VOA慢速英语 2008 0419

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Pope Benedict this week made his first visit to the United States since being elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church three years ago.
　

Pope Benedict in New York before the United Nations General Assembly

President Bush met the pope on his arrival Tuesday from Rome. After events in Washington, including his eighty-first birthday, Benedict flew to New York City on Friday for three days there.

He said in a speech to the United Nations that all nations have a duty to protect people from human rights violations¹ and humanitarian² crises. If states are unable to guarantee such protection, he said, then the international community must intervene.

He said supporting human rights remains³ the most effective way to eliminate inequalities between countries and social groups, and to increase security.

Catholics are the largest single religious group in the United States. A recent study by the Pew Forum⁴ on Religion and Public Life estimated that almost one-fourth of adults belong to the church.

A large number of American Catholics, however, have left the church or dissented⁵ from its teachings. Yet, in the last thirty years, the share of Catholics in America has remained almost unchanged. This is mainly because of Catholic immigrants, mostly from Latin America.

Throughout the week, Pope Benedict the Sixteenth expressed regret about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy⁶. He said the abuse has caused great suffering for the church in America and for him personally. He said the situation has sometimes been handled very badly.

The American church says almost fourteen thousand claims of abuse have been brought against Catholic clergy since nineteen fifty. So far, the church has paid more than two billion dollars to victims, largely in the last six years.

On Thursday the pope met with several victims and apologized to them. Reaction to the meeting was mixed. Some activists⁷ said it was just for show; others said it was an important step.

Now, we answer a question. Sholeh from Indonesia wants to know how religions compare in size in the United States.

That recent study said almost eight out of ten adults are Christian⁸. Catholics are the largest Christian group. More than half of Christians⁹ are Protestant, but the Protestant tradition has many different denominations¹¹.

The study said less than two percent of adults in the United States are Jewish and six-tenths of one percent are Muslim. Among other religions, Buddhists¹² and Hindus also each represent less than one percent.

The researchers found that sixteen percent of American adults do not identify with any religion. And they said a surprisingly high number of Americans change religions.

The study found that more than one-fourth of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion. That jumps to forty-four percent if it includes movement from one Protestant denomination¹⁰ to another.

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

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 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。

4 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

5 dissented   

不同意，持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We dissented from the decision. 对那项决定我们表示了不同意见。
• He dissented and questioned the justice of the award. 他提出质问，说裁判不公允。

6 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。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 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。

10 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

11 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

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。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句