VOA标准英语2011--Haiti's First Lady Champions Social Causes

Haiti's First Lady Champions Social Causes

Sophia Martelly, the wife of Haiti's new president, Michel Martelly, is juggling¹ the care of four children and a change of lifestyle from when she was simply the wife of a popular musician, her husband's previous job. She has many passions and many things she says she wants to accomplish in the next four and a half years of her husband's presidency².

Sophia Martelly is nervous. It's her first TV interview since becoming Haiti's first lady. And what a transition it's been.

Her husband, Michel Martelly, is now president of Haiti. She jokes how he suddenly needed more than one suit and a single pair of dress shoes.

That's because Michel Martelly previously³ dressed a lot more casually⁴ as can be seen on YouTube videos featuring music star "Sweet Micky". There's also plenty of Internet evidence about "Sweet Micky's" wild side.

Sophia Martelly says it was just a performance.

"My husband Michel is very conservative," she insists. "A lot of people find it very hard to believe that somebody so outspoken⁵, so controversial on stage could be so conservative. But he has been a very conservative husband and father for the past 25 years that I’ve been with him."

Martelly and his family show up a lot on YouTube. Oldest child, Olivier, even produces music videos.

Mrs. Martelly says life changed for them after Haiti's presidential election in May.

"It’s different. They have more security. They cannot do anything in private. That part is a little frustrating⁶ to them," she admits. "But they do enjoy the advantages of being the president’s child."

Mrs. Martelly predicts no return to her husband's rock star life.

“He’s giving himself totally to making a difference in people’s lives," she says. "I understand that the music, he had also given 100 percent himself. But I think there’s more satisfaction in the results he can get by doing good for the people.”

The first lady says she plans to dedicate her own good to Haiti's elderly.

“Here, they are really neglected. I think it would be good to have shelters for the elderly. To provide them with healthcare,“ she explains.

Also on her list, malnutrition⁷. The United Nations says it is the number one cause of death in Haitian children under five years old.

Sophia Martelly says for the past 18 years she's championed social causes. She says that part of her life will continue now - just on a much larger scale.

1 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。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

5 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

6 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。