VOA标准英语2009年-Unity Walk Aims at Interfaith Cohesiveness

By Michael Lipin
Washington
19 October 2009

Members of Washington's interfaith community gathered Sunday for a unity¹ walk - an annual event aimed at promoting tolerance². Hundreds of people of different faiths visited houses of worship along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue to learn about other religions. They also joined forces to sign up for community service.

 
Multicultural³ local band, As Kindred Spirits, performing at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in DC. Dancing behind the band are "Whirling Dervishes" of the Sufi Islamic sect⁴, 18 Oct 2009
A Jewish synagogue in Washington played host to live music and dance of different faiths Sunday to celebrate the start of the city's fifth annual Unity Walk.

Organizers say about 350 people gathered at the Washington Hebrew Congregation to hear music by a multicultural band. Jewish, Muslim and Christian⁵ leaders urged the audience to learn more about each other's faiths.

"He is an imam and I am a rabbi and we are both simply teachers humble⁶ before God,' said the synagogue's Rabbi Bruce Lustig, who was among the speakers. "Hopefully, helping⁷ others to stop along the way, so that we can find out how strong we really are when we simply work together."

After setting off from the synagogue, participants in the unity walk were invited to enter several houses of worship along Massachusetts Avenue for the first time. Last year, only the synagogue and the Islamic Center of Washington opened their doors to the walkers.

The houses of worship that joined this year's event included Sikh and Buddhist⁸ temples, churches, and the Orthodox Christian Cathedral of St. Nicholas.

The cathedral's deacon, Father Patrick Mitchell, gave visitors a tour of the sanctuary⁹.

"We generally leave this area open, because this where we read, this is where we do other things, this is where you would be married," he said. "If you were going to be married, you would be married here in the center of the church."

 
William Davis, director of the United Nations Information Center, 18 Oct 2009
Interfaith groups and their supporters established the Unity Walk as a way of combatting religious intolerance fueled by the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"Like with so many difficult instances in our history, what you want to do is take advantage of that and turn it so that it is forward looking," said William Davis, a Washington-based director of the United Nations Information Service. "And, when you get the sense of cooperation and common goals, common purposes among the people here today, you cannot help but see that this is something positive growing out of something that is such a tragedy."

The president of Washington's National Sikh Gurdwara, or temple, says Sikhs in the United States attracted some hostility¹⁰ after 9/11 because they wore turbans. But Satwant Kaur Bell says the unity walks have helped to dispel¹¹ misconceptions about the Sikh religion.

 
Satwant Kaur Bell, President of the National Sikh Gurdwara, 18 Oct 2009
"Now, we are always very curious about, 'What are they doing behind those closed doors,' you know," she said. "And, when you come and learn about the religion and learn about the people you really find that they are just one of us!"

One walker, who says he learned something new Sunday, is American Muslim Ali Ishaq from the northwestern state of Idaho.

"My brother and I were talking about how - normally you do not just walk up to a temple or a synagogue and say, 'hey, can I come in and take a look?' So this is a great opportunity and exposes me to a lot of things that I would not otherwise have been exposed to," said Ishaq.

Organizers say another aim of the walk is to recruit members of different faiths to join forces in community service projects to clean the environment and help the poor.

"Something like the Unity Walk, which brings all of the groups together - it is an opportunity for each of our groups to get our members more involved and more excited about interfaith efforts," said Stuart Levy¹², a co-founder of Olive Branch D.C., a Washington-based interfaith group bringing together young professional Jews and Muslims.

Levy and his co-founder, Minha Kauser, recently attended an Iftar meal in which Jews joined Muslims who were breaking their daily fast during the holy month, Ramadan. They say they are planning more events for young Jews and Muslims in the coming months. 

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

3 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

4 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。

5 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。

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

9 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

10 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

11 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

12 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。