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A Top Gun for the Environmental Movement
環境運動的勇士
Wilma Subra had no intention of becoming a public speaker. After graduating from college with degress in chemistry and microbiology, she went to work at Gulf South Research Institute in Louisiana.
威爾瑪·蘇夫拉原來沒有想過要成為一名公共演說家。她大學畢業拿到了化學和微生物學學位后，就職于路易斯安那州南海灣研究所。
As part of her job, she conducted field research on toxic substances in the environment, often in minority communities located near large industrial pollutrs. She found many families were being exposed to high, sometimes deadly levels of chemicals and other toxic substances. But she was not allowed to make her information public.
作為工作職責的一部分，她從事環境有害物質方面的土地研究，調研地區經常是大型工業污染源附近的少數族裔社區。她發現許多家庭暴露于高度的，甚至是致命的化學物和其他有害物質中。但是她無權將她的信息公之于眾。
Frustrated by these restrictions, Subra left her job in 1981, created her own company and has devoted the past two decades to helping people fight back against giant industrial polluters. She works with families and community groups to conduct environmental tests and hybrid test results, and organize for change.
受困于這些制約，蘇夫拉在1981年離開了她的工作，創立了自己的公司，并且在過去的20年中幫助人們與大型工業污染源抗爭。她與居民家庭和社區團體一起努力進行環境測試，混合測試結果，組織活動以改變環境。
Because of her efforts, dozens of toxic sites across the counry have been cleaned up. And one chemical industry spokesperson calls her "a top gun" for the environmental movement.
因為她的努力，遍及全國的大量有害地區被清理干凈了。一家化工企業的發言人稱她是環境運動的“勇士”。
How has Subra achieved all this? Partly through her scientific training, partly through her commitment to environmental justice. But just as important is her ability to communicate with people through public speaking. "Public speaking," she says, "is the primary vehicle I use for reaching people."
蘇夫拉是怎樣做到這一切的呢？部分原因是她科學的訓練，部分是因為她追求環境公平的奉獻精神。但是，同樣重要的原因還有她借助公共演說與他人交流的能力。“公共演說，”她談到，“是我與人們溝通的主要工具。”
If you had asked Subra before 1981, do you see yourself as a major public speaker? She would have laughed at the idea. Yet today she gives more than one hundred presentations a year. Along the way, she's lectured at Harvard, testified before congress, and addressed audiences in 40 states, as well as in Mexico, Canada, and Japan.
如果在1981年之前，我問蘇夫拉，你認為自己是一位重要的公共演說家嗎？她可能會對此一笑置之。然而，在今天，她每年要進行100多場演講。她一直堅持這條路，她在哈佛大學發表演說，在國會發表聲明，向來自于美國40個州，以及墨西哥、加拿大和日本的觀眾進行演說。
