(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Each year on November 11th, Americans observe Veterans Day. Veterans Day honors men and women who serve, or have served, in the United States military.
But who serves them? Melissa Fitzgerald, for one.
The former Hollywood actress is senior director of the nonprofit organization, Justice for Vets. The organization is a part of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, NADCP. She says what inspires her to serve is a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"There's a quote that has inspired me for many years, and my old friends will know it is the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, which is, everybody can be great because everybody can serve."
Justice for Vets helps to grow the number of veterans treatment courts and to expand their role. These courts were created to meet the specific needs of veterans involved in the criminal justice system.
Many veterans return from combat with mental health problems related to their service. Some suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. Some abuse drugs. These difficulties can lead to unemployment, homelessness and arrest. The veterans treatment courts help soldiers find solutions to break the cycle of drug abuse and crime.
Melissa Fitzgerald knows that every veteran's journey back into civilian life after active duty military life is not the same.
"The vast majority of our veterans are returning home as leaders in our communities. They're living incredibly productive lives and they are truly civic assets. Some of our veterans are struggling and when they come home and they are struggling and they get in trouble with the law because of a substance use disorder, mental health condition or trauma and our mission at Justice for Vets is to put a veterans treatment court within reach of every veteran in need so they can receive treatment instead of incarceration."
Fitzgerald has visited many veterans in courts across the country. She says the programs are very rigorous and are part of the court system.
"You know it's an interdisciplinary court team that includes a judge, prosecutor, defense, probation, mental health care providers, among others. That they work together as a team and they are specially trained by us (because we do training and technical assistance) to assess and treat the veterans who appear before them. The first veterans treatment court that I went to visit, it was a miracle to me. It was miraculous to see a judge speaking with the veteran who's appearing before him and thanking him for his service and saying we're here to make sure that you succeed. And we are all grateful for your service to this country. And seeing, you know, certainly I've seen many veterans stand a little taller."
Not only are the veterans treatment courts effective, Melissa says, they are also places of hope and healing.
"And it is amazing to support the work that's going on there because it's remarkable. And on top of that, veterans treatment courts are effective. And they are returning healthy veterans to our communities. And you know, I think one of the things that I that really struck me when I have visited the courts around the country is that all of our veterans, including the ones who are struggling, are of our nation's greatest and most valuable civic assets."
Sgt. Tommy Rieman is one of those assets.
"He served in Iraq. He was shot several times – 11 shrapnel wounds. He used his body as a human shield to protect his men. He refused to be carried off until everyone else was and he returned home as, obviously, a hero. President Bush acknowledged Tommy in the State of the Union address and the entire time Tommy was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. His family life fell apart. His wife left with the children. After a night of heavy drinking and pills, he drove his truck into a tree and survived."
Melissa Fitzgerald remembers Tommy's story well. She says if it had not been for the NADCP, life would have been different for him.
"And this was right before I started, Justice for Vets had been advocating with the governor in North Carolina to open a veterans treatment court and during this time, a veterans treatment court opened in North Carolina. The first one in Harnett County, which was several hours from where Tommy lived. And in that program Tommy received the accountability, the treatment, the structure, a mentor and he was able to get his life back."
Melissa Fitzgerald left her life in Hollywood behind to come work for Justice for Vets. For years, she played the character of Carol Fitzpatrick on the hit TV show, "The West Wing."
But Melissa has always helped people in need. Melissa is co-founder of the nonprofit group Voices in Harmony. The organization uses the theater arts to mentor at-risk teens.
"I started Voices in Harmony in 1995 with several other actors and we kept working on that program as volunteers while we were still having our acting careers and we were struggling like crazy as actors, but Voices in Harmony was flourishing. And we just kept getting inspired to do more and more and, you know, then I got "The West Wing" and continued to do Voices in Harmony through that entire time."
In 2007, Melissa traveled to Africa with several others to be of service.
"During "The West Wing" you have a good chunk of time off in the summer. So I, one summer, went to South Africa and volunteered and, as a result, had the opportunity to go somewhere else, too, through international medical corps. And I chose to go to Northern Uganda because I'd been working with teens and there was a child soldier issue where children were being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army there. And I think that experience really opened my eyes to the effects of war on communities. I get emotional thinking about it, but that really inspired me to feel like we actually have the ability to make change. All of us do if we work together."
Melissa also helped produce the documentary film, "Halfway Home." The film features U.S. veterans from wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. The soldiers recount their experiences in war and in their transitions to civilian life.
There are approximately 23.2 million military veterans in the United States. They are the ones who have fought, sacrifice and served this country. Now, Melissa Fitzgerald says we all owe them everything.
"I think our country owes our military veterans to embrace them when they come home, be there for them with the programs that work for them and for their families. A lesson that I learned in acting is when you want to know who your character is when you're reading a new script or a new play, what do you do? Do you look at what they say, that's one way. Do you look at what other people say about them? That's another way and maybe even a better way than what they say. But the real way you know who your character is is what do they do. So I think that's very true about life. And I think that if we say and use the words that we honor our veterans, thank you for your service and we are a grateful nation, those must be backed up by actions, real actions. And I think real actions are supporting programs that work. And that's why I feel like Justice for Vets and the work that we are doing in veterans treatment courts is important, powerful, necessary and essential to really expressing our true gratitude. Because I do feel like the American people are grateful for the service of our veterans."
重点解析
1.part of一部分
He received part of his education in England.
他有一部分教育是在英国接受的。
2.involved in涉及；包含
In this section, we will briefly describe possible ways of reducing the costs and risks involved in doing this.
在这一部分中，我们将简要描述降低成本的可能方法以及这样做所涉及的风险。
3.related to 与…有关
If you love gardening, do something related to that.
如果你喜欢园艺园林，那就做一些和这个有关的。
4.the majority of 大多数
His plea unimpressed the vast majority of shareholders present.
他的请求未能使在场的大多数股东动心。
5.instead of代替；而不是
It was basically a cheeseburger but with a slice of pineapple instead of meat.
从根本上说，它是一种用一片菠萝代替肉片的起司汉堡。
6.be grateful for对……心存感激
Employers too have reason to be grateful for the boost to their labour force from the extra women, not least because talented people are in short supply the world over.
雇主真的应该感谢劳动力市场有了这些职场女性，因为全世界人才市场都紧缺。
参考译文
每年的11月11日，美国人都庆祝退伍军人节。退伍军人节是为了纪念在美国军队服役或曾经服役的男女军人。
但是谁为他们服务呢?梅丽莎·菲茨杰拉德就是其中之一。
这位前好莱坞女演员是非营利组织Justice for Vets的高级总监。该组织是全国毒品法庭专业人员协会(NADCP)的一部分。她说，激励她为军人服务的是马丁·路德·金博士的一句名言。
“有一句话多年来一直激励着我，我的老朋友们也知道这句话就是马丁·路德·金的一句名言，这句话就是，每个人都能成就伟大，因为每个人都可以服务。”
JusticeforVets帮助成立更多退伍军人治疗法庭，并且加强他们的作用。这些法庭的设立是为了满足涉及到刑事司法系统的退伍军人的具体需求。
许多退伍军人从战场上回来后，就患上了跟服役有关的心理健康问题。有些人患有创伤后应激障碍。一些人则滥用药物。这些困难情况会导致他们失业、无家可归和被捕。退伍军人治疗法庭帮助士兵找到打破药物滥用和犯罪循环的方法。
梅丽莎·菲茨杰拉德知道，每个退伍军人退役后重返平民生活的过程是不一样的。
“我们绝大多数退伍军人正以社区领袖的身份返回家园。他们过着非常富有成效的生活，他们是真正的有价值的公民。由于物质使用障碍、心理健康状况或创伤的存在，我们的一些退伍军人正在挣扎，当他们回家后，他们在挣扎，他们在法律上遇到了麻烦。我Justice for Vets组织的使命是让每个有需要的退伍军人都能得到退伍军人治疗法庭的帮助，这样他们就能接受治疗，而不是被监禁。”
菲茨杰拉德在全国各地的法院探访过许多退伍军人。她说，这些项目非常严格，是法院系统的一部分。
“你知道这是一个跨学科的法庭团队，包括一名法官，检察官、辩护律师、缓刑犯、精神卫生保健提供者等等。他们作为一个团队一起工作，他们有经过我们专门训练（因为我们组织提供培训和技术援助），以对出现在他们面前的老兵进行评估和治疗。我去的第一个老兵治疗法庭，对我来说是个奇迹。看到一个法官和出现在他面前的老兵谈话真是不可思议，感谢他的服务，并说我们在这里是为了确保你们的成功。而且，我们对你们对国家的服务非常感激。你知道，我见过很多老兵站得更高。”
梅丽莎说，这些老兵治疗法庭不仅是有效的，这些法庭也是充满希望和修复损伤的地方。
“支持那里正在进行的工作是令人惊奇的，因为它是非凡的。最重要的是，老兵治疗法庭是有影响的。他们帮助健康的退伍老兵返回到社区中。而且你知道，我觉得真正让我震惊的事情是，当我参观这个国家的法庭的时候，我发现我们的所有的老兵，包括哪些正在挣扎的老兵，他们都是我们国家最好的、最有价值的公民。
汤米·里曼中士就是其中之一。
“他曾在伊拉克服役。他中过几次枪——11枚弹片伤。他用自己的身体作为人肉盾牌来保护他的手下。在其他人都撤退前，他拒绝逃生。他回家时，显然是一个英雄。布什总统在国情咨文演讲中对他的奉献表示了认可，而且汤米一直在和创伤后应激障碍做斗争。他的家庭破裂了。他的妻子带着孩子离开了。后来他喝了一晚上的酒，吃了一晚上的药，然后开车撞到一棵树上，然后还是活了下来。”
梅丽莎·菲茨杰拉德对汤米的故事记忆犹新。她说，要是没有全国毒品法庭专业人员协会的帮助，他的生活将会是不同的。
“而且这件事情就发生在我创建军人法庭之前，我们的Justice for Vets组织一直在与北卡罗来纳州州长一起倡导成立退伍军人治疗法庭，就在那个时间，一个退伍军人治疗法庭在北卡罗来纳州成立了。第一个是在哈尼特县成立的，那里距汤米生活的地方有几个小时的车程。汤米在那个项目中接受了问责制，治疗，安排和指导，然后他找回了自己的生活。”
梅丽莎·菲茨杰拉德离开了好莱坞的生活，来到这里为Justice for Vets组织工作。多年来，她一直在热门电视剧《白宫风云》中扮演卡罗尔·菲茨帕特里克这个角色。
但是梅丽莎总是帮助那些有需要的人。梅丽莎是非营利组织“和谐之声”的联合创始人。该组织利用戏剧艺术指导高危青少年。
“1995年，我和其他几位演员开启了“和谐之声”这个项目，当我们还在当演员的时候，我们一直在做这个项目的志愿者，我们作为演员在疯狂地奋斗，但“和谐之声”却在蓬勃发展。我们不断受到鼓舞去做越来越多的事情，后来我有了拍摄《白宫风云》的机会，而且在那段时间里，我一直在做“和谐之声”项目的工作。”
2007年，梅丽莎和其他几个人一起前往非洲服务。
在拍摄《白宫风云》时，你可以在夏天享受一段很长的假期。所以，有一年夏天，我去了南非做志愿者，结果，通过国际医疗队，我也有机会去其他地方。我选择去乌干达北部，因为我一直在和青少年打交道，那里有一个儿童兵的问题，那里的儿童被圣主抵抗军绑架。我觉得那次经历真正地让我认识到战争对社区的影响。我陷入了情绪化的思考，但是那次经历真的鼓舞到我，我认识到我们是有能力做出改变的。如果我们共同努力的话，我们都可以做出改变。
梅丽莎还帮助制作了纪录片《出狱之家》。这部电影的主角是参加过伊拉克、阿富汗和越南战争的美国退伍军人。士兵们讲述了他们在战争中的经历以及他们向平民生活的转变。
在美国，大约有2320万退伍军人。他们是那些为这个国家战斗、牺牲和服务的人。梅丽莎·菲茨杰拉德说我们都对退伍军人有亏欠。
“我认为我们的国家对退伍军人有亏欠，当他们回国时，我们应该拥抱他们，为他们服务，为他们和他们的家庭服务。在表演中我学到的一件事是，当你读一个新剧本的时候，你会想知道你的角色是什么样的，这时你会怎么办？你会看看他们说的话，这是一种方式。你会看看其他人是怎么评价他们的吗？这便是另外一种方式，而且也许是一种比看角色自己说的话更好的方式。但是真正让你了解你的角色的是角色的行为。所以我觉得，这是关于生活很正确的一个观点。而且如果我对老兵说了以他们为荣的话语，感谢你对国家的服役。我们是一个伟大的国家。这些话必须得到行动的支持，真正的行动。我觉得真正的行动就是支持有效的项目。这就是为什么我觉得Justice for Vets组织和我们在退伍军人治疗法庭所做的事是重要的，强有力的，必要的，必需要做的事，以真正的表达我们对他们的感激。因为我真的觉得美国人民都感激老兵对国家的服务。”
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