美国学生世界地理教材 第121期:死亡而又活着的城市(2)

 St. Peter’s is so large that thirty services can be carried on at one time without one interfering¹ with another.  圣彼得教堂大得可以一次同时举行三十个宗教礼拜仪式而不会彼此干扰。

Inside the church everything is huge, to match the building.  为了与这个巨型建筑物相配，教堂内每一件东西都是巨大的。

The statues of angels are the size of giants and the doves are the size of eagles.  天使的雕像如巨人一般大，鸽子如老鹰一般大。

There is a bronze statue of St. Peter himself seated on a throne.  这儿有一座圣彼得坐在宝座上的青铜雕像。

This is one of the few statues there of natural size.  这是这儿仅有的几个真人般大小的雕像之一。

Good Catholics from all over the World, when they come to St.Peter’s, kiss the statue’s bronze foot.  世界各地虔诚的天主教徒来到圣彼得大教堂，亲吻雕像的铜脚。

So many millions have kissed it that they have kissed away all his toes. 来膜拜的天主教徒是如此之多，以至于雕像的所有脚趾头都被吻没了。

At Easter and at other celebrations the inside walls of St.Peter’s are hung with crimson² silk,  在复活节以及其他庆祝活动的时候，圣彼得教堂的内墙上都会挂上深红色的丝绸，

thousands of candles burn, choir³ boys chant and altar boys swing smoke of burning incense⁴ to the high roof,  点上数千只蜡烛，唱诗班的男孩子们吟唱赞美诗，祭坛的侍者摆动燃烧的香使烟飘向高高的穹顶。

while hundreds of priests in gorgeous robes and cardinals⁵ in red caps and red gowns and the Pope himself,  与此同时，数百位牧师穿着华丽的袍子，红衣主教头戴红色帽子、身穿红色长袍，

the head of all the Catholics in the World, in glistening⁶ white, move in stately procession down the main aisle⁷ to the high altar,  还有全世界天主教徒的领袖——教皇，穿着闪闪发光的白色长袍，他们组成庄严的队伍，沿着主通道走向高高的祭坛。

over the spot where, 1,900 years before, St. Peter himself was crucified and a Christian⁸ would have been afraid to show himself for fear of being killed. 就在祭坛下方这个地点，1900年前，圣彼得被钉死在十字架上，当时的基督徒担心被害都不敢在这儿露面。

The Pope lives next door to St. Peter’s in an immense house called the Vatican.  教皇住在紧邻圣彼得教堂的一个巨大无比的被称之为“梵蒂冈”的房子里。

Your house may have a dozen rooms, or perhaps even a score, but it is said that the Vatican contains more than a thousand rooms.  你家的房子也许有十二间房间，或甚至二十间。但据说梵蒂冈有一千多间。

There are so many rooms that probably no one has ever counted them all.  有这么多的房子，以至于很可能没人数过。

Many of the large rooms are filled with famous pictures and sculpture.  很多大房间里装满了雕像和名画。

They are art museums which people may visit.  这些房间都是艺术博物馆，人们可以去参观。

One room is the Pope’s private chapel⁹. It is called the Sistine Chapel.  有一个房间是教皇的私人教堂，被称之为“西斯廷礼拜堂”，

Michelangelo painted pictures on the ceiling and walls of this chapel.  这个礼拜堂的穹顶上和墙壁上都是米开朗基罗绘的画。

In order to see the pictures on the ceiling comfortably you have to lie flat on your back or look at them in a mirror held in your hand. 为了能很舒服地看穹顶上的画，你得仰面躺下来，或手上拿着一面镜子来看才行。

Before the time of St. Peter, when people believed in many gods, another church was built in Rome “To All the Gods.”  在圣彼得时代之前，人们信仰的神有很多，于是就在罗马建立了另一个教堂“献给一切诸神”。

This building is still standing¹⁰. It is called the Pantheon, which means “All Gods.”  这座建筑物至今依然屹立在那儿，被称之为“万神庙”。“万神”表示“所有的神”。

The Pantheon too has a dome¹¹, but it is not like St. Peter’s.  万神庙也有一个圆顶，但是与圣彼得的不一样。

The dome of St. Peter’s is like a giant cup turned upside down.  圣彼得的圆顶就像一个巨大的杯子倒扣着，

The dome of the Pantheon is like a giant saucer turned upside down.  而万神庙的圆顶则像一个巨大的茶碟倒扣着。

1 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

2 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

3 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

4 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

5 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。

6 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

7 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

8 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。

9 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。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。