VOA标准英语2011--Roman Catholic Church Set to Beatify Pop

Roman Catholic Church Set to Beatify Pope John Paul II

The Roman Catholic Church will beatify the late Pope John Paul II in Rome on Sunday. The ceremony is an important milestone¹ on the road to Catholic sainthood for one of the most popular pontiffs in history. During his 26 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church, John Paul II is credited with helping² to bring down communism, energizing³ young Catholics and bolstering⁴ the church presence in the developing world.
The throngs⁵ at Pope John Paul II's funeral were already shouting santo subito - or saint instantly!
And his successor, Benedict XVI, fast-tracked the canonization process. Instead of taking centuries, the Catholic Church will take the last major step before sainthood and beatify John Paul just six years and 29 days after his death. That's even faster than the beatification of the revered⁶ nun⁷, Mother Teresa.
Monsignor Walter Rossi met John Paul in 1997 and brought back his zucchetto or skullcap.
"There's a tradition that if you give the pope a zucchetto he has to take off the one that he is wearing and give it to you and put the one you give him on his head," he said.
Monsignor Rossi says the late pope appeared to be a saint while alive.
"You saw just in his general demeanor⁸ and manner, man of great faith, a man of great belief, a depth of personal piety⁹ and holiness and now the church is saying, 'Yes, this is really true this was this man,'" said Rossi, who is the rector of Washington D.C.'s National Basilica, the largest Catholic church in North America.
John Paul II was the first reigning¹⁰ pope to visit this national shrine¹¹, and he prayed here in this chapel¹², which is dedicated¹³ to the Polish Madonna.
The Polish-born pope made 104 trips abroad - more than any other pontiff in history. He also forgave the man who tried to assassinate¹⁴ him in 1981.
Chester Gillis, a Georgetown University theology professor who has written about the papacy, says the beatification of John Paul II will be good for the church.
"And it will probably burnish¹⁵ the image of the church when the image has been teetering in other areas, particularly the sexual abuse scandal which it has received so much negative publicity¹⁶ on," he said.
Opponents of the beatification believe the pope may have had a role in covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests. Other critics think he was too accepting of indigenous¹⁷ customs.
But millions of John Paul fans are excited about the beatification of a man who made Catholicism cool for young people like Catholic blogger Sarah Vabulas.
"I think a lot of the complaints about our saints is that they're antiquated," she said. "How can you relate to them? They didn't live with technology, they didn't live with all the struggles that we have in the 20th century. But here we are Pope John Paul II lived in the times that we did and to be declared a saint that is just absolutely amazing."
A massive turnout for the beatification is expected at St. Peter's Square in Rome. Other celebrations will be held at Catholic churches around the world, including the National Basilica.

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 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。

3 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

4 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

5 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

6 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

7 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

8 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

9 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

10 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

11 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

12 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

13 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

14 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

15 burnish   

v.磨光；使光滑

参考例句：

• Many people,fearful for their jobs,are trying to burnish their contacts at other firms.许多人因为担心自己的工作，正在努力抹去和其他公司接触的痕迹。
• I burnish joyful sparks from my sorrows.我从伤痛里擦亮喜悦的火花。

16 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

17 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。