VOA慢速英语 2007 0519

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
 
Conservative Christians², known in America as the religious right, lost one of their best-known leaders this week. Jerry Falwell died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his Virginia office. He was seventy-three years old and had a history of heart problems.

Reverend Falwell wanted to organize socially conservative Christians to become politically active. So, in nineteen seventy-nine, he helped launch the Moral Majority and became its public face.

Some believe this heavily Republican group helped to elect Ronald Reagan president in the nineteen eighty election. Republicans also won control of the Senate for the first time in many years.

Reverend Falwell described the movement as pro-life, pro-traditional family, pro-Israel and pro-national defense³. There was a joke, that the Moral Majority was neither. But, at its height, the group said it had six and a half million members. They opposed abortion⁴, sex-same marriage and any other threats they saw to family values.

Jerry Falwell began as a Southern Baptist minister at a small church in Lynchburg, Virginia, in nineteen fifty-six. Later he became known to millions through a television program, "The Old-Time Gospel Hour." And that small church he started grew into one of the largest in the country today.

Jerry Falwell had many supporters but also many critics, including other Christian¹ clergy⁵. He was widely denounced for comments he made after the September eleventh, two thousand one, attacks on the United States.

He blamed pagans, abortionists, feminists⁶, gays and lesbians, and others who, he said, were trying to make America non-religious. "You helped this happen," he said. He was speaking as a guest on the show of another well-known evangelist, Pat Robertson, who agreed with him.

Both men later apologized. Yet some people say their comments about the terrorist attacks may have done more since then to hurt the religious right than to help it.

Some will also remember Jerry Falwell for what he said about Tinky Winky, from the BBC children's program "Teletubbies." In nineteen ninety-nine he accused the character of being homosexual and morally damaging to children.

Jerry Falwell closed the Moral Majority in nineteen eighty-nine. But he launched a new group to continue the "evangelical revolution" in politics, the Moral Majority Coalition⁷. That was in November of two thousand four, right after religious conservatives helped re-elect President Bush.

In his later years, Jerry Falwell spent much of his time at Liberty University in Lynchburg. He served as president. He opened the college in nineteen seventy-one. In recent years, he also worked to bring attention to what he said was a misrepresented threat of global warming.

Jerry Falwell did not have as much influence anymore. But he will be remembered for his part in giving a voice to conservative Christians in modern American politics.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

6 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。