新外研版高中英語必修三上電子課本翻譯下載Unit 2（A）

新外研版

高中英語

第三冊

Unit 2

A

Understanding ideas

課文再現

英漢對照

The Well that Changed the World

改變世界的井

As a six-year-old Canadian schoolboy, Ryan had trouble believing the words spoken by his teacher that many people in developing African countries couldn’t get enough clean water. He looked across the classroom at the drinking fountain. It was very close—only ten steps away. So, Ryan asked himself, 「Why do some African children have to walk ten kilometres to get water every day? And why is the water so dirty that it makes them sick?」 Young Ryan thought, 「Life is easy for me, but hard for those people. Why don’t I help?」

年僅六歲的加拿大小學生瑞安難以相信老師所說的話：在欠發達的非洲國家，許多人都喝不到足夠的乾淨的水。他的目光掠過教室，望向對面的噴泉式飲水器，它是那麼近——只有十步之遙。因此，瑞安問自己：「為什麼有些非洲兒童每天要步行十公裡去取水？為什麼他們會因為喝了不衛生的水而生病？」年幼的瑞安想道：「我的生活很舒適，但他們的生活卻那麼艱難，我為什麼不去幫幫他們呢？」

At first, his plan was to earn money to build a single well somewhere in Africa. He cleaned windows and did gardening for his family and neighbours. He soon reached his first target of $70, but when he gave the money to a charity, he was told that it actually cost $2,000 to build a well. Seventy dollars was only enough for a hand pump. Ryan understood that a hand pump wouldn’t help the children. What they needed was a well dug near their homes.

起初，他的計劃是賺錢在非洲挖一口井。通過幫助家人和鄰居們擦窗戶、做園藝，他很快就達到了他的第一個目標——70美元，但當他把這筆錢捐給慈善機構時，他才得知挖一口井實際上需要花費2,000美元。70美元只夠買一個手壓泵。瑞安明白一個手壓泵幫不了非洲的孩子們。他們需要的是一口離家不遠的井。

Two thousand dollars was a lot of money, but Ryan didn’t give up. He was determined to help other children have clean water. He started to ask for help from his classmates and neighbours and persuaded them to donate money. At the same time, a friend of Ryan’s mother helped make his story go public. After several months, Ryan had raised the $2,000, with which a well was built near a primary school in Uganda. The children at the school no longer needed to walk for hours to get water. They were grateful to him and invited him to visit.

2,000美元可是一筆大數目，但是瑞安並沒有放棄。他下定決心要幫助其他孩子獲得乾淨的水。他開始向同學和鄰居求助，說服他們捐款。與此同時，在瑞安媽媽的一位朋友的幫助下，瑞安的事為公眾所知了。幾個月後，瑞安籌集了2,000美元，在烏幹達一所小學附近建造了一口井。這所學校的孩子們再也不用走幾小時的路去打水了。他們非常感激瑞安，並邀請瑞安前來參觀。

In Uganda, Ryan at last saw the finished well with his own eyes. But that was not all. He also saw hundreds of delighted students who had turned out to welcome him. They sang and danced happily. Some even offered him food and gifts. At first Ryan was nervous, but soon a great warmth filled him. He really had made a difference for these children. He broke into a joyful smile.

在烏幹達，瑞安終於親眼看到了打好的井。不僅如此，他還看到了幾百名學生興高採烈地歡迎他。他們高興地唱歌跳舞。有的學生還為他送上了食物和禮物。一開始瑞安還有點緊張，但很快他就感到一陣溫暖。他真的改變了這些孩子的生活。他突然笑了起來。

Later, Ryan’s experience led him to set up a foundation to encourage more people to help. Many inspired people gave him their support. Ryan’s foundation continues to attract support from more and more people, so the work of building more wells can go on. Today, over 800,000 people in 16 countries across Africa have benefited from the life-changing gift of clean, safe water.

後來，這段經歷促使瑞安建立了一個基金會，以鼓勵更多的人提供幫助。許多深受鼓舞的人都給與瑞安支持。瑞安的基金會不斷吸引著越來越多的人給予幫助，從而使打井事業能夠繼續。如今，這份能改變人一生的禮物——乾淨衛生的水——已經惠及了非洲16個國家的80多萬人。

Now, as an adult, Ryan says that the question to ask is not 「Why don’t I help?」, but 「How can I help today?」. This insight grew from the determined attitude of a six-year-old boy who had the courage and perseverance to make his dream a reality.

如今，瑞安已長大成人，他不再問「我為什麼不去幫助他們？」，而是「如今我該如何去幫助他們？」。這份領悟，始於一個有勇氣和毅力實現夢想的六歲男孩那顆堅定不移的心。