VOA标准英语2011-Clown 'Doctors' Fan Out to US Hospitals

Professional clown Michael Christensen doesn't just confine his act to the Big Apple Circus he co-founded. He also brings laughter to a place that is often badly in need of it: pediatric hospitals across the country.

 

Christensen's national organization, Clown Care, sends costumed circus performers on nearly 225,000 visits to ill children across the country.

Getting into the act

The arc of Michael Christensen's circus career has taken some funny turns. Born in Walla Walla, Washington in 1947, he trained to be a traditional actor. But he got hooked on the circus spirit during the early 1970s, when he learned how to juggle¹ from the San Francisco Mime² Troupe³, a politically radical⁴ ensemble⁵ of street performers.
 
Big Apple Circus
Michael Christensen and Paul Binder⁶ during an appearance on the children's television show, 'Sesame Street.'
That's where he met and befriended juggler⁷ Paul Binder, who later joined him as a circus act and became his lifelong business partner as well. Together, the two set off for the streets of Europe, where they performed their juggling⁸ act everywhere from Paris to Istanbul.

By 1977, the two had returned to America and raised funds to start their own one-ring circus under a small green canvas tent in New York's Battery Park City, in the shadow of the World Trade Center. They called it The Big Apple Circus.

"We took off," Christensen recalls. "A year-and-a-half later we were in Lincoln Center. What started out as a couple of ragtag brazen⁹ Americans juggling on the streets of Europe as a great adventure has ended up being a great New York institution."
 
Big Apple Circus
Michael Christensen and Paul Binder juggling in the early days of their partnership¹⁰.
Big Apple Circus

Today, more than 500,000 fans see the show every year during its 38-week tour. Christensen stresses that despite its success, the Big Apple Circus remains¹¹ a non-profit, grassroots operation.

"We both decided¹² when we created the circus that we wanted it to serve the communities in which we performed. This is important - having a direct, positive, supportive relationship with the community."

In that spirit, the duo launched "Circus of the Senses" in 1983, a special edition of the Big Apple Circus adapted for visually and hearing impaired¹³ children. They also started "Beyond the Ring," an afterschool program which teaches kids clowning, acrobatics¹⁴ and juggling. Christensen says circus arts offer children life skills such as teamwork, perseverance¹⁵ and calm flexibility¹⁶ in the face of the unexpected.?????

"If a club falls and hits the ground, or you drop it while juggling, instead of being embarrassed that you've made a ‘mistake,' accept it, and find some fun thing to do with that," he says. "And all of a sudden the kid looks up and sees the audience go ‘Yeah, yeah!' And there has been a shift in the child, a really fantastic one, that goes, ‘These aren't mistakes. These are things that happen,' and they can be the source of fun and delight."
 
Big Apple Circus
Professional clown and Big Apple Circus co-founder Michael Christensen
Clown Care

But it was personal grief over the loss of his brother to cancer and the search for a larger purpose in life that inspired Christensen to start his own signature program.

Clown Care brings pairs of clowns and the levity¹⁷ they offer into pediatric hospitals. There are now over 80 "clown doctors" in facilities throughout America, and internationally, hospital clowning has become an established profession. Christensen, whose hospital clown persona is named "Dr. Stubs," says the work keeps him humble¹⁸.

"In the first week, I came in contact with a nine year old who was heading to Philadelphia for a heart and lungs transplant. And I entertained him for 10 minutes, laughing through his oxygen mask and respirator. And four hours later, he passed," says Christensen. "And you just say, ‘Wow, to be with a child like that, and to fill those moments with joy, celebration, wonder, awe¹⁹, fun, fantasy, laughter,' and to know that you were one of the last people on this plane he encountered, and this was the quality of the exchange, what greater honor is there?"

Clown Care's gifts don't have to be raucous²⁰, or even funny. On a recent hospital visit he and his partner peered through the doorway²¹ of a 10-year-old boy's hospital room to see him peacefully sleeping while his mother stroked his head.?

"The scene is beautiful and so elegant and so touching²². And you take a breath and we played a song. My partner has a ukulele and he just played a lovely song and I was simply with him and present. And we simply added the music, the appropriate music, that would complete that moment in front of us."????

Clown 'doctor'

Christensen believes that clowns achieve much of their humor - and perhaps their healing power - by acting²³ in ways that seem inappropriate.

He might enter a sick child's room and walk right into a wall, or parody²⁴ doctors by giving a medical exam to a rubber chicken. He is also aware that children - especially sick children - are often given little power over their lives. So he always asks permission of the child before the room, and sometimes switches roles with a child by acting benignly²⁵ helpless when at the bedside.
 
Big Apple Circus
Michael Christensen as his hospital clown persona, 'Dr. Stubs.'
"Now, all of a sudden, I am the one who needs the help and they become the all-knowing authority. Even in something as simple as ‘Do I have my hat on right?' ‘Is everything okay?' and they say ‘You have to button that,' and ‘You've got it all wrong!' And before you know it, they are sitting up in the bed taking charge. And medical people have told us oftentimes this is a turning point in someone's illness where they have organized themselves to take charge."?

For his pioneering Clown Care program, Christensen has received the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian²⁶ Award, the Red Skelton Award and Parenting Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Christensen's hospital work has not been limited to children. He offers experimential group workshops that teach the value of playful improvisation²⁷ and empathic communication to doctors, nurses and health administrators²⁸. Indeed, for Christensen and the thousands of people who have been touched by his work, play can be serious business

1 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

2 mime   

n.指手画脚，做手势，哑剧演员，哑剧；vi./vt.指手画脚的表演，用哑剧的形式表演

参考例句：

• Several French mime artists will give some lectures this afternoon.几位法国哑剧表演艺术家将在今天下午做几场讲座。
• I couldn't speak Chinese,but I showed in mime that I wanted a drink.我不会讲汉语，但我作摹拟动作表示要一杯饮料。

3 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

6 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。

7 juggler   

n. 变戏法者, 行骗者

参考例句：

• Dick was a juggler, who threw mists before your eyes. 迪克是个骗子，他在你面前故弄玄虚。
• The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。

8 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

9 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 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。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

15 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

16 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

17 levity   

n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变

参考例句：

• His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
• At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。

18 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

19 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

20 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

21 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

22 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

23 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

24 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

25 benignly   

adv.仁慈地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Everyone has to benignly help people in distress. 每一个人应让该亲切地帮助有困难的人。 来自互联网
• This drug is benignly soporific. 这种药物具有良好的催眠效果。 来自互联网

26 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

27 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

28 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城