精美英文欣赏:酒乃穿肠毒药

In the past, religion's contribution to this debate has been from a moral standpoint about the questions of poor behaviour that are encouraged by the loss of our inhibitions.

过去，教会一直从道德层面来解释说行为弱智是自我失控所致。

But the truth is that Christianity has a complex relationship with alcohol,

但事实却是，基督教跟酒有一种复杂的联系，

from the beautiful story in John's Gospel of Jesus turning water into rich and special wine,

《约翰福音》中耶稣将水变成美酒的美谈，到僧侣酿造啤酒，

to the brewing¹ of beer by monks² and the central sacramental act of billions of Christians³ around the world when we drink fortified⁴ wine from the same cup at the Eucharist.

再到全世界的基督教徒举行圣餐的时的中心活动就是从圣杯中啜饮美酒。

It is perhaps a sign of our times that this debate has been highlighted not so much by a moral anxiety as a medical one.

这也许标志着，在我们这个时代，有关饮酒的辩论已不再是道德问题，

It's the strain on the NHS that's the issue.

而是健康问题，被NHS解释为压力问题。

We are it seems, a society less at ease with ourselves than we could be, for example, taking the edge off social interactions with a drink to alleviate⁵ our fear.

看来，我们总是对自己不够放松，譬如，用喝酒来缓解在社交场合的紧张情绪。

Moralising judgements don't help here, but recognising that we medicate our misery⁶ by taking alcohol will raise deeper questions about who we are and who we want to be.

道德评判在这里毫无帮助，但必须意识到，用酒精来缓解痛苦只会让我们更迷失自己，更找不着方向。

1 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

2 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

5 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

6 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。