The White
Helmets Who Save Syrians
For
the last five years or so, a terrible civil war has been raging in Syria, a small country in the Middle East. The conflict began in 2011
during the so-called Arab Spring, and it became violent when the government of
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad began to crack down on protestors who were
demanding the removal of al-Assad. It has since come to involve several factions, with many of these groups receiving both official and unofficial support and aid from several foreign nations, including the United
States of America and Russia.
Sadly, the
Syrian people have had to endure years of fighting, not to
mention almost daily bombings, and images of shell-shocked
Syrian survivors have filled social media sites. As
a result, many Syrians have chosen to leave their country and become refugees, with thousands making the risky journey to Europe and
Canada.
However,
a few brave Syrians have chosen to stay behind and help those who are still
trying to live in this war-torn country. These courageous people are members of the Syrian Civil Defense, although they are better known as the “White Helmets” because of
the safety hats they wear during their rescue work. The White Helmets are an
all-volunteer organization, and the group’s members come from all walks of
life. The group is not political at all, and it does its best to save people on
all sides of the conflict, providing medical assistance to anyone in need. In fact,
the group’s motto is “To save a life is to save all of humanity.”
Their
work is certainly dangerous. It has been estimated that 130 out of the
3,000 White Helmet members have been killed over the years. Most recently, in
August of 2016, Khaled Omar, a 31-year-old member of the White Helmets who became famous when a
video of him saving a “miracle baby” went viral in 2014, was killed by shrapnel in Aleppo.
At
the same time, however, it has also been estimated that the White Helmets have
been responsible for saving more than 56,000 people in Syria, despite having to
brave bombings and even sniper fire to do their work. Perhaps this is why they
have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize this year. In the nomination, the White Helmets were praised for their
work: “Unpaid and unarmed, the White Helmets rush into bomb sites to rescue fellow Syrians
from the rubble, regardless of religion or politics.” The nomination continued: “Their efforts
to save lives in the most dangerous place on earth are awe-inspiring, and merit the deepest respect.”
Reading Comprehension
( ) 1. What is the main topic of this
article?
(A) A new fashion trend that is
popular in the Middle Eastern country of Syria.
(B) A history of the most recent
Nobel Peace Prize winners from around the world.
(C) The cause of the civil war
in Syria that began in 2011.
(D) The brave efforts of a group
of volunteers in Syria known as the White Helmets.
( ) 2. The word “endure” in the second
paragraph is closest in meaning to “_______.”
(A) run away (B) put up with (C)look back on (D) fight over
( ) 3. According to the passage, how many
White Helmets have been killed over the past
five years?
(A)
130 (B) 3,000
(C) 56,000 (D)
The article did not mention.
( ) 4. What can be inferred from the passage?
(A) Life in Syria is difficult
but safe, thanks to the White Helmets.
(B) The White Helmets are
professionals who are well-paid for the dangerous work
they do.
(C) Many refugees are now returning
to Syria to volunteer with the White Helmets.
(D) The White Helmets will
continue to do their work until the war is over in Syria.
( ) 5. which word best describes the White
Helmets?
(A) Foolish. (B) Greedy. (C)
Uncaring. (D) Courageous.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1. rage [redZ] vi. 肆虐，猛烈進行
．The air raid has been raging in this country. Thousands of
people are killed and wounded.
2. crack down on [`kr8k da5n An] phr. 嚴厲制裁
．The government of Philippines cracks down on drug pushers (毒販) severely.
3. protestor [pr1`tEst2] n. [C] 抗議分子
．A lot of protestors were
gathering in front of the Presidential Office Building to fight for their
rights and hope to deal with the problem of the pension scheme.
4. demand [dI`m8nd] vt. 強烈要求
．Brad demanded to see his children and negotiated child custody (子女扶養權) with his
wife.
5. removal [rI`muvL] n. [U] 免職，開除
．The removal of Kevin shocked
everyone in the office because he is the one who put our company together.
6. faction [`f8kS1n] n. [C] 派別，派系
．The religion split into different fractions
but the basic beliefs are still the same.
7. unofficial [&^n1`fIS1l] adj. 非官方的，非正式的
．The report is unofficial. We should be skeptical
about it.
8. endure [In`dj5r] vt. 忍受，忍耐
．Farmers have to endure the heat of the burning sun when they work in the fields in summertime.
9. refugee [&rEfj5`dZi] n. [C] 難民
．Thousands of refugees fleeing from the war zone were in search of safety in
neighboring countries.
10. risky [`rIskI] adj.
擔…的風險，冒風險
．It’s risky to invest impulsively. We should think twice before you leap.
11. assistance [1`sIst1ns] n. [U] 幫助，協助
．When Sean saw an old woman carrying a heavy
bag, he ran over and came to her
assistance
right away.
12. motto [`mAto] n. [U] 座右銘；格言
．Levine’s motto is “Never give up.” He is really positive.
13. humanity [hju`m8n1tI] n.
[U] 人，人類
．Environmental
damage is a threat not only to humanity,
but also to other living things.
14. estimate [`Est1&met] vt. 估計，估算
．Mr. White estimated that about seventy percent of his students would pass
this test.
15. nominate [`nAm1&net] vt. 提名
．Linda was nominated for the class leader on the first day of school.
16. unpaid [^n`ped] adj. 無償的，沒有報酬的
．Mandy quite enjoys being an international
volunteer. Although it is unpaid,
she likes the
feeling of helping people
around the world.
17. unarmed [^n`Armd] adj. 非武裝的，徒手的
．The general emphasized again and again, “Do
not shoot unarmed citizens. Don’t
hurt innocent
people.”
18. rubble [`r^bL] n. [U] 瓦礫堆，碎磚爛瓦
．The big earthquake reduced many
houses in the city to rubble.
19. regardless [rI`gArdlIs] adv. 不管怎樣，無論如何
．Regardless
of his parents’ objection, Ian still went to war-torn countries to help the
people there.
20. merit [`mErIt] vt. 值得；應受
．Josh said that he did nothing
wrong to merit such an outrageous treatment.
Words for
Recognition
1. Syria [`sIrI1] n. 敘利亞
Syrian [`sIrI1n] n. 敘利亞人
阿拉伯敘利亞共和國，通稱敘利亞。首都為大馬士革。敘利亞是世界最古老文明
發源地之一，此外也是基督教的發祥地和傳播中心；後來阿拉伯帝國在中東地區
的擴張，成為伊斯蘭教傳播中心之一，
2. Russia [`r^S1]
n. 俄羅斯
俄羅斯聯邦，簡稱俄羅斯。橫跨歐、亞兩大洲。俄羅斯歷史始於歐洲的東斯拉夫
民族，國家從拜占庭帝國採納了東正教，隨後由此開始，千年拜占庭與斯拉夫文
化的融合成為了今日的俄羅斯文化。
3. shell-shocked [`SEl `SAkt] adj. (因戰爭)受極度驚嚇的
4. war-torn [`wOr `tO:n] adj. 受戰爭蹂躪的，飽受戰亂的
5. Syrian Civil Defense [`sIrI1n sIvL
dI`fEns] n. 敘利亞民防隊
又稱白盔隊，或白帽救援隊，主要由敘利亞人民志願組成的一個非官方組織，目
的為拯救那些飽受敘利亞內戰且手無寸鐵的人民。在敘利亞境內共有119個救援
中心，同時得到西方世界和國際非政府組織「危機救援」的支持。
6. Khaled Omar
全名為Khaled Omran Harrah，於2014年拯救10天大的「奇蹟寶寶」，而躍上國際
版面。但卻在政府軍所謂的「雙擊行動」中喪生。
7. shrapnel [`Sr8pn1l]
n. [U] 炸彈碎片；流彈
8. Aleppo n. 阿勒坡
是敘利亞的第一大城市，比首都大馬士革的人口還多。從歷史上看，阿勒坡是人類最古
老的定居點之一。敘利亞內戰爆發後，2012年開始的阿勒坡之戰在市內造成嚴重破壞。
9. Nobel Peace Prize [no`bEl pIs praIz] n. 諾貝爾和平獎
是由瑞典發明家,，艾爾弗雷德‧諾貝爾所創立的諾貝爾獎之一，由挪威諾貝爾委
員會選出得主，與其他在瑞典斯德哥爾摩頒發四個獎項不同，諾貝爾和平獎頒獎
典禮是在挪威首都奧斯陸舉行，由挪威諾貝爾委員會主席頒獎，
10. awe-inspiring [`OIn&spaI1rI9] adj. 令人敬畏的
Translation
拯救敘利亞人的白盔隊
大約在五年前，一場嚴重的內戰肆虐於中東的一個小國家，敘利亞。這場衝突始於2011年的阿拉伯之春，且當敘利亞總統，巴沙爾‧阿薩德政府開始嚴厲制裁那些想要阿薩德下台的抗議分子時，這場衝突越演越烈。這場內戰涉及到數個派別，各個團體都有官方和非官方的支持，並且還有來自幾個其他國家的幫助，包括美國和俄羅斯。
令人難過的是，敘利亞人民必須承受數年的戰爭，更不用提及每日的轟炸；飽受驚嚇的敘利亞生還者的照片充斥著社群網站。因此，許多敘利亞人民選擇離開他們的家鄉，成為難民，數以千計的避難者冒著生命的危險前往歐洲和加拿大。
但是，有一群勇敢的敘利亞人選擇留在家鄉，幫助那些還住在這個戰火肆虐的國家的人。這些勇敢的人，為敘利亞民間防衛隊的成員，雖然他們較為人所知的稱呼為「白盔隊」，源自於他們在救援的過程中所戴的安全帽。白盔隊所有的成員都是自願者，並且來自各個不同行業。這個組織沒有政治目的，他們竭盡所有的力氣去拯救衝突中各方人員的性命，提供醫療救援給所有的人。事實上，這個組織的宗旨為「拯救一條生命，就是拯救人類。」
他們的工作非常危險。據估計，近幾年來3,000名白盔隊的成員已經有130名成員身亡。最近，Omar Khaled，一位31歲的白盔隊成員，因為在2014年一段救出「奇蹟寶寶」的影片在網路上瘋傳而聞名，卻在今年的8月，在阿勒坡遭流彈擊中身亡。
但是同時，據估計，儘管必須冒著被轟炸和射擊的危險，白盔隊已經在敘利亞成功地救出超過56,000人。也許這就是為什麼今年他們被提名為諾貝爾和平獎候選人的原因。提名文中，白盔隊被讚許：「沒有支薪，沒有武裝，不管宗教信仰，不管政治立場，白盔隊都會衝進爆炸現場，從瓦礫堆下救出敘利亞同胞」。提名文繼續寫道：「在全世界最危險的地方搶救生命，他們的努力是值得敬畏的，他們的功績是值得受至高的尊敬的」。
閱讀測驗解答：1. D
2. B 3. A 4. D 5. D
