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Module 2 A Job Worth Doing The Human Traffic Signal At 3500 meters, La Paz, in Bolivia, is the highest capital in the world. Life is hard at high altitude, and the mountains make communications difficult. Many roads are in bad condition and accidents are frequent. One road in particular, which goes north from La Paz, is considered the most dangerous road in the world. On one side the mountains rise steeply; on the other side there is a sheer drop, which in places is hundreds of metres deep. Although there is not a lot of traffic, on average, one vehicle comes off the road every two weeks. The drop is so great that anyone inside the vehicle is lucky to survive. In theory, the road can only be used by traffic going uphill from 8 in the morning, and by traffic coming downhill from 3 in the afternoon. But in practice, few drivers respect the rules. But thanks to one man, the death toll has fallen. Timoteo Apaza is a gentle 46-year-old man who lives in a village near the most dangerous part of the road, known locally as la curva del Diablo (the Devil's Bend). Timoteo has an unusual job – he is a human traffic signal. Every morning he climbs up to the bend with a large circular board in his hand. The board is red on one side and green on the other. Timoteo stands on the bend and directs the traffic. When two vehicles approach from opposite directions they can't see each other, but they can see Timoteo. Timoteo is a volunteer. No one asked him to do the job, and no one pays him for it. Sometimes drivers give him a tip, so that he has just enough money to live on. But often they just pass by, taking the human traffic signal for granted. So why does he do it? Before he volunteer to direct the traffic, Timoteo had had lots of jobs. He had been a miner and a soldier. Then one day while he was working as a lorry driver he had a close encounter with death. He was driving a lorry load of bananas when he came off the road at a bend and fell three hundred metres down the mountain. Somehow he survived. He was in hospital for months. Then, a few years later, he was called out in the night to help pull people out of a bus which had crashed at la curva del diablo. This last experience had a profound effect on Timoteo. He realised that he was lucky to be alive himself, and felt that it was his mission in life to help others. And so every morning, week in, week out, from dawn to dusk, Timoteo takes up his place on the bend and directs the traffic. Module 2 A job worth doing The human traffic signal（人体交通标志） 位于海拔3500米的玻利维亚的首都拉巴斯是世界上最高的首都。在海拔高的地区生活是艰苦的而且高山会使地区的交通变得困难。许多道路的情况都非常的差而且时常发生事故。事实上，从拉巴斯通向北边的一条路被认为是世界上最危险的路。在路的一边耸立着陡峭的高山，在路的另一边会有一个陡峭的悬崖，有的地方有几百米深。尽管这里没有太多的交通，平均每两个周就会有一辆车冲出道路掉进悬崖。这个悬崖落差是非常大的，在掉下去的车里任何一个乘客能活下来都是非常不容易的。理论上说，这条路从早上八点钟开始只允许上山的车通行，而下午三点以后只允许下山的车通行。但是事实上，几乎很少有司机遵守这些规定。 但是幸亏一个人，这条路上的伤亡人数已经下降了。一个46岁的温和的名叫铁穆特欧.安迫塞的老人住在距离这条路最危险路段的一个村庄里，这段路通常被人们称为“魔鬼弯路”。铁穆特欧有一个不寻常的工作----人体交通标志。每天早晨他手里都拿着一个大的圆的板爬上弯道。这个板一面是红色的另一面是绿色的。铁穆特欧在站在转弯处指挥交通。当两辆车相对开来时他们彼此是看不到的，但都可以看到铁穆特欧。铁穆特欧是志愿者。没有人要他去做这项工作也没有人付钱给他。有时，司机会给他一些小费，以便让他有足够的钱来维持生活。但是在通常情况下司机们会开着车过去，把人体交通标志看作是理所当然的事了。 但是他为什么要这样做呢？在他自愿去指挥交通之前，铁穆特欧做过很多工作。他曾经当过矿工和士兵。当他做卡车司机的时候，有一次他和死神意外亲密相遇。当他开着装满香蕉的卡车要驶过一个弯道的时候，他连人带车都掉进300米深的山崖下面。不知什么原因他幸存了下来。他在医院里住了好几个月。几年后的一个夜里，他被叫起来帮助拉出在“魔鬼弯道”里坠毁的公共汽车里的人。最后的这次经历给铁穆特欧有了深刻的影响。他认识到他很幸运的活了下来并且感觉到它的使命是去帮助他人。于是无论从早到晚还是从黎明到黄昏，一周又一周，铁穆特欧都会来到这条路的弯道处站好他的位置，指挥交通。 Growing Jobs What sort of jobs will people de doing ten years from now? according to a survey published by an American university, the ten fastest growing jobs will be related to computers and health. They include computer systems analysts, data analysts and database managers. But there will also be a rise in the demand for health care professionals. Some of these will be new jobs, such as bio informaticians, who combine computer skills with knowledge of biology. Others will be more traditional. For example, more home care nurses will be needed to look after the rapidly ageing population. But many youngsters will need professional care, too: 14 million Americans suffer from speech or language problems, and six million of them are under the age of 18. the number of speech pathologists (who help people who have problems speaking) is expected to double by the year 2012. and social workers will continue to be in demand. Of course there will be plenty of other new jobs, some of which we probably can’t even guess. But for those who love the outdoor life, a good bet could be the leisure industry. As more and more countries open up to tourism, more travel agents will be needed, but the real demand will be for guides to take groups and even individuals on adventure holidays. For people doing this job, common sense, physical fitness and an outgoing personality are likely to be more important than computer skills. |
