精美英文欣赏:上帝可能是同志

Last Friday a distinguished¹ Anglican clergyman, the Rev² Paul Oestreicher, told us that in his opinion Jesus Christ was probably gay because of his affection for his beloved apostle St John. Next day, however, the former Tory MP and Times columnist³ Matthew Parris challenged the very idea of an exclusive gay identity, saying "the categorisation of a whole section of males as homosexuals, in inverted⁴ commas, or indeed heterosexuals, ditto, was simply a mistake.So sexual orientation⁵ is a lot more fluid than we have supposed. Mr Parris who often writes bravely and honestly about his own sexuality could never be accused of homophobia. But if he's right, then the whole notion of clearly identifiable gayness is questionable⁶. If the concept does not really exist, Paul Oestreicher cannot usefully apply it to Jesus.

上周五，一位杰出的英国国教牧师Paul Oestreicher说，根据耶稣对他的爱徒圣约翰的挚爱来看，耶稣很可能是个同性恋。第二天，前保守党下议院议员，Times专栏作家Matthew Parris对同性恋这一单一身份标签提出了质疑，说道：“将一大批男人单纯的区分为要么同性恋要么异性恋，这完全是个错误。”所以说，这性取向问题的变数比我们想象的要大的多。Parris先生经常畅谈自己的性事，所以我们不能认为他讨厌同性恋。但如果他是对的，那么存在明白无误、彻头彻尾的同性恋这个想法本身就相当值得商榷。如果这个概念并不存在，那么Paul Oestreicher也就能不能将之加诸于耶稣。

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

3 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

4 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。