2007年VOA标准英语-Pope Benedict XVI Rallies Catholic Youth During

By Brian Wagner
Sao Paulo
10 May 2007

Pope Benedict XVI has appealed directly to the youth of Brazil to follow a strict moral code. In Sao Paulo, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the pope's speech to the young is seen as crucial to his effort to strengthen the Roman Catholic church in the face of growing concerns across Latin America.

Pope Benedict XVI gestures to the faithful at the Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 10 May 2007

The pope opened his day by greeting thousands of followers¹ gathered outside a monastery² in downtown Sao Paulo. He met with Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to discuss social efforts launched by the Brazilian government, including a program that provides grants to poor families as long as their children continue attending school.

Brazilian officials said President da Silva told the pope Brazil wants to help Africa to develop an ethanol industry as a means of easing poverty. Brazil is the world's leader in the production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane³ and one of the major ethanol exporters.

Brazilian officials said one topic that the two leaders did not discuss was abortion⁴, which recently has stirred tensions in the mostly Roman Catholic nation.

Except under very special circumstances, abortion is against the law in Brazil. President da Silva has said that, while he opposes abortion, he views it as a public health issue, not a moral one. And Brazil's health minister, who favors a referendum on the legalization of abortion, has rejected the Vatican's criticism, saying that church and state have long been separate in Brazil.

Although the government is unlikely to reconsider the ban, the abortion debate is serving to rally support among Catholic faithful. One church member from Sao Paulo's suburbs, Juliana Moreira, says if the issue came to a vote, she would reject any changes to the law.

She says God gave people the ability to create new life, but he did not give them the right to undo⁵ that life. She says the best set of beliefs for her is the church's beliefs.

Moreira was among thousands of young people who gathered at a soccer stadium in Sao Paolo to hear a speech from Pope Benedict about the need to follow a religious lifestyle. Many Catholic youth welcomed the pope's message, saying it is needed as more and more young people are drawn⁶ to drugs, alcohol and crime.

Larry Garcia Arias⁷, who traveled to Sao Paulo from Peru for the pope's visit, said he has seen many youth in need of help.

He says young people may see themselves as failures, and he says it is important for them to hear the pope deliver a message of love and concern for them.

The message is welcome in Brazilian cities like Sao Paulo, where police often battle armed drug gangs in the streets. Catholic pilgrim Maria Luisa dos Santos said the church can play a key role in the lives of millions of young people.

She says more efforts are needed to get young people off drugs and off the streets. She says young people in trouble need hope, and religion gives that hope to them.

Pope Benedict is to address the danger of drugs on Saturday, when he plans to visit a facility for recovering drug addicts⁸ outside Sao Paulo. He concludes his visit Sunday with a Mass to celebrate the opening of a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean bishops⁹.

1 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

2 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

3 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

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 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

8 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

9 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。