VOA慢速英语: 英国集团给卢旺达带去眼镜

UK Group Brings Eyeglasses to Rwanda

Getting prescription glasses isn't a big deal for most Westerners, but in poor countries such as Rwanda it can require substantial time, effort and money. But now, thanks to a British scientist, up to one million Rwandans with poor vision will soon start testing new affordable glasses that they can adjust to sharpen their sight.

英国集团给卢旺达带去眼镜

Most people in developed countries do not have a problem getting prescription eyeglasses. They go to an ophthalmologist-- a trained specialist who treats problems and diseases of the eye. The ophthalmologist can perform tests on the person's eyesight. The patient may receive a prescription from the doctor at the end of the exam. The prescription gives the patient permission to buy and use eyeglasses.

发达国家很多人配一副眼镜基本上没什么问题。他们去看眼科医生——受过培训的专业医生能够治疗眼睛疾病。眼科医生给患者进行视力测试。给病人检测最后，也许会从医生那儿得到医生开的处方药。这处方药就是让病人购买、使用眼镜。

But in poor countries like Rwanda, it may take a lot more time, effort and money. Rwanda has only 14 ophthalmologists to serve the country's 11 million people.

但是在一些像卢旺达贫困的国家，也许配副眼镜需要更多的时间、精力和金钱。卢旺达全国有110万人口，但是只有14名眼科医生。

But now, a British-based group is helping up to one million Rwandans with poor eyesight. The group is called Vision for a Nation. It will soon start testing new affordable eyeglasses that wearers can adjust to improve their sight.

但是现在，一家英国旗下公司试图帮助100万视力差的卢旺达人。这个组织叫国家视觉。很快这个组织就会开始测试这些新的、人们可以支付得起的眼镜，这样配戴眼镜的人就能矫正、提高视力。

James Chen set up Vision for a Nation. He says Rwanda is one nation where there is a great need for the glasses, especially among schoolchildren.

詹姆斯·陈发起这项国家视觉的计划。他说卢旺达对眼镜有很大的需求，特别是在校的学生更需要眼镜。

"We expect that perhaps a million people in Rwanda will need some form of vision correction and out of that probably 900,000 people will just need a simple reading glass and we would be able to supply that, or it would be our adjustable glasses."

“我们预计卢旺达大概有100万人需要一些视力矫正，其中大概有90万人仅仅需要简单的阅读放大镜，我们有能力供应这些眼镜，或者使用我们的矫正眼镜。”

James Chen is the founder of the eyewear manufacturer Adlens. The company produces two kinds of adjustable glasses. Mr. Chen says they are easy to use and have a wide range of magnification.

詹姆斯·陈是Adlens眼镜工厂的创始人，该公司生产两种矫正眼镜。陈先生表示他们生产的眼镜很容易使用，而且有很大范围的放大率。

"You have two lenses as they move against each other in the part of the eye you can see out, the power changes with the two lenses moving against each other. The other technology we have is the fluid filled (lens) which is a chamber, on the one side you have a plastic kind of a sheet and as you put in the fluid which is a silicon oil, it changes the curvature of that and so that's what's changing the power."

“你有两只镜片，它们相互移动摩擦，你可以通过镜片看清楚，透镜又改变了两个相互移动的镜片。我们拥有的另一项技术是‘液体填充’这是一种凹窝，一方面你有一种塑料的球面，当你把硅油放进去时，弯曲率就会发生改变，这就是改变了透镜。”

Graham Mackenzie is an ophthalmologist who works for Adlens. He says the glasses are best for people whose eyesight changes from day to day.

格雷厄姆·麦肯兹是Adlens公司的眼科医生。他表示对每天视力都在变化的人来说，戴眼镜是最好的选择。

"If your eyesight does fluctuate from day to day, or even minute to minute you can just read just the lens power to meet your needs. The technology as it currently stands has a very high power range -- so high, in fact, that we can capture 90 per cent of all the sorts of refractive errors that are out in the world."

“如果你的视力时好时坏，那只有调整眼镜度数才能满足阅读需求。现行的配眼镜技术有很高的度数范围——非常高，我们能够解决世界上90%的各种屈光不正的问题。”

Thanks to the World Bank, Rwandans will pay only about $1.50 for the adjustable glasses. But that amount is still about three days' wages in their country.

感谢世界银行，卢旺达人调整眼镜只需要支付1.5美元。但是即便这样，这笔钱也是他们三天的工资。

Vision for a Nation has trained about 1,200 nurses to help people learn how to use the glasses. If all goes well in Rwanda, the group plans to provide a similar service in other countries.

国家视觉已经训练了1200名护士来帮助卢旺达人们了解如何使用眼睛。如果一切在卢旺达进展顺利的话，这个团体组织计划给其它国家也提供类似的服务。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·伊凡斯。

VOA's George Putic researched and prepared this story. Jonathan Evans wrote it for Learning English. The editor was George Grow.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

adjust – v. to change something in a minor way so that it works better

affordable – adj. something that can be paid for or done without problems or being seriously harmed

magnification – n. the larger appearance of an object when it is seen through a microscope, telescope, etc.

ophthalmologist – n. a doctor who studies and treats problems and diseases of the eye

wage – n. money received for work done