voa慢速英语 New Holy Book in Use in Sierra Leone

本文来自： Hello, again, and welcome back to the program that helps you to learn and improve your American English.??I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.??Today we trel to Sierra Leone to meet some very happy people.??A book of great importance to them has finally been translated into a local language. Then we will he some information about agriculture.??Scientists are studying how rising temperatures are affecting crops and the diseases that affect them. “As It Is” is headed your way, by radio and Internet, from VOA! The first translation of the Bible in the Sierra Leone dialect of Krio was published less than a year ago after years of work.??The new, Krio version of Christianity’s holy book is gaining widespread use.??And it is helping to increase attendance at religious services in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. The Warren Memorial Church in Freetown is using the newly created Krio language Bible at its services. People sing in Krio, and religious messages are given in the dialect. Ruby Pearce helps organize services at the church.??She says the Krio version of the Bible took many years to create.??She says the Bible Society of Sierra Leone had the idea to create the first ever Krio Bible in the 1970’s. Bible translators came to Sierra Leone in 1974.??But Ruby Pearce says they worked only part of the time.??The translation of the New Testament was finished in the 1980’s.??But translation of the more ancient part of the Bible, the Old Testament, extended into the 21st Century.??The Krio Bible was finally completed in the spring of 2013. Ms. Pearce says it was a major step for the country because the majority of its people speak Krio. “We need to know our God understands our language.??And there are some nuances in the English language that we cannot understand, no matter what.??But when it is in our own language we are able to approach God better.” And church attendance has improved.??Ms. Pearce says about 10 to 20 percent more people attend services when the Krio Bible is used. The ancestors of the Krio people were freed sles.??Their language began in the colonial period.??At that time, Krio was developed by early settlers in the western part of Freetown.??It is a mixture of English and African languages.??Some additional words were borrowed from French and Spanish. Desmond George Williams is the senior steward of the Warren Memorial Church.??He is pleased with the public reaction to the Krio Bible over the past few months. “People hearing the story from a language they understand gives it a fresh outlook.??It brings the story closer to them when they hear it in the vernacular.??And I think that is one great strength that the Krio Bible has had.” Twenty-eight-year-old Cindy Williams agrees.??She performs as part of the choir, or singing group, at Warren Memorial Church.??She says that hing the Krio Bible ailable is helpful when preparing for services in the language. Earlier, it would take longer to put together a Krio service because of the need to put the words from English into Krio.??She says many young people he said they now feel a stronger connection to the Bible.??They he a new feeling of satisfaction about speaking their own language. Our World is Changing If you grow food to feed your family, or know someone who does, then you will want to listen carefully to this information.??Bob Doughty joins us with details of a study from England that examines our changing world. Insects and diseases that attack food crops are moving as rising temperatures bring changes to the environment. Plant diseases alone destroy an estimated 10 to 16 percent of the world’s crops in the field. Experts say plant diseases destroy another six to 12 percent after harvest. A new study examines the movement of crop p