美国国家公共电台 NPR Marine Corps' Top General Joins Ramadan Meal

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

It's Ramadan, and last year, President Trump¹ skipped the annual White House iftar dinner, ending a 20-year tradition. But there was another prominent U.S. leader at the dinner this week. The top general of the U.S. Marine² Corps³ stopped by a mosque⁴ outside of Baltimore, as NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁵: It's a hard time of year to fast with 15 hours of daylight, so the hundred or more Ahmadi Muslims who turned out at the House of the Eternal mosque were probably thinking mostly about a cold glass of water and dinner. But first, they welcomed their special guest.

MANSOOR SHAMS⁶: Sir, you are amongst patriots⁸. I'm deeply honored today to extend my welcome to General Neller.

LAWRENCE: Mansoor Shams, the Marine veteran who invited him, introduced Marine Commandant Robert Neller.

ROBERT NELLER: You know, I don't consider coming to your mosque to be anything extraordinary, I mean, other than he asked me and he is a Marine and he asked me to come and I said yes.

LAWRENCE: Except it was extraordinary since just the night before, President Trump held a Ramadan dinner which included mostly foreign dignitaries. No mainstream⁹ American Muslim organizations were invited. At the mosque outside Baltimore, General Neller would not take media questions, but he did take some from the audience, mostly about how Muslims are perceived by fellow Americans.

NELLER: There are always going to be somebody who say, you know, they try to put - lump large groups of people in single categories. But I think as a Marine, I mean, I'm more interested in the individual and their ability to serve.

LAWRENCE: Neller told some stories about his travels as a Marine to places where he was the minority as a white, Catholic American. But he said that in combat, all the distinctions of race and religion of your fellow Marine fall away. For Mansoor Shams, the event was...

SHAMS: Amazing (laughter) amazing.

LAWRENCE: Shams says he wrote the commandant last year, not expecting a response, but Neller did write back and eventually asked Shams to speak to Marine officers about Islam. Neller told Shams that coming to the mosque was a way to return the favor.

SHAMS: It gave me more hope. It gave me more optimism that even when you're going through those bumps on the road, where you're getting bashed left and right for your faith, that when you have the commandant of the Marine Corps standing¹⁰ there like a true patriot⁷, an American, in your mosque, it just gives you some goosebumps that say everything's going to be OK.

LAWRENCE: Shams has been organizing iftar dinners all this month with veterans. He says vets¹¹ are one of the most respected groups in the country right now, and he feels like Muslim Americans are one of the most disparaged¹². As a member of both, he wants to change that. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOEY PECORARO'S "MUSIC FOR HAPPINESS")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 shams   

假象( sham的名词复数 )； 假货； 虚假的行为（或感情、言语等）； 假装…的人

参考例句：

• Are those real diamonds or only shams? 那些是真钻石还是赝品？
• Tear away their veil of shams! 撕开他们的假面具吧！

7 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

8 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

12 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网