四级拓展：VOA慢速
欢迎大家来到必克英语VOA Special English的学习板块，认真听，仔细学，你会有意外的收获哦~ From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Hannah Godefa is just 16 years old, but she is busy defending the right of all girls and women to be educated. The young woman serves as a national goodwill ambassador to Ethiopia for UNICEF -- the United Nations Children's Fund. And she is urging the UN to make a workable plan to end the discrimination that keeps girls out of classrooms. Last week, for example, she spoke in Geneva to the committee on elimination of discrimination against women. She talked about increasing girls chances for education and protecting them within education from sexual and other abuses. Hannah Godefa was born in Canada to Ethiopian parents. She was appointed to her UNICEF job in January of 2013. Since then, she has visited Ethiopia and other countries in Africa. She describes the purpose of her work as speaking out for the millions of girls who are not attending school. Hannah notes that some girls do not have a school available to attend. And there are other reasons they can not get an education. "Girls also face a lot of responsibilities that, I say, discourage them from attending school - lots of family responsibilities," Godefa said. The young UNICEF ambassador believes cultural barriers and economic considerations also limit girls' chances. Sometimes, parents must choose whether to send their boys or girls to school. Hannah Godefa says many families value girls as workers. "So, all the odds are stacked against them. That is why we have to target them and support them and protect them," Godefa said. Hannah became interested in children's education when she was only 7 years old. She was visiting her grandmother in rural Ethiopia at the time. Hannah became friends with a local girl and wanted to keep communicating with her when she returned home. But Hannah's parents told her that the other girls do not have pencils or paper to write letters. Their daughter reacted by establishing the Pencil Mountain project. She says the project has provided more than 500,000 objects including writing instruments for use in schools. "So, things beyond pencils, like other basic school supplies as well as text books for second-generation universities, some of the newer universities that have been constructed in Ethiopia, " Godefa said. The project has also provided wheelchairs for disable students. Nowadays, as a teenager, Hannah does a lot of public speaking. She spoke at the International Day of the Girl Child at UNICEF New York Headquarters in October 2013. She made the presentation a month before her sixteenth birthday. She also acted as moderator or leader at a UNICEF event last December. American singer Katy Perry accepted responsibilities as UNICEF's latest goodwill ambassador at that event. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was among world leaders attending the discussion. And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. I'm Jerilyn Watson. See more information, you can visit us 英语口语测试 http://www.spiiker.com/daily/ 在线学英语口语 http://www.spiiker.com/english-plaza.jsp
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
汉娜•戈登法（Hannah Godefa）只有16岁，但她正忙于捍卫所有女性受教育的权利。这位年轻女子担任了联合国儿童基金会埃塞尔比亚亲善大使。她正敦促联合国制定可行规划以消除让女孩失学的歧视。
以上周为例，她在日内瓦对“消除对妇女歧视委员会”做了发言。她谈到了提高女孩受教育的机会以及保护她们免受性和其它方面的虐待。
戈登法出生在加拿大，父母是埃塞尔比亚人。她于2013年1月被任命为联合国儿童基金会亲善大使。自那时起，她访问了埃塞尔比亚和非洲其它国家。
她称她的工作的目的是为数百万失学女孩发声。汉娜指出，有些女孩没有学校可上，此外还有其它原因让她们无法获得教育。
戈登法说，“女孩们还面临着很多阻止她们上学的责任，很多的家庭责任。”
这位年轻的联合国儿童基金会亲善大使认为，文化障碍和经济因素也限制了女孩们的机会。有时候，父母必须选择是否让他们的儿子或女儿上学。戈登法表示，很多家庭将女孩视为劳力。
戈登法说，“所以，所有这些不利因素都对她们不利。这就是为何我们要以她们为目标，支持她们，保护她们。”
汉娜年仅7岁时就对儿童教育产生极大兴趣。她当时去探望居住在埃塞尔比亚农村的祖母。汉娜和一位当地女孩成了朋友，并希望在回家后能继续和她联系。
但汉娜的父母告诉她，这位女孩没有写信的铅笔和纸。她们的女儿建立了铅笔山项目作为回应。她说，该项目已经提供了超过50万件物品，其中包括学校使用的书写工具。
戈登法表示，“除了铅笔，还有其它基本学习用品以及课本提供给了埃塞尔比亚一些新建成的第二代大学。”
该项目还给残疾学生提供了轮椅。如今，作为一个十几岁的孩子，汉娜做了很多公开演讲。2013年10月的国际女童日，她在联合国儿童基金会的纽约总部做了发言。她做这次报告是在她16岁生日前的一个月。
她还担任了去年十二月联合国儿童基金会一次活动的主持人。在那次活动上，美国歌手凯蒂•佩里（Katy Perry）接受重任成为了联合国最新一位亲善大使。联合国秘书长潘基文也位居参加这次商讨的世界领导人之列。
以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语教育报道的全部内容。我是杰瑞琳•沃特森（Jerilyn Watson）。
