牛津版 高中英语 电子课本 模块六M6U4

ReadingThe UN -bringing everyone closer togetherI am pleased to have this chance today to talk to you about the United Nations, or the UN, as it is more often referred to. The UN is an international organization made up of countries that want to promote world peace. I am very happy to have been chosen to be a Goodwill Ambassador for them. Being a Goodwill Ambassador means that I visit countries where the UN operates programmes to help people. I feel very honoured to have been able to take on this role. Later I shall tell you about some of the work I have done. First I should give you a short description of the UN.So, when was the United Nations set up? It was set up just after the Second World War, in October 1945 by 51 countries. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN 192 countries altogether. The UN has four main functions: to keep international peace; to develop friendly relationships among nations; to work together in solving international political conflicts and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a centre for organizing the actions or work of different nations.As you know, the UN touches the lives of people everywhere. The organization is helping end some of the worlds most horrible conflicts, the UN does not have its own army. Instead, it borrows soldiers from different countries that belong to the UN. With the help of these armies and other worthy organizations, the UN assists the victims of wars and disasters. In addition, the UN helps protect human rights and works to improve international laws, for example, those on child labour and on equal rights for minorities and women.That is a little about the UN. Now let me tell you about the work I have been doing with them. My job with the UN is not paid but voluntary, and as I said before, I visit countries where the UN has programmes to help people. So, television and press will follow and record my visits will encourage people working on the projects and draw local peoples attention to the situation.I have visited many courtries in Africa. Recently, I was fortunate enough to travel to South Africa, where I met some women who have organized themselves into a group. They collect approximately 1.35 yuan per day from each member and add it to some money contributed by the government. With this, the women have enough money to acquire materials to make baskets. They then sell these at the market for a profit. With luck their group will be able to expend and maybe set up a shop. Such programmes can transform peoples lives by giving them the ability to provide for themselves and their families. There are lots of worthwhile programmes like this under the umbrella of the UN that have helped millions of people across the world.Apart from the urgent problems caused by wars and conflicts, the UN helps countries with other problems such as lack of education, starvation, disasters, AIDS and other diseases. At a UN meeting in 2000, all of its members agreed to try and meet eight development goals by the year 2015. One of the goals is to ensure that clean water is available to everyone, as in many places water is not safe to drink unless it is boiled. Another is to ensure all children complete primary education. For more information, you may like to look it up on the UN website. So you see, with the work of the UN the world has been brought closer together.Reading strategy: understanding a speakers attitudePeople giving a speech on a topic usually express their own opinion and attitude even if the speech is meant to give information rather than opinions. They can express an opinion in favour of something by speaking in an enthusiastic manner and using positive adjectives to describe things, e,g., I am very happy to have been chosen to be a Goodwill Ambassador for them. The speaker can also stress the positive aspects of the topic, e.g., the UN touches the lives of people everywhere. When expressing an opinion against something, the speaker will use negative adjectives, e.g., some of the worlds most horrible conflicts. Understanding the opinion and attitude of the speaker can increase your comprehension of a speech. M6U4Project Making an action planChanging the world-my commitment20 OctoberArrived here to find everything was in chaos. Have not had time to write my diary for a whole week. The whole island is flooded. Many of the people have fled to the mountains to escape. The hospital is badly damaged and in a mess; it cannot be used at the moment. This is a new experience for me. Usually, I am working in areas that have dry climates, such as Kenya and Sudan . In Sudan, we set up centres to ensure that people got food, and we checked the health of babies to make sure they were putting on weight. We also gave children shots to stop them dying from diseases. However, that campaign was conducted in villages where there was lots of fighting, far from the city. Running from one p