are bombs that are placed on or under the ground and explode when

someone steps on them. Just over ten years ago, countries began to sign the

Ottawa Convention⁵ banning landmines, and today 156 countries have made it a

law. But although most countries no longer produce or use them, landmines left

over from the past conflicts continue to affect many people across the world. In

a moment we'll hear Robin Coupland's account of his work as a surgeon in

Afghanistan. It's a shocking account that contains some of the language you

may hear in news reports about war and conflict. Listen out for these words:

'limbs⁷', meaning arms or legs of a person; 'mine injury', that's a wound caused

by the explosion of a landmine³; and 'amputee', meaning a person whose arm or

leg had to be cut off:

Coupland 0'30'

I remember my first day in the hospital on the Afghan border of Pakistan in Peshawar - when

I walked in, there were just lots of young people, mostly men, without limbs. And then after a

few weeks you realize you dread⁸ the radio call that says, 'Another mine injury coming',

because those two words, 'mine injury', meant a very specific kind of wound, a specific

disability that you're going to be leaving, another amputee... More blood loss, longer in the

operating theatre… 

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Dima: Dr Coupland says, whenever there was a radio call saying, 'Another mine

injury coming', he knew it meant another amputee, in other words another

person whose limb⁶ was damaged in a landmine explosion so badly that it

would have to be cut off. Listen to Robin Coupland again and this time try to

answer this question: which verb does he use to describe his reaction to the

news of a new injury?

Coupland 0'30'

I remember my first day in the hospital on the Afghan border of Pakistan in Peshawar - when

I walked in, there were just lots of young people, mostly men, without limbs. And then after a

few weeks you realize you dread the radio call that says, 'Another mine injury coming',

because those two words, 'mine injury', meant a very specific kind of wound, a specific

disability that you're going to be leaving, another amputee... More blood loss, longer in the

operating theatre…

Dima: Did you hear the verb Dr Coupland used to describe his reaction to a new

injury? It was 'dread'. 'To dread', meaning to feel extremely frightened or

anxious about something that is going to happen.

Sting⁹

Dima: Today we're talking to Robin Coupland, a surgeon who has for many years

treated victims of landmines in many countries. Now, it's true that since 1997,

when the Ottawa Convention was first opened for signature, a lot has been

done to get rid of landmines. Over forty-million mines have been destroyed

and thousands of square kilometres of land have been cleared. But while it's

good news for the future, Dr Coupland says it's not much comfort to victims.

As you're listening to him, look out for this language: 'disabled people' - that's

people who lack one or more of the physical or mental abilities that most

people have; in this case, victims of landmines; 'prostheses' - artificial body

parts, such as an arm, foot or tooth, which replace a missing part; and 'human 

People and Places © BBC Learning English 2008

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impact', meaning a powerful effect that something has on a person. Here's

Robin Coupland:

Coupland 0'21'

There are certainly fewer landmine injuries, but of course a... an amputation¹⁰ is an amputation

for life, and so that does not mean that the number of services that have to be provided to

disabled people will certainly have to be... have to be less. Those people will need new

prostheses every three or four years and so the human impact continues.

Dima: Here are those words and word combinations again: 'disabled people',

'prostheses' and 'human impact'. Let's listen to Robin Coupland again, and as

you're listening, see if you can answer this question: Does he think the number

of services for the disabled will go down in the near future? Listen:

Coupland 0'21'

There are certainly fewer landmine injuries, but of course a... an amputation is an amputation

for life, and so that does not mean that the number of services that have to be provided to

disabled people will certainly have to be... have to be less. Those people will need new

prostheses every three or four years and so the human impact continues.

Dima: Dr Coupland says the number of services will not go down because landmine

victims will continue to need regular treatment for the rest of their lives.

That's all we have time for today. Let's finish by reminding ourselves of some

of the language we've heard in this programme:

'limb'

'mine injury'

'amputee'

'to dread'

'disabled people'

'prosthesis' and

'human impact'.

Join us again next time for more People and places, but for now goodbye! 

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 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。

4 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。

5 convention   

n.惯例，习俗，常规，会议，大会

参考例句：

• How many delegates have checked in at the convention?大会已有多少代表报到？
• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。

6 limb   

n.树枝，四肢，枝干，边缘；vt.切断手足，切断树干

参考例句：

• She sat on a limb of the tree and looked down.她坐在一根大树枝上往下看。
• His refusal to agree left him out on a limb.他拒不表示同意，致使自己处于孤立地位。

7 limbs   

肢( limb的名词复数 )； 大树枝； 肢体

参考例句：

• For a while, she lost the use of her limbs. 好一会儿她四肢都动弹不得。
• The prisoner's limbs flailed violently because of the pain. 那囚犯因为疼痛，四肢剧烈地抖动着。

8 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

9 sting   

vt.激怒，刺痛，刺伤，蛰伤；n.刺痛，刺伤

参考例句：

• Most flies do not sting.大多数苍蝇不叮人。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

10 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。