英语听力：Prophet Muhammad 先知穆罕默德 - 6

 And that is the beginning of the prophetic career of Muhammad.

 

The months to come would bring more revelations, powerful words of a lyrical quality, more beautiful than the most exquisite¹ Arabic poetry. Above all, Muhammad was to bear one message to his people, a simple yet radical² proclamation that there is only one God.

 

The central tenet of Islam is the one as the indivisible unity³ of God, not something that is simply that one pays lip service to, but something that is absolutely the most important concept.

 

Divine unity is more than saying God is, there is only one God and there aren’t other deities⁴. It’s only thinking about one thing. So to be thinking about possessions, to be thinking about status, to be thinking about power are all intellectual idols⁵.

 

The implications were staggering. One God meant one people, no more tribal⁶ divisions. To the poor and unprotected, the prospect⁷ was revolutionary.

 

(It) seems to me that one of the most important things in his early teaching that isn't often talked about is the strong social justice message that he delivered. In Mecca of the time, there was an increasing separation between the haves and have-nots. He insisted that this was not to be and that we should share the wealth and it was the social justice message that I think that really got him a hearing among many of the folks.

 

So coming with Islam, it was a new order, a new way of life, and that was a beautiful way of life because everybody was equal, black, white, men, women, children, so it had  that type of a universal appeal which I think was the reason why Islam spread so rapidly.

 

Many were moved by Muhammad’s message, as he began to speak out in the community.

 

It had the suppleness⁸ and symbolic⁹ depth of the great pre-Islamic poems that had been created by this people, and that had given this people in Arabia such an extraordinary ear for verbal expression, where verbal expression was the commanding cultural force. Some people call him a poet. And there is a chronic¹⁰ sura, basically saying Muhammad is not a poet. Poets speak through desire. This is not the voice of desire. This is the voice of God. 

1 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

5 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 suppleness   

柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从

参考例句：

• The leather may need to be oiled every two to three weeks in order to retain its suppleness. 为了保持皮革的柔韧性，可能两三周就要上一次油。
• She tried to recover her lost fitness and suppleness. 她试图恢复她失去的身体的康健和轻柔。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。