美国国家公共电台 NPR Minnesota Teen Brings Home Top Prize In International Quran Competition

 

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AHMED BURHAN MOHAMED: (Speaking Arabic).

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

That's Ahmed Burhan Mohamed's award-winning recitation of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. He wowed judges with a nearly perfect oration¹ of the scripture² and took home the Dubai International Holy Quran Award in the United Arab Emirates. He's the first American to win the prestigious³ competition. He's also of Somali descent.

MOHAMED: Oh, I was very proud. It was like a dream come true. I didn't even - five years before that, I didn't even think of myself going to that competition. I was very surprised.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Many Muslim children learn how to read the Quran at some point in their life, but Ahmed is a hafiz, someone who has not only learned to read the Quran but memorized it - a huge feat⁴ for any 17-year-old.

MOHAMED: At first you don't actually want to learn it because you're a little kid who wants to play around most of the times. As you learn more and more, and as you become more mature, you become used to it, and you - it becomes a big part of your life.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So what does it take to memorize an over-1400-year-old scripture?

MOHAMED: Every single time I got, like, free time, I would be reading the Quran - maybe on the bus, maybe at school, sometimes when I have, like, free periods. So it was very intense. You have to sacrifice a lot of time and put a lot of time into it. You can't be acting⁵ like most kids. You have to put more time into the book than you put into, like, other fun stuff.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Less time for video games and basketball. Ahmed says his whole purpose is to carry out the message of the book.

MOHAMED: So basically, I did all this - my motivation was memorizing my god's holy book and our god's holy book so I can implement⁶ it.

(Reciting Quran).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And his favorite chapter, or surah, of the Quran to recite? Surah Rahman. He loves the rhythm and repetition, but he also loves the meaning, which is about giving back.

1 oration   

n.演说，致辞，叙述法

参考例句：

• He delivered an oration on the decline of family values.他发表了有关家庭价值观的衰退的演说。
• He was asked to deliver an oration at the meeting.他被邀请在会议上发表演说。

2 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

3 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

4 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。