VOA标准英语2011--Jon Batzdorff Makes People's Dreams Come

Jon Batzdorff Makes People's Dreams Come True

Jon Batzdorff has made it his life's work to help amputees, not only in the United States, but around the world.
His business is prosthetics and orthotics - the evaluation¹, fabrication and custom-fitting of artificial limbs and orthotic braces². Both an art and a science, limb replacement³ has come a long way since metal and wood were used to make artificial limbs.
Hands on
All Batzdorff ever wanted to do with his life was make a living working with his hands and helping⁴ people. He started building things with his parents in his childhood home in Delaware.
"We built our own furniture there. We hooked up all the light fixtures⁵. We did plumbing⁶ work," says Batzdorff. "So I always grew up working with my hands and building things and that was really the foundation for being able to make artificial limbs."
Batzdorff began making artificial limbs in the late 1970s, prompted by a desire to help soldiers who had returned from Vietnam as amputees. Today, he is clinical director at the Sierra Orthopedic Laboratory in Santa Rosa, California.
His main objective is for all of his patients to achieve maximum comfort, function and appearance with their new limbs. To accomplish that, he uses the latest technology, including microprocessor-controlled knees along with ankle and plastic sockets⁸ shaped to fit perfectly⁹ onto the remaining limb.
New hope
That kind of innovation is what brought John Buckley to Batzdorff, who created a snugly¹⁰ fitting hip¹¹ socket⁷ for Buckley.
Buckley endured what Batzdorff calls the worst kind of amputation¹². His entire left leg and hip were removed 17 years ago to stop a fast-moving, flesh-eating disease. Because no prosthetic socket fit properly or comfortably, he chose to use a wheelchair. Now, he's decided¹³ to try again, with a device from Batzdorff's lab.
With the support of a walker, Buckley stands and takes one step.
"I'm on top of the world. This is very big for me," he says with a delighted laugh. "Just to be able to stand there and walk like that when in six or seven years that's the first time I've stood up there in a walker and walked with nobody holding on to me."
Going global
For decades, Batzdorff has volunteered his services in poor communities around the world. He formalized his work five years ago when he started ProsthetiKa.
The mission of the non-profit organization is to train local technicians to make and fit artificial limbs, to respond to natural disasters and to offer online consultations¹⁴ and instructional videos for amputees, artificial limb makers¹⁵ and trainers worldwide.
Batzdorff says he wanted a slogan for ProsthetiKa that would inspire confidence but also help a patient be realistic. So the motto is: "Repairing the world one step at a time."
"I tell them that if you can stand the first day and take a step, then that will be a tremendous accomplishment¹⁶ and that's a goal that we can strive for," he says. "The next day, you can take two steps, the next day four, the next eight, and pretty soon you're walking."
The microprocessor-controlled limbs that Batzdorff builds in his workshop are made from durable¹⁷, lightweight materials such as carbon composites and titanium. But in the developing world, that advanced technology is unaffordable and difficult to maintain.
So ProsthetiKa's goal is to create sustainable, long-term projects that will eventually be run by local organizations. Batzdorff evaluates what materials are available in the area to make artificial limbs and contacts the local technicians who deliver prosthetic care.
"Even if they're very minimally¹⁸ trained, we try to identify those people, meet with them and say, 'Can we help you to bring up your skills and work together side-by-side and fit the local people with prosthesis?' So, that's what we do."
Haiti project
ProsthetiKa's latest project is in Haiti, where the 2010 earthquake created thousands of new amputees.
Batzdorff designed, built and brought two portable labs to the devastated¹⁹ country, where artificial limbs are now being made. Although a local source for materials has not yet been located, Batzdorff looks at ProsthetiKa's overall progress with great satisfaction.
"I get to participate in somebody else meeting their goals and their dreams," he says. "Their dream is to be able to walk again and I get to help facilitate that and play a part in it."
Batzdorff will soon begin his third training session in Port au Prince. Once Haiti's prosthetic services are up and running under local control, he plans to return to Bolivia, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Lithuania, Armenia, Cuba and the other countries where ProsthetiKa has been laying the groundwork for local prosthetic care.

1 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

2 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 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。

5 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

8 sockets   

n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴

参考例句：

• All new PCs now have USB sockets. 新的个人计算机现在都有通用串行总线插孔。
• Make sure the sockets in your house are fingerproof. 确保你房中的插座是防触电的。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 snugly   

adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地

参考例句：

• Jamie was snugly wrapped in a white woolen scarf. 杰米围着一条白色羊毛围巾舒适而暖和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmyard was snugly sheltered with buildings on three sides. 这个农家院三面都有楼房，遮得很严实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

12 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

13 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。

14 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

17 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

18 minimally   

最低限度地，最低程度地

参考例句：

• Food spoilage problems occur with minimally processed, concentrated frozen citrus products. 食品的变质也发生在轻微加工的、浓缩冷冻的柑橘制品中。
• So, minimally, they are responsible for such actions and omissions. 所以，至少来说，他们要对这样的行为和忽略负责。

19 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。