VOA慢速英语2015 圣经博物馆来到华盛顿

AS IT IS 2015-04-30 Bible Museum Coming to Washington, DC 圣经博物馆来到华盛顿

There are many museums in Washington, D.C. One that is near the headquarters of the Voice of America tells about the American Indian. Next to that is the very popular National Air and Space Museum. Washington is also home to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment and the International Spy Museum.

Soon, the city will have a privately-owned museum that tells about Christianity’s holy book, the Bible.

Recently, reporters watched as crews began work on the planned Bible Museum. It is being built inside a former warehouse², next to a railroad bridge and train tracks in Southwest DC.

Bible Museum officials say the museum will use videos and historic artifacts to tell the history of the Bible. The objects include ancient Torah scrolls⁴ and parchments from the Christian¹ New Testament⁵. All of the artifacts come from the large collection of Steve Green, the chairman of the museum.

Mr. Green is an evangelical Christian. He believes in sharing his religious beliefs with others. A reporter asked him if he wants the museum to persuade visitors to accept Christianity.

“So do you hope it might bring other people to Christianity?”

“We would hope people would consider what the book has to say, and that’s a choice that they make, and if it’s compelling, then that is a decision they can make on their own. But we believe it’s something that everybody ought to consider.”

Reverend Barry Lynn leads a group called Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. He says that, under the U.S. Constitution, Steve Green has a right to build his museum.

“There’s no question that if you want to build a museum to the Bible, to the Quran -- any building at all -- and someone is willing to sell you the property, you have the right to buy it in this country.”

Reverend Lynn says he believes Mr. Green wanted to build the Bible Museum close to the U.S. Capitol -- the building in which Congress meets. He thinks the aim is to persuade lawmakers to pass legislation influenced by Christianity.

“I can’t believe that the people who created the Bible Museum wanted this to be anywhere but close to the center of power, and close to other -- official -- government buildings.”

Cary Summers is the president of the museum.  

“The decision was made to be in Washington because of the museums here. It really was not because the capital was here.”

The museum is set to open in 2017. It will cost $400 million to build.

Words in This Story

artifact – n. a simple object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past

Torah scroll³ – n. a long scroll containing the entire text of the Five Books of Moses, hand-written in the original Hebrew. It is rolled up around two ornate wooden shafts⁶, attached to either end of the scroll.

parchment – n. paper made from the skin of a sheep or goat

evangelical Christian – n. of or relating to a Christian sect⁷ or group that stresses the authority of the Bible, the importance of believing that Jesus Christ saved you personally from sin or Hell, and the preaching of these beliefs to other people

compelling – adj. capable of causing someone to believe or agree

Quran – n. the Islamic holy book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic

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 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

3 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

4 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

5 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

6 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

7 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。