英国新闻听力 怎样更好地理解责任感

In one of the oldest examples of political evasion¹, instead of answering the question that incriminated him Cain countered God with another.

How should I know where my brother is? Am I his keeper?

Is it wrong to pay cash to the teenager who mows² our lawn? Of course not.

Unless I happen to know he isn't telling the Benefits Office, in which case of course it is.

But suppose I merely suspect? Or don't think to ask? Or consider it none of my business, want to encourage him with a taste for work and would very much prefer not to take the moral high ground with someone else's conscience?

The morality of responsibility can be far more complex than merely the law.

Friends of mine have started to wonder whether and when they should stop a parent driving. They know it's vital for seeing people, visiting offspring, staying interested in life.

Yet the parent may never even have taken a driving test and certainly wouldn't pass one now.

The state allows it: should the son or daughter prevent it – balancing the safety of strangers against the needs of the loved one?

Or the abstract principle against the immediate³ family. I was told I shouldn't work for someone who had made his money in a way some considered unethical: a friend had left his employment and wouldn't talk to me unless I did too.

I scoured⁴ the scriptures⁵, finding several passages exhorting⁶ me to work hard and support my family, and one or two telling me how to submit to an immoral⁷ boss.

None suggesting I was responsible for my employer's conduct, past or present.

Someone I was very fond of at university turned his back on Christianity because he couldn't accept rich Christians⁸ in a world of hunger: he believed they should take responsibility for those on the other side of the world.

To his credit, he went on to establish two very well-known movements combating world poverty.

Responsibility can be brutal⁹. Kevin Carter won the world's attention for famine with his photograph of a toddler being stalked by a vulture, as well as vociferous¹⁰ criticism for being a vulture himself.

And indeed the Pulitzer prize. The following year his suicide note read, "I am haunted by... memories of killings¹¹ and corpses¹² and anger and pain... of starving children."

Cain knew the answer full well. His brother Abel's blood cried out to him from the ground. Of course he should have cared for him.

But how do we pit one responsibility against another?

They tried to trap the Rabbi with questions. Should we support an oppressive regime? or refuse to pay taxes and break the law? He didn't evade¹³ the question.

He took it further. Show me a coin. Whose image is it made in? Then give the coin to him.

Now look at yourself. Whose image are you made in? Give responsibility where responsibility is due. To Caesar the things that are Caesar's.And to God the things that are God's.

We all have complicated duties to disentangle day by day. We start by knowing where our ultimate responsibility lies.

1 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

2 mows   

v.刈，割( mow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I saw him make mops and mows at Mary. 我看见他冲着玛丽做鬼脸。 来自互联网
• My mother mows the grass on the street once a week. （我妈妈每星期都在街上修一次草坪。） 来自互联网

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

5 scriptures   

经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典

参考例句：

• Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
• You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。

6 exhorting   

v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Joe Pationi's stocky figure was moving constantly, instructing and exhorting. 乔·佩特罗尼结实的身影不断地来回走动，又发指示，又替他们打气。 来自辞典例句
• He is always exhorting us to work harder for a lower salary. （（讽刺））他总是劝我们为了再低的薪水也得更卖力地工作。 来自辞典例句

7 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

8 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。

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 vociferous   

adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的

参考例句：

• They are holding a vociferous debate.他们在吵吵嚷嚷地辩论。
• He was a vociferous opponent of Conservatism.他高声反对保守主义。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

13 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？