英语听力精选进阶版 10842

Good morning. There's been a good deal of interest in the exchanges in the House of Commons yesterday when Jeremy Corbyn as the new labour leader asked questions of the prime minister for the first time. The ability of members of parliament to ask oral or written questions of ministers is a vital part of British democracy. And such questioning is a day by day reality not confined to the weekly showpiece questioning of the prime minister. In the House of Lords, each day starts with a series of such questions and it's not uncommon¹ for a minister in the face of this to go beyond his or her departmental briefing and say something which can move policy forward. This half an hours of questioning at the start of each day is arguably the most productive part of the day's work.

上午好。人们对昨天议会下院的交锋非常感兴趣。工党新任领导人杰里米·科尔宾(Jeremy Corbyn)首次向首相提问。议会成员向内阁大臣们口头提问或书面提问是英国民主制度的关键部分。提问每天都在进行，而不仅仅局限于每周公开的对首相的提问。在上议院，每天都是以一系列这样的问题开始的，部长们面临这种境地，面临超出自己部门的问题非常常见，经常会说出一些推动政治进程的见解。每天开始时半个小时的提问毫无疑问是每天工作中最有效率的部分。

Of course the use of probing questioning to get at a hidden or underlying² truth isn't an invention of the British parliament, it's as old as civilization. The method of questioning developed in Greece by Socrates some two and a half thousand years ago lay at the heart of later ethical³ critical thinking and much of the scientific method of testing hypotheses. He's quoted as saying "I can't teach anybody anything, I can only make them think". This wasn't always appreciated by those whose arguments were shown to be shallow by his relentless⁴ questioning. This may well have contributed to his condemnation⁵ and death.

当然，探究质疑以获得隐藏的真相并不是英国议会的发明，其历史像人类文明那么悠久。大约2500年前由希腊苏格拉底开创的提问方法一直处于后世伦理批判性思维和检验假设科学方法的中心。报道引用他的话说，“我不能教给任何人任何事，我只能让他们思考。”而有些人则不是很赞赏这句话，他们的辩论在他不懈的追问下显得非常肤浅。这导致他的判罪和死亡。

Another teacher relying on the power of asking questions was Jesus from Nazareth. The gospels credit him with asking 135 questions during his three year tour of teaching and healing. Some of his questions were fundamental "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world. Yet forfeits⁶ his soul?" Some were challenging, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do as I say?" "Why do you look at the speck⁷ of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank⁸ in your own eye?" Some came out of his own personal agony, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken⁹ me?"

另外一位依赖提问的力量的导师是来自拿撒勒的耶稣。四福音书赞誉他三年的游历讲学期间提出了135个问题。其中一些问题是基础性的，比如“如果一个人赢得了整个世界，却丧失了灵魂，还有什么益处？”还有一些是挑衅性的，“为什么你称呼我为上帝啊，却不按照我说的来做？”“为什么你能看见你兄弟(别人)身上锯末屑那么小的缺点，却注意不到自己眼中木板那么大的缺陷？”其中一些来自他个人的痛苦，“上帝啊，上帝啊，你为什么要遗弃我？”

And Jesus skilfully¹⁰ asked rhetorical questions to emphasize a point in a powerful but non combative¹¹ manner. "Why does this generation seek for a sign?" communicates rather better than "You stubborn group of unbelieving people." Probing questions can be effective without being hectoring. Hopefully we will see more of this style of questioning and answering from all sides in the House of Commons in the months ahead.

耶稣技巧地询问了一些修辞问题，以有力却不好斗的方式强调自己的论点。“这一代人为何寻求符号和指示？”比“你们这些顽固的多疑的人们”好得多。探究质疑有效而不威吓。或许未来的几个月我们会看到下院出现更多这种类型的提问和回答。

1 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

2 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

3 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

4 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

5 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

6 forfeits   

罚物游戏

参考例句：

• She regretted the forfeits she had to pay for selfassistance. 她为自己为了自助而必须付出的代价感到遗憾。
• They were soon to pay their own forfeits. 他们很快就得交纳他们的罚款了。

7 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。

8 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

9 Forsaken   

adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词

参考例句：

• He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友们背弃了。
• He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遗弃了他的妻子和孩子。

10 skilfully   

adv. (美skillfully)熟练地

参考例句：

• Hall skilfully weaves the historical research into a gripping narrative. 霍尔巧妙地把历史研究揉进了扣人心弦的故事叙述。
• Enthusiasm alone won't do. You've got to work skilfully. 不能光靠傻劲儿，得找窍门。

11 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。