VOA常速英语2007年-Charities Seek Useful Donations from Holiday Sh

By Mandy Clark
London
10 December 2007
 

Goats, chickens, even a toilet -- they may not seem like ideal presents for the end of the year holidays, but many charities think they are. Some aid agencies are making unusual gifts their selling point and they want to capitalize on the holiday spirit of giving to help people in the world's poorest countries. But there are questions and doubts over just how donors²' contributions are being used, as VOA's Mandy Clark reports from London.

J.P. Alexander is a man on a mission. The holiday season is approaching and he is looking for the perfect gift. It may seem like a familiar struggle for many people this time of year, but Morgan says he wants his gifts to be symbolic³ of the season of giving.

He describes how the idea came about. "We thought we would try and do something that would sort of shift the focus on giving gifts, physical gifts, to giving gifts that make a social difference," he said. 

He is exactly the type of conscientious⁴ consumer that charities, such as Oxfam Unwrapped, want to reach.

The relief agency Oxfam has come out with a quirky advertisement to push its campaign. It is the third year the charity has promoted giving unusual gifts for the holidays.

For around $50 you can donate 14 bags of seeds or a goat for nomadic⁵ farmers in Africa. $100 will provide honeybees, a hive and training for a beekeeper in Latin America.

Oxfam spokesman Stephen Harvey says the campaign has captured the public's imagination. "It is an innovative⁶ and fun Christmas gift that people over the past three years have been buying each other to replace toiletries, bubble baths, ties, boring gifts that they have been buying their friends and family for years," he says.

Putting donations in tangible⁷ terms for donors is an idea that the United Nations Refugee Agency is trying out. Its "Star Appeal" program has medical kits⁸, blankets and tents for refugees.

While many charities support these ideas, there also is some criticism of this approach. Critics say all too often the donor¹ is not actually buying the advertised item, such as a goat. They say, the money may instead go towards the charity's overall livestock⁹ program.

Megan Pacey works for the Institute of Fundraising, a charity watchdog that sets standards on how charities go about fundraising. She says many charities are misleading the public. "You've got to be very clear as to what your donation goes to buy, whether it is physically¹⁰ buying a goat, or whether it is going to supply and support the goat, or if it is more general than that," she says. "So, it is a real case of having to do what it says."

But, does it matter to consumers if their gift of a goat may actually go somewhere else?

J.P. Alexander says he does not really mind where the money goes as long as it is helping¹¹ people in need. "For me personally, I think as long as it is going to the spirit of alleviating¹² the famine and the hunger, that's okay for me," he adds.

Peter Kessler is a spokesman for the U.N. Refugee Agency. He says he believes the public understands. "When we get funds, we can use those where it's most needed and that message is reaching out to the general public," says Kessler. "They know we need to be flexible."

Charities point out that ultimately, the money is spent on helping others and, they say that is what the season of giving is all about.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

5 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

6 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

7 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

8 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

9 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 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。

12 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。