VOA标准英语2012--AIDS-Stricken Mother Wages War Against HIV

AIDS-Stricken Mother Wages War Against HIV

When Catherine Wyatt-Morley tested positive for HIV, she was told she had six years to live.
Nearly two decades later, the mother of three is still alive, still fighting AIDS and finding strength in helping¹ other women like her.
Shock of her life
Wyatt-Morley had a good life - a happy marriage, three lovely children and a good job. Then, in 1994, at a follow-up visit after surgery, her doctor told her she was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
“I could not believe that that is what he said to me. I was married for over 10 years. I had never had sex outside of marriage," she says. "I was completely faithful to my husband. I had never injected a drug. I had never gotten a blood transfusion² or anything else. So I was devastated³. After all these years, I have yet to find a word in the English language that supersedes⁴ the word devastation⁵.”
Wyatt-Morley learned she had contracted the virus from her husband. He was later diagnosed with AIDS and ultimately lost his battle with the disease. She was left alone to deal with the new realities in her life.
“We lost everything: kicked out of my home, lost my job. I was kicked out of my church. My family turned their backs," she remembers. "So what I had to do was begin to prioritize: who was going to take care of my children, how I was actually going to prepare to pay for my own burial, all of those kinds of things.”
Journal of an HIV-positive mother
At that point, she started to write letters to her children.
“I thought I was going to die and leave my children motherless and wanted my children to understand exactly who I was,” she says.
Out of those letters came a book: "AIDS Memoir⁶: Journal of an HIV-Positive Mother."
Half a world away, in Kenya, Pierina Guantai, another HIV positive mother, picked up the book.
“The book was very inspiring to me because I was going through a very difficult moment,” Guantai says. “I’m reading her book and seeing my life reflected in that situation. The book really encouraged me. And Catherine has helped me grow, made me strong, made me feel worthy⁷.”
That sort of feedback inspired Wyatt-Morley to do even more.
War on HIV/AIDS
“Out of my anguish⁸, out of my misery⁹, I gave birth to an organization that started in 1994 in the bedroom of my home,” she says.
The organization, Women on Maintaining Education and Nutrition - the acronym¹⁰ spells WOMEN - provides HIV testing, counseling, support and nutrition services for people infected with, affected¹¹ by or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
“We have a staff of 13," Wyatt-Morley says. "We’re the only organization in the state in which the programs are administered by an African-American woman living with AIDS, so I know very clearly the plight¹² of the individuals we work with and work for.”
Wyatt-Morley has traveled around the world to speak about her experiences. She went to Africa to see the impact of AIDS first hand. She visited monks¹³ in Thailand to learn about their holistic¹⁴ approach to AIDS care.
She has become the voice of the voiceless. And always- she offers inspiration for other women living with HIV, like Pierina Guantai, who started her own organization in Nairobi with help from Wyatt-Morley’s group.
Spreading the word
“I go speak with the people living with HIV, encouraging and giving support to families and individuals infected or affected by HIV and AIDS,” Guantai says.
Her main focus is middle class women and children.
“The government in Kenya has developed programs with the support of the international community. The stigma¹⁵ among the middle class is still high, which is preventing people from reaching out for services. Poor people are more willing, more receptive to services than the middle class. The other challenge I think is handling children who have HIV themselves and the orphans¹⁶ left behind when parents die.”
Though they have never met in person, Guantai credits Catherine Wyatt-Morley for the success her group has achieved so far.
Wyatt-Morley believes solidarity¹⁷ among women with HIV/AIDS is essential in their fight against the disease.
“Though we’re located in the south of the United States, we really would like for women around the world to know that they have a sister in the fight," she says. "If they need to communicate, please reach out, we’re here to support in any way we can.”

1 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。

2 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

3 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。

4 supersedes   

取代，接替( supersede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The new supersedes the old. 新陈代谢。
• No sooner do you buy a computer than they bring out a new one which supersedes it. 你买电脑后不久他们就会推出新产品取代它。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

7 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

8 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

9 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

10 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

13 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

15 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

16 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

17 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。