140. Whose Son Is the Greatest

　　The mothers of four priests got together and were discussing their sons. "My son is a monsignor," said the first proud woman. "When he enters a room, people say, 'Hello, Monsignor'."

　　The second mother went on, "My son is a bishop¹. When he enters a room, people say, 'Hello, Your Excellency'."

　　"My son is a cardinal²." continued the next one. "When he enters a room, people say, 'Hello, Your Eminence³'.

　　" The fourth mother thought for a moment. "My son is six-foot-ten and weighs 300 pounds, " she said. "When he enters a room, people say, 'Oh, my God'!"

Notes:

　　(1) priest n.基督教的教士 ；牧师

　　(2) monsignor n.阁下（对某些天主教教士的尊称）

　　(3) bishop n.主教（主管一城市或一教区之教务）

　　(4) Your Excellency 阁下（对主教的尊称）

　　(5) cardinal n.（天主教的）红衣主教（有权选举教皇）

　　(6) Your Eminence 对红衣主教的尊称

Exercises:

根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

　　① The four mothers were all proud of their own sons.

　　② The second mother's son was a great lawyer.

　　③ The third mother said that her son was a high official in the

　　④ The fourth mother was ashamed of her son.

　　⑤ We can see from the passage that the fourth mother was the cleverest.

140.谁的儿子最伟大

　　四位牧师的母亲聚到一起谈论她们的儿子。“我的儿子是个教士，”第一位母亲自豪地说道，“他进入房间，人们都说，‘您好，阁下’。”

　　第二为母亲说：“我的儿子是位主教。他进入房间，人们都称，‘您好，大人’。”

　　“我的儿子是位红衣主教，”第三位母亲接着说，“他走进房间，人们都说，‘您好，尊敬的主教大人’。”

　　第四位母亲略思片刻。“我的儿子身高六英尺十，体重三百磅，”她说，“他要是走入房间，人们都说‘哦，我的上帝’！”

练习参考答案：

①T②F③F④F⑤T

1 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

2 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

3 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。