2006年VOA标准英语-Vatican Marks 25th Anniversary of John Pau

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
13 May 2006

 
Pope John Paul II 
  
Pope John Paul II died in 2005, but he nearly lost his life in an assassination¹ attempt on this date 25 years ago.  On Saturday in Rome the shooting was remembered.

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In Saint Peter's Square 25 years ago, Turkish gunman Ali Agca attempted to take the life of Pope John Paul II.  Catholics around the world were shocked when they saw pictures of the pope being shot as he was waving to the crowd from his open-top pope-mobile.

In remembrance of that terrible moment, thousands of pilgrims gathered Saturday in Saint Peter's Square to read prayers at the exact place of the attack, which is now marked by a marble plaque² on the cobblestone pavement.

John Paul credited the Virgin³ of Fatima with saving his life.  To mark the anniversary, a statue of the Virgin was brought in by helicopter.  The crown of the original statue of the Virgin, kept at a shrine⁴ in Fatima, Portugal, has one of the bullets removed from the pope's body after the attack.

The Vatican believes the attack was predicted in the "Third Secret of Fatima," a message given many years ago to three Portuguese⁵ children when they reported seeing an apparition⁶ of the Virgin.   May 13, besides being the anniversary of the assassination attempt on the pope, is also the date, according to the three children, that the Virgin Mary first appeared to them in 1917.

At Saint Peter's on Saturday, Pilgrims applauded and waved caps and flags as the Virgin's statue was lowered from the helicopter and then carried in a procession to the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981.

After the procession, a Mass was celebrated⁷ in Saint Peter's Basilica to commemorate⁸ the anniversary.  In his homily, Cardinal⁹ Camillo Ruini urged pilgrims to pray so that Pope John Paul II may soon be beatified, the first step to sainthood.

The motive¹⁰ behind the attempt on the pope's life remains¹¹ to this day a mystery. A report by an Italian parliamentary commission concluded earlier this year the Soviet¹² Union was behind the assassination plot.

1 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

2 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

3 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

4 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

5 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

6 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

9 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

10 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 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。