VOA标准英语2013--Pope Benedict Places His Imprint on Catholic Church

 

Pope Benedict Places His Imprint¹ on Catholic Church

From the start, Pope Benedict faced a difficult road, following the popular Pope John Paul the Second.

He was embraced by some, but shunned² by others.

The pope was born Joseph Ratzinger in a small town in Germany in 1927, the son of a police officer.

As a young man, he studied at a seminary. In World War II, he said, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, though he said he defected as the war neared an end.

He was ordained³ in 1951 and taught theology before working his way up the church hierarchy⁴. The further up the ranks he climbed, the more conservative his views became.

When he became pope in 2005, his first message was one of humility⁵.

"The cardinals⁶ have elected me - a simple, humble⁷ worker in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient⁸ means consoles me, and above all I entrust⁹ myself to your prayers," he said.

At times, Pope Benedict's papacy was rocky. In 2006, he enraged¹⁰ Muslims during a speech at a German University when he quoted the words of a medieval emperor.

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman¹¹, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'' said the Pope Benedict.

Reaction was swift and angry. Later that year, the pope traveled to Turkey and prayed at the Blue Mosque¹². He met with Muslim and Arab leaders through the years.

For much of his reign¹³, the Church was embroiled¹⁴ in what seemed to be an ever widening priest-sex-abuse scandal. 

In 2010, the pope apologized and promised - never again.

"We too insistently¹⁵ beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising¹⁶ to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again,'' he said.

The pope was known for his conservative views on abortion¹⁷, homosexuality, and birth control, but he created a stir about a year ago when he wrote that condoms could be justified¹⁸ in cases of prostitution - to reduce the risk of HIV - though some said that came too late.

But the pope also moved the Catholic Church into the digital age, sending his first Tweet in December. He also got the Vatican its first electric car, having expressed concerns about the environment.

At the start of his papacy, Pope Benedict was seen as a choice for continuity. It now will be up to history to determine whether he fulfilled that role or whether his impact on the Church will be greater. 

1 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

2 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

4 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

5 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

6 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

7 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。

8 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

9 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

10 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

11 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

14 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 insistently   

ad.坚持地

参考例句：

• Still Rhett did not look at her. His eyes were bent insistently on Melanie's white face. 瑞德还是看也不看她，他的眼睛死死地盯着媚兰苍白的脸。
• These are the questions which we should think and explore insistently. 怎样实现这一主体性等问题仍要求我们不断思考、探索。

16 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

17 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。

18 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。