VOA标准英语2013--抗议关门的牧师称祈祷得到回应

 

Clergy¹ Who Protested Shutdown Say Their Prayers Answered 抗议关门的牧师称祈祷得到回应

WASHINGTON — While lawmakers traded recriminations over the government shutdown and threat of default, the chaplain of the U.S. Senate and other clergy asked God to help Congress see the light.

华盛顿——当立法者交锋多次在政府关闭和违约威胁,牧师的美国参议院和其他神职人员请求上帝帮助国会见光。

On the street, and in the halls of Congress they sang and they prayed.

And even inside Congress, where Chaplain Barry Black of the U.S. Senate was blunt.

“It's time for our lawmakers to say, ‘enough is enough.’ Cover our shame with the robe of your righteousness,” he said.

"I think that prayers should not be irrelevant². I think that they should reflect the challenges that the people I serve are facing," Black said.

Black’s trenchant³ invocations struck a chord with the public. They were even parodied⁴ on Saturday Night Live, one of America’s favorite comedy shows.

“Lord, bless and forgive these braying⁵ jackasses lest they do something that makes people want to pin them on the floor, shove a sweaty sock in their mouths and whoop’em up and down with a pillowcase full of skittles,” said comedian⁶ Kenan Thompson on one episode.

"I thought the content was a bit truculent⁷ and irreverent, but funny," said Chaplain Black.

He agrees that he wanted to give voice to the frustration⁸ of many Americans over what has been happening in Washington.

"I think that many of them hear in my prayer the reverberations of their concerns," Black said.

Religious leaders of all stripes engaged in protests. This group marched to the offices of key Republicans. They didn’t find the legislators, but one of their aides prayed with Reverend Michael Livingston.  

“We’re not here to shame or embarrass. We’re here to bring hope and courage," he said. "We’re here to pray that this government will open and do the business for which the founding fathers and mothers set it up.”

The shutdown has ended, and a debt deal has been reached, but a group of clergy have come out to remind Congress that their moral obligation continues.

Reverend Ann Tiemeyer believes God answered the prayers of those who read scripture⁹ every day during the shutdown here across from the Capitol.

“Well, I would say that God comes together as the people come together and as [the ‘faithful filibuster’] people came here and read, it was a voice of the community, it was the voice of God speaking in this place,” she said.

They hope their prayers on other issues like immigration also go from their lips to God’s ears - or at least to their elected representatives. 

1 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

2 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

3 trenchant   

adj.尖刻的，清晰的

参考例句：

• His speech was a powerful and trenchant attack against apartheid.他的演说是对种族隔离政策强有力的尖锐的抨击。
• His comment was trenchant and perceptive.他的评论既一针见血又鞭辟入里。

4 parodied   

v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• All these peculiarities of his style have been parodied by his assailants. 他的所有这些风格特征都受到攻击者模仿嘲弄。 来自互联网
• The above examples are all slightly parodied versions of classical dance steps. 上述例子都可以说是经典舞步的模仿版本。 来自互联网

5 braying   

v.发出驴叫似的声音( bray的现在分词 )；发嘟嘟声；粗声粗气地讲话（或大笑）；猛击

参考例句：

• A donkey was braying on the hill behind the house. 房子后面的山上传来驴叫声。 来自互联网
• What's the use of her braying out such words? 她粗声粗气地说这种话有什么用呢？ 来自互联网

6 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

7 truculent   

adj.野蛮的，粗野的

参考例句：

• He was seen as truculent,temperamental,too unwilling to tolerate others.他们认为他为人蛮横无理，性情暴躁，不大能容人。
• He was in no truculent state of mind now.这会儿他心肠一点也不狠毒了。

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。