英国新闻听力 唯一能够获得的智慧是谦卑的智慧

Good morning. I’ve been unable to get an old Beatles’ song out of my mind this week. Friends sang “When I’m 64” for my birthday on Monday. I’d rather expected it. Now I discover that Paul McCartney originally wrote the words when he was just 16. The chorus “Will you still need me, will you still feed me” questions whether affection survives ageing. But it was probably adolescent insecurities about lovability which inspired it. We often project present anxieties well into the future.

At the time the song was written there were plenty of wider insecurities in the world. Nuclear weapons, the Soviet¹ threat and the escalation² of the Vietnam War: they were then the background for the personal dramas of our lives. I feel almost nostalgic for such times. The choices we faced seemed clearer. For those so inclined, CND marches or anti-Vietnam demonstrations³ gave a vehicle for protest. It was the policy of Western Governments which many people then wanted to change. Now, as in France last week, leaders of those governments march with the people. Governments protest too. And sometimes seem almost as bewildered as those they govern. None of us would have predicted that jihadist terror would be such a threat nor that we would feel so helpless personally to do anything about it.

Such helplessness may be why there seems such weariness in our public and political discourse⁴. Routine policy quarrels about the mansion⁵ tax, the NHS or the deficit⁶ seem to miss these broader insecurities. Perhaps this is why those who have a longer perspective on political and social questions are heard with more respect. Elder statesmen such as Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachov are honoured more now than when in office. In South Africa, despite his reported retirement⁷ from public life, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s voice is still heard with reverence⁸, though not so much by those in power. Elder statesmen are most respected when they do not claim too much. We respond positively⁹ to informed humility¹⁰.

There’s a gospel story about two very old and humble¹¹ people, Simeon and Anna. They both saw the child Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem and discerned in him the promise of a new age. It wasn’t just the passing of the years which gave them insight and wisdom. Their humility kept them open to the unexpected. TS Eliot dismissed the idea that age alone makes us wise and then went on to write:

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”

Humility isn’t a sign of insecurity. Nor is it weakness. But it causes other virtues¹² to flourish. It’s often accompanied by hope for a better future – possible even when you’re 64.

早上好。本周，披头士的一首老歌总是萦绕在我的心头。周一的时候，朋友们为我的生日唱了一首歌“当我64岁的时候”。我非常期待。现在，我发现保罗·麦卡特尼最初在16岁的时候就创作了这首歌的歌词。合唱部分“你是否仍然需要我,仍然会喂我”质疑了随着年老，爱是否仍然存在。或许是青少年对爱缺乏安全感激发了这首歌的诞生。我们总是把现在的焦虑融入未来。

这首歌创作的时候，全世界有着更多的不安全因素。核武器，苏联的威胁和越南战争升级：那些都是我们个人生活的背景。我甚至有点怀念那样的日子。我们面临的选择似乎更加明确。对于那些有天赋的人来说，核裁军运动组织游行或反越南示威游行都赋予他们抗议的动力。那时许多人想要改变西方政府的政策。现在，上周，许多政府领导人在法国与民众一起举行了游行。政府也提出了抗议。有时，他们和他们统治的民众一样迷茫。我们中没有人预料到圣战组织恐怖分子是如此大的威胁，也从未感到作为个人会如此无助。

这样的无助感或许就是我们的公众和政治讲话如此消沉的原因。关于豪宅税，医疗服务体系或赤字的争吵与之相比似乎微不足道。或许这也是对政治和社会问题有着更长远的眼光的人能够获得尊重的原因。卡特和戈尔巴乔夫等老牌政客比他们在任时更受尊重。在南非，尽管宣布退出公众生活，德斯蒙德?图图(Desmond Tutu)的声音仍然令人敬畏，尽管稍微逊色于当权者。较老的政客不断言太多的时候是最受尊重的时候。我们会对明智的谦逊作出积极的回应。

有一个福音故事是关于两位年老而谦逊的人的，西米恩和安娜。他们都在耶路撒冷的庙宇中见到了孩童时期的耶稣，他们都理解新时代即将到来。赋予他们独到的眼光和智慧的不仅仅是时间。他们的谦卑让他们勇于接受未预料到的事情。艾略特驳斥了仅仅年龄就可以让我们聪慧的观点，他写道：

“我们唯一能够获得的智慧是谦卑的智慧。谦卑是无止境的。”

谦卑不是不安全的标志，也不是软弱的标志。但是它可以让其它美德得以弘扬。它通常伴随着对更美好的未来的希望——甚至当你64岁的时候。

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

5 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

9 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

10 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。

11 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。

12 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。