美国英语听力80篇1 Lesson11

[00:05.36]Some people depend on the calendar to tell them when spring has arrived.
[00:11.00]But many others know spring is here because it is time to celebrate the religious holidays of Passover and Easter.
[00:21.00]Jewish¹ people observe Passover to remember the time when Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
[00:30.48]The holiday also celebrates the real beginning of the Jewish nation.
[00:36.18]And it represents the first for freedom by an oppressed² group of people.
[00:42.24]Easter is the day when Christians⁴ believe that Jesus Christ³ rose from the dead.
[00:48.67]Most Christians believe Jesus was sent to earth to save humans from wrongdoing, and to give them everlasting⁵ life.
[00:58.17]Passover is one of the oldest holidays in the world.
[01:02.77]It started more than 3,000 years ago.
[01:06.74]It begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan.
[01:13.51]This year, Jews begin celebrating the holiday on April Nineteenth.
[01:19.78]The book of Exodus⁶ in the Hebrew Bible--the Jewish holy book--tells the Passover story.
[01:27.82]The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
[01:32.68]The ruler of Egypt would not release⁷ them.
[01:36.26]Moses was the leader of the Israelites.
[01:40.10]God gave Moses the power to force the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave.
[01:46.16]God gave Moses the power to strike the Egyptians with terrible events to kill their animals and crops.
[01:54.21]The first Passover took place when Moses warned that God would killthe first-born children of Egypt.
[02:02.80]On that night, the Israelites remained inside their houses.
[02:08.76]They ateflat bread that did not rise, called matzoh.
[02:13.20]And they ate lamb.
[02:14.95]Moses told his people to mark the doors of their houses with the blood of lambs.
[02:22.18]That night, God killed the firstborn Egyptian children.
[02:27.12]But He did not kill the children of the Israelites.
[02:31.72]He passed over their houses.
[02:34.46]The Egyptian ruler was afraid.
[02:37.49]He told Moses to lead his people out of Egypt'immediately.
[02:42.80]Later, however, Egyptian forces tried to recapture the Israelites.
[02:48.86]But Moses separated the waters of the Red Sea so his people could escape.
[02:55.88]The Egyptian forces drowned in the sea.
[02:59.41]Today, Jewish families still retell the story of being saved from death in Egypt.
[03:08.24]They attend Passover services in religious centers.
[03:12.47]And, they hold a Passover ceremonial meal called a Seder in their homes.
[03:18.61]Family members and friends gather to read the story of the Israelites' freedom from slavery.
[03:26.68]They read the story from a special book called The Hagaddah,
[03:31.59]and they eat several special foods that help them remember their ancestors in Egypt.
[03:38.41]The Seder foods include the traditional matzoh.
[03:43.29]This represents the time when their ancestors left Egypt so quickly they did not have time to let their bread rise.
[03:52.65]A lamb bone represents the blood used to mark their doors.
[03:58.08]Bitter herbs recall⁸ the hard life of slavery.
[04:02.49]A mixture of apples, nuts,spices and wine is called haroseth.
[04:08.79]It represents the bricks⁹ and building materials the slaves used in Egypt.
[04:14.77]Each person at the Seder drinks four cups of wine.
[04:19.84]Another cup of wine on the table is for Elijah.

1 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

2 oppressed   

adj. 被压迫的，郁闷的 动词oppress的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It'seemed that the realisation of his life's dream oppressed him with overjoy. 夙愿得偿似乎使他欣喜若狂。
• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气

3 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

6 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

7 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

8 recall   

n.回忆，召回，取消；vt.回想起，召回，与...相似，恢复

参考例句：

• As you may recall, he was in the army then.你可能记得当时他正在从军。
• We demand that you recall your army from our border.我们要求你们撤回在我们边境的部队。

9 bricks   

n.砖( brick的名词复数 )；砖块；积木；可靠的朋友

参考例句：

• He compounded water, sand and soil and formed bricks. 他用水拌和沙和泥土做成砖块。
• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。