2007年VOA标准英语-US Conservative Religious Leader Jerry Falwell

By Jim Malone
Washington
15 May 2007

The Reverend Jerry Falwell died Tuesday. Falwell, perhaps more than anyone else, played a pivotal role in mobilizing religious conservative voters into a political force in the United States beginning in the 1980s. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more on the life and legacy² of Jerry Falwell from Washington.

Falwell died not long after he was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Falwell had a history of heart problems and was hospitalized twice in 2005 with a viral infection and respiratory problems.

Falwell was the founder³ of the Moral Majority, a voting bloc⁴ of millions of conservative religious voters that helped elect Republican Ronald Reagan president in 1980 and gave Republicans control of the Senate

"Abortion⁵, family values, the moral underpinnings on which the nation was built, we call the Judeo-Christian⁶ ethic⁷, is important to us," said Falwell.

Word of Falwell's death came just as presidential spokesman Tony Snow was wrapping up his daily briefing at the White House.

"This is the kind of thing that is going to be a shock to those who love him and were around him," said Snow. "And I think the proper attitude at this juncture⁹ is to pass on our condolences and prayers and we will try to do the 'fixing place in history' thing a little later."

There was also praise from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who spoke⁸ to reporters at the Capitol.

"We regret his passing," he said. "He has certainly been a prominent figure in American religion and politics for the last 20 years and I know he will be greatly, greatly missed."

Falwell got his start as head of a small church in Virginia in 1956 and later became a well-known televangelist, preaching on a television program called The Old Time Gospel Hour.

Falwell talked about his TV preaching with CBS reporter Morley Safer.

SAFER: "Reverend Falwell, do you think Jesus would have gone on television?"

FALWELL: "I think he would have. He said preach the Gospel to every creature. Those were his words and today, with a population of plus-four billion-plus people, there is no way of getting the Gospel to the world by any other means than the use of the media."

Although hailed by Christian conservatives, Falwell had plenty of detractors as well.

Shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., Falwell blamed feminists¹⁰, gays, lesbians and liberal groups for bringing on the attacks. He later apologized for the comment.

Rev1. Jerry Falwell, chat as Liberty University's commencement begins in Lynchburg, Virginia (May 2006 file photo)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070605/1619500.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona (l) and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, chat as Liberty University's commencement begins in Lynchburg, Virginia (May 2006 file photo)

During the 2000 presidential primaries, Arizona Senator John McCain singled out Falwell and others as divisive political figures.

 

"Neither party should be defined by pandering¹¹ to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right," he said.

In recent years, Falwell focused on what he regarded as the exaggerated threat of global warming.

"The promoters of alarmism are as expected, the United Nations, no friend of the U.S. Liberal politicians, radical¹² environmentalists and, of course, liberal clergymen, Hollywood and pseudo-scientists," said Falwell.

Falwell quit the Moral Majority in 1987, saying he was tired of a being a lightning rod. In his later years, Falwell spent much of his time at Liberty University in Lynchburg, the school he founded in 1971.

Many of Falwell's allies in the religious right believe the political mobilization he began will be his greatest legacy.

Louis Sheldon is founder of the Traditional Values Coalition¹³. He spoke on MSNBC television.

"There was just never any doubt in his mind that this was the right thing to do, that Christian people needed to be registered to vote, they needed to make sure they voted for the person that stood for those values and belief systems," said Sheldon.

Jerry Falwell was 73.

1 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 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。

6 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。

7 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

10 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

11 pandering   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的现在分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• This magazine is criticized for pandering to the vulgar taste of some readers. 这家杂志因迎合某些读者的低级趣味而遭到批评。 来自辞典例句
• We're four points up there; we don't need to get hit for pandering. 我们在那儿领先四个百分点；我们不必为了迎合一些选民而遭受批评。 来自电影对白

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

13 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。