英国新闻听力 对英国和欧洲身份的思考

Good morning. The opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games tried to convey what it was to be British-and clearly succeeded with the general public for it received a remarkably¹ high approval rating. If Danny Boyle, its creator, had been with the European leaders meeting in Brussels yesterday and was asked to devise another ceremony expressing what it was to be European I wonder what he would have included? For whatever view you take about the European Union as a political institution we have shared historical memories, many of them painful, a cultural heritage that crosses all borders and democratic ideals in common.

I think of Greek philosophy which has influenced so much of our thought and the Latin language which underlies² our speech. I rejoice in people like Boniface from Exeter, who brought the Christian³ faith to Germany and Willibrord from Ripon who took it to Fresia and Denmark. Coming the other way, the great Cathedrals built by the Norman French continue to awe⁴ and inspire us. There are other less well known streams too feeding into this great European river, such as maths and science from the Islamic world. Whether a reference to God should be included in the European Constitution as part of this identity remains⁵ a contentious⁶ matter. The current resistance to it reminds us that we are also heirs of the secular⁷ progressive movements of the 19th century which have helped to shape so many of our political values.

Identity, however, is not just about what comes to us from the past. It is a construct and therefore part of a continuing conversation. British Identity was forged at a particular time in response to particular historical circumstances. Similarly modern European identity took shape after the two terrible wars of the 20th century. As the Queen put it this week in Berlin “In our lives we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better.”

Identities can be used to divide us from other people or to affirm our sense of belonging with them. Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbours as ourselves-teaching which can be found in all the great religions. In short he urges us to use our imaginations to see others as alongside us, as like us; to construct an identity that includes. Whatever view we take of its fiscal⁸ and political arrangements, we remain Europeans; and what this means is not just something given us by our geography and history. It is a work still in progress.

早上好，2012年奥运会的开幕式努力表达出英国特色，因为获得了相当高的支持率，因此在公众间大获成功。如果开幕式的导演丹尼·博伊尔昨天在布鲁塞尔参加欧洲领导人会议，并被问及如何设计另一场欧洲特色的开幕式，我在好奇他会怎么回答。不管你怎么看待欧盟，作为一个政治机构，我们有着共同的历史记忆，其中很多都是痛苦的，以及跨越国界的文化传统和共同的民主理念。

我想到了对我们的思想影响很大的希腊哲学和作为我们语言基础的拉丁语，我因这些人的存在而欣喜，像来自埃克塞特的博尼法斯，他将基督教信仰传到德国，以及里彭的卫利勃罗，他把基督教传到弗伦西亚和丹麦。法国诺曼第人建造的大教堂至今仍令我们敬畏，给我们启迪。汇流到欧洲这条大河里来的还有其他不那么知名的小溪，比如来自伊斯兰世界的数学和科学。对上帝的认可是否应该被纳入欧洲宪法并作为这种身份的一部分，仍是个有争议的话题。目前对这一信仰的抵制在提醒我们，我们也是19世纪世俗进步运动的后代，这一运动曾帮助塑造了我们的政治价值观。

然而身份不仅与我们的过去有关，它是一种建设，因此也是继续对话的一部分。英国的身份是在特殊的时期、特殊的历史环境下形成的，类似的现代欧洲身份是在20世纪两次可怕战争后形成的。正如女王本周在柏林所说的那样，“在我们的生命中，我们目睹过最糟糕的，也经历过这个大陆最好的事物。我们看到一切好转得这么快。”

身份可以用来将我们与其他人分开，或者确定我们的归属感。耶稣教导我们要像爱自己那样爱邻居，这一信条在所有伟大的宗教中都可以找到。简而言之，他敦促我们使用想象力来将他人看做与我们类似的人，来塑造一种包容的身份认可。无论我们如何看待这种身份的财政和政治格局，我们仍然是欧洲人，这不仅意味着我们的地理和历史所赋予我们的东西，而且还意味着一种仍在发展的事业。

1 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

2 underlies   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起

参考例句：

• I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

7 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。