VOA标准英语2013--朝鲜叛逃者庆祝圣诞节

 

N. Korean Defectors Celebrate Christmas 朝鲜叛逃者庆祝圣诞节

SEOUL — North Korea, an atheist¹ one-party state, does not allow celebrations of Christmas or other religious holidays. But, many North Korean defectors do mark the  holiday, because they are rescued by Christian² missionaries³ who convert⁴ them and bring them to South Korea.

首尔-朝鲜,一个无神论者一党制国家,不允许庆祝圣诞节或其他宗教节日。但是,许多朝鲜叛逃者庆祝这个节日,因为他们是由基督教传教士救出并把他们送到韩国。

A Christmas service is not unusual in heavily Christian South Korea but most of the Durihana church members are North Korean defectors.

In 14 years the church has rescued about 1,000 defectors, who flee through China to Southeast Asia, and many convert.

Pastor⁵ Chun Ki-won said the help they provide the lonely and desperate North Koreans naturally leads them to Christianity.

“We can view North Korea as a cult⁶. Everything is centralized to focus on Kim Il Sung like we focus on God. The atmosphere is similar. So North Korean defectors  easily adopt themselves into the church system when they come to South Korea,” he said.

Church member Han Min said he never heard of Christmas or Christians⁷ in North Korea until the age of 11, when he escaped.

“There are many people who pray for God in underground tunnels. You can watch the videos on Youtube. Even though there are many churches in South Korea, people here  cannot pray as hard as the prayers in North Korea,” he explained.

Pastor Chun said although some believers may attend North Korea's few state-controlled churches they are propaganda⁸ to show “freedom of religion."“I do not recognize  their church because the intention is not sincere. But there are churches that we call churches. They are called underground churches," he said. "There is no building  where people hold services. Two or three people hold services in secret at home. In doing this, they are putting their lives at risk.”

Pastor Chun takes monthly trips to Southeast Asia where he helps defectors transit⁹ through Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

But he has only risked one trip to China after he was caught in 2003 and jailed for eight months.

“It has become difficult to rescue defectors since two years ago," he said. "Those without an ID cannot use the train or internet cafés. Since it is difficult to use  public transportation, defectors need to get a car but this is also difficult. We used to rescue about 30 to 40 people in a month, but this month we rescued only 3  people.”

Han Min left China three years ago, leaving behind his mother as well as a brother in North Korea he has not heard from in 16 years.

He said Christmas is about spending time with people you love but, for him, it would be good enough to learn whether his family are still alive. 

1 atheist   

n.无神论者

参考例句：

• She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
• He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 convert   

v.（在形式、状态、用途等方面）（使）改变

参考例句：

• I must convert sorrow into strength.我要化悲痛为力量。
• At what rate does the dollar convert into pounds?美元以什么汇率兑换成英镑？

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

6 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

7 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。

8 propaganda   

n.宣传，宣传机构

参考例句：

• A lot of propaganda has painted him as bad.大量宣传把他说得很坏。
• Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.艺术可以用作为宣传的媒介。

9 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。