英语短篇-生命的一瞬间

 　　People always say: life is nothing but a sum of moments. I suppose everyone has their own moments, either high or low, up or down, such as being born, first learning to walk, laughing hard, bursting into tears, being touched by a child's smile, losing beloved ones…today I think I witnessed or experienced such a moment, because it is the first time that I have ever seen a chapel¹ ceremony, even being a very brief one.

　　A heavy guy in black suit and long beard came in solemnly with a pack and I first thought he was a magician based on his dress. Then, two big silver candleholders were placed on a long cube desk. He carefully put two long candles on the holders² and lit them up. Under it was a small red rug, which made it more revere³ and sacred. He then took out a small book with a deep blue cover, of which the feeling was like the Holy Bible but more like Hebrews.

　　All of a sudden, he soared in an amazingly beautiful voice. The melody was beyond imagination. Although I did not understand a word of it, I could still sense that it was just the sacred melody as if from angels. The other people around were all echoing to it and it seemed the time even stopped just to listen to the holy rhythm and pious⁴ prayer. I literally⁵ saw tears in somebody's eyes.

　　After the chapel session, everyone took a cup of wine and a slice of bread from the priest's hand and savor⁶ the taste of life their god has given to them. At that moment, the candle light, the priest in black, the teary woman, the wine and bread symbolizing⁷ human's flesh and blood…all of these transformed into a sacred moment of my life as a eye witness, as if my body was frozen in awe⁸ and wonder. Pictures formed before my eyes—— the primitives⁹, who wore the skin of the wild animals and ate raw meat, danced in a circle around the fire and worshipping the gods whom they believed were controlling the thunder, the rain, the flood, the harvest, the human lifethe interval¹⁰ is thousands and thousands of years, but the scene and the spirit still resembles to great extent. I wonder with the time flying and the world changing, there is probably something that remains¹¹ within the human race.

　　Technically¹², it was not one of my moments but rather a sacred moment that I witnessed as a bystander since I am sort of an atheist¹³. However, to know the fact that there is such a mysterious and sacred thing exists in the human world which is called religion and that it elevates the soul of the believers and somewhat makes the world a better place is simply astounding¹⁴.

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

4 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

7 symbolizing   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This symbol later evolved into a common hieroglyphic symbolizing victory. 这幕场景后来逐渐演化为象征胜利的普通象形文字。 来自时文部分
• Mooncakes reunion, is symbolizing the Mid-Autumn festival will feed. 月饼象征着团圆，是中秋佳节必食之品。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 primitives   

原始人（primitive的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Almost all operators work only with primitives. 几乎所有运算符都只能操作“主类型”(Primitives)。
• The anthropology of the future will not be concerned above all else with primitives. 未来的人类学不会以原始人为主要的研究对象。

10 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

11 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。

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

13 atheist   

n.无神论者

参考例句：

• She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
• He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

14 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》