2006年VOA标准英语-Philanthropist Bill Austin Gives Gift of Hearin

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
14 December 2006

The head of a leading US hearing aid company spends much of his time providing hearing aids to poor children around the world. Bill Austin, the founder¹ and chief executive of Starkey Laboratories, spoke² with Mike O'Sullivan about the work of his foundation in giving the gift of hearing.

 
Bill Austin fitting a hearing aid for Umtata So 
Bill Austin has made custom-fitted hearing aids for US presidents, including Ronald Reagan, and a host of rock stars, actors, and other celebrities³. But he says his greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the faces of children who can hear their own voices for the first time.

"Hearing is a birthright," said Bill Austin. "It helps us be all we can be for our families and our world. And it helps these people meet the challenges of life."

The Starkey Hearing Foundation, a charity Austin founded in 1973, makes over 150 international trips each year to customize hearing aids for children and adults. Austin personally takes part in at least 20 of the missions.

 
Bill Austin in Istanbul
He recently went to Turkey, where he and his team of audiologists provided 2,000 hearing aids for the needy⁴. They also visited Malawi, helping⁵ families that were mired⁶ in poverty.

"They're very poor," he said. "People, if they're going anywhere, most of the people are walking. Only a tiny percentage has some kind of transportation. Most of the people can't afford fuel. And they would get up in the morning at 12, 1 o'clock and walk 30 miles [about 50 kilometers] to get to where we were to have hearing help."

The World Health Organization says nearly 280 million people around the world suffer from moderate to severe hearing loss. Two-thirds of them are in developing countries, and the organization says most would benefit from hearing aids.

 
Bill Austin in Hermosillo, Mexico 
Austin says hearing loss is a problem in both the industrial world and developing nations, for different reasons.

"As a country becomes more progressed, it has better medicine, people are wealthier, so they buy things that destroy their hearing, whether it's recreational toys and vehicles or whether it's the iPods with the buds [small earphones] in their ears, they find a way to cause hearing loss by noise," noted⁷ Bill Austin. "If you go into extreme poverty, you find they can't afford the noisy stuff, so there's not much noise loss, but there's a lot more hearing loss caused by disease."

 
Bill Austin fitting a hearing aid for a Panamanian boy
Austin recently visited two homes for the disabled in Panama, and says he was deeply moved by the smiles and hugs of those who regained⁸ their hearing.

"And when these children and parents say 'God bless you,' I always reply and say, 'God has already blessed me," he said. "He sent you. You're my blessing⁹ because you give me purpose in life and you give my life value. I'm able to help you, and that makes me important.'"

The Starkey Hearing Foundation has donated more than 150,000 hearing aids to children and adults around the world. Austin says future missions will take his team to Romania, Nepal, Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, Vietnam, and many other countries.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。