胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇037

Lesson 37 My Life as a Clergyman 我的牧师生活

Words:

clam² n. 蛤，蛤肉

clamor n. 叫嚣，喧哗

clamp vt. 夹住，夹紧

clan³ n. 家族，宗族

clandestine⁴ adj. 秘密的

clap n. 霹雳声；vt. 鼓掌；轻拍

clarification n. 澄清，阐明

clarify vt. 澄清，阐明

classification n. 分类，分级

classify vt. 把。。。分类，分等级

clay n. 黏土；泥土

cleanse⁵ vt. 使清洁，使纯净

cleft⁶ n. 裂缝

clergy¹ n. (总称)神职人员；教士，牧师

clergyman n. 牧师，教士

cliff n. 悬崖，峭壁

climax⁷ n. 高峰，顶点

clinch⁸ vt. 钉牢，揪住；确定，最终决定

cling vi. 粘附，附着；坚守，墨守，忠实于

clinging adj. 贴身的；坚持的；忠实的；依赖的

I’m a clergyman. I have been a member of the clergy for about twenty-one years. I’m the only priest in my clan. I work in an old church at the edge of a cliff. The aged⁹ walls are made out of clay and wood. In certain areas of the church, we’ve had to clamp the wood together to prevent if from falling apart. The church looked a lot better twenty years ago when we clinched¹⁰ the deal to buy this property.

I take confessions¹² everyday. People like confessing to a priest because it cleanses¹³ their soul. Some people confess simple sins, such as stealing a clam or starting at the cleft of a woman’s bosom¹⁴. Usually, I don’t need to ask them to clarify these types of confessions. Others confess very bad sins, like killing¹⁵ someone during a clandestine government operation. I never ask for clarification when someone makes this type of confession¹¹.

I like giving the Sunday sermon. I make it a point to save the climax of my talk until the very end. I can tell that people like it this way because they clap loudly.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of changing the way I conduct church. I want to do a better job of catering¹⁶ to the variety of needs in my congregation. It’s because people who come to my church can be classified into two groups. One group clings to tradition church values and comes to honor God. The other group has a clinging lifestyle of sinning all week and seeking redemption on Sundays. If I could prepare a separate sermon for each group according to their classification, I think I could better address their specific needs. However, it might cause a clamor. What do you think?

我是一名牧师，我已做了21年的神职人员。我还是家族中的唯一的一名牧师，我在悬崖边的一座老教堂工作。教堂古老的墙壁是用泥土和木头做的。在教堂里的某些地方，我们不得不将木头夹紧才能防止脱落。20年前，我们达成交易，决定买下这块房产时的教堂要比现在漂亮多了。

我每天都要接受人们的忏悔。人们喜欢向一个教士忏悔。因为这样能净化他们的灵魂。有些人忏悔一般的小过错，比如偷了一只蛤蜊或者偷看女人的乳沟。通常，我不必让他们对这类罪过进行澄清。其他人则忏悔深重的罪孽，比如在秘密的政府行动中谋杀某人。我从不要求这样的忏悔者做任何阐述。

我喜欢做礼拜天的布道。我总是在讲话最后才将布道推向高潮。我能看出人们喜欢这样，因为他们会大声鼓掌。

最近，我在考虑改变我履行圣职的方式。我想更好地满足广大教众的各种不同需要。原因在于来教堂的人可以分为两类：一类人墨守传统教义，他们来教堂是为了敬仰上帝；另一类人一贯坚持生活方式就是一星期头六天都在造孽，到星期日再求赎罪。如果我能按这两类人的不同分类分别准备一次布道，我想就能更好地针对他们的具体需要。但这也许会招致一场喧嚣。你认为如何？

1 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

2 clam   

n.蛤，蛤肉

参考例句：

• Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
• The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

3 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

4 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

5 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

6 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

7 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

8 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

10 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

11 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

12 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 cleanses   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prayer cleanses the soul, but pain cleanses the body. 祈祷净化灵魂，而痛苦则净化身体。
• With water and iodine from the closet, he cleanses my lip. 用温水和碘从壁橱里，他洗净我的嘴唇。

14 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？