《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit41:有个男孩名叫纳考西

　　Unit 41
A Boy Named Nkosi
In 1989 in a Zulu village, Daphne gave birth to a baby, named Xolani Nkosi. The baby was tiny, no more than two kilos. As the months passed, Daphne realized the boy was ill. The doctor who examined the boy had said his illness might be a result of HIV infection -- and if that turned out to be the case, Daphne herself was probably infected and it's her who gave the sickness to Nkosi. The identity¹ of his father would remain Daphne's secret. Whoever he was, he was the most significant² person Daphne would ever know, for he had put death into her body. Daphne was not yet 20, yet she was dying³, and on the very first day of is life, so was her tiny son.
Meanwhile, another South African woman, Gail Johnson, was living a different life. She and her husband were not wealthy, but were comfortably middle class. A visit to a friend's brother, who was in the terminal⁴ stage of AIDS, made her determined⁵ to do something. By October, she had raised enough money to set up the Guest House, and took in a dozen dying of AIDS. Daphne sent her boy to the Guest House, where he became a star.
But in 1992 the Guest House had to be close for lack of money. Gail offered to adopt Nkosi. By his 4th birthday, Nkosi was eating better, gaining some weight. In 1997, Gail sent Nkosi to school. There was no law preventing HIV-positive kids from entering South African's schools. The question had simply never arisen before. Eight-year-old Nkosi had lived longer than any child ever born HIV-positive in South Africa. In 3 years at school Nkosi had only one accident. He fell in the playground and cut his mouth. The bleeding was handled with care. His school performance was satisfactory⁶.
Nkosi's progress was tracked in the media. Gail took advantage of the coverage⁷ to raise money and found a house in Johannesburg for some women and their kids. She called it Nkosi's Haven⁸. Nakosi and Gail became icons⁹ in the international AIDS community. They were invited to the United States and spent a week there making appearances. Then in July 2000, the 13th International Conference on AIDS was scheduled to be held in Durban.
Nkosi was introduced to a huge audience. "Hi," he said. "My name is Nkosi Johnson. I'm 11 years old. I was born HIV-positive. I hate having AIDS, because I get very sick and I get very sad when I think of all the other children and babies with AIDS,..." He continued, "Care for us and accept us. We are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk -- and we have needs just like everyone else. Don't be afraid of us. We are all the same." His tiny body was ravaged¹⁰ by AIDS, but his big heart inspired a nation.
A week after the 2000 Christmas, Nkosi asked if he could take a bath. He lay in the hot water and smiled. A few minutes later his eyes rolled back in his head, and he went into a coma¹¹, unable to speak, unable to smile. Early on June 1, 2001, Nkosi died. Gail kissed him. "I love you," she said. "Go quietly, my darling boy."

1 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

2 significant   

adj.相当数量的；意义重大的；意味深长的

参考例句：

• Your success today may be significant for your whole future.你今天的成功对你的整个未来可能是重要的。
• She cast him a significant smile.她向他投去意味深长的一笑。

3 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

4 terminal   

n.终端机，终点，末端；adj.终点的，按期的，致死的

参考例句：

• The car has reached its terminal speed and can run faster no longer.这辆车的速度已达到了极限，不能再跑更快了。
• There's a taxi stand outside the terminal.在终点站的外面有出租车。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 satisfactory   

adj.令人满意的；可喜的；恰当的

参考例句：

• I hope this arrangement will be satisfactory to you.我希望这种安排会使你满意。
• After much discussion we came at a conclusion satisfactory to all.经过充分讨论，我们得出了大家都很满意的结论。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

9 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

11 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。