环球英语 — 91： CS Lewis

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Elizabeth Lickiss.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘Then he turned to them and said, ”...you are - as you used to say in the Shadow-Lands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have started. The dream has ended: this is the morning.” ... Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.’
Voice 1
Clive Staples² Lewis or CS Lewis wrote these words. They are the final words from his book ‘The Last Battle’. This book is the last in a series. The series is about the land of Narnia. Narnia is a fantasy land, because the books are fantasies. Fantasies are stories that cannot be real because they contain unreal things - such as talking animals. And yet the stories are fun to read. The Narnia stories tell of a group of children in this fantasy land. They are popular books. They have been translated into many languages. Film producers have made them into award winning films.
CS Lewis expressed his Christian⁴ faith through his writings. At the end of the ‘The Last Battle’ the children in the story die. But it is not a sad ending. As a Christian, Lewis did not see death as something to be feared. He believed that it was the beginning of a new life - a life in Heaven. Today we tell how Lewis’s faith was tested.
Voice 2
Lewis did not always find it easy to believe in God. There were many times when he found life difficult. He struggled to understand the meaning of life. But, in the end, he came back to his faith. Lewis was not frightened to express these struggles through his writings. As a result many people today find his books a great help in difficult times.
Voice 1
Lewis grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He had a wonderful early childhood. As a child Lewis believed in God. He trusted God. But when he was still young his wonderful family life came to an end. His mother died of cancer. Lewis’ father struggled to deal with her death. He felt unable to look after Lewis and his brother. So he sent the boys away to school. The school became their new home. It was not a happy time. Bigger children bullied⁵ Lewis. They hurt him. The young Lewis suffered greatly. He felt that God had betrayed⁶ him. He wrote,
Voice 3
‘These attacks continue. They are becoming more severe. All the older children hate me. There cannot be a loving God who cares. You know, I think I believe in no religion. There is no evidence for any of them. All religions are just man’s invention’.
Voice 2
After a few years, the school closed. Lewis’ father decided⁷ to pay for a private teacher. This worked well. Lewis developed a great skill with writing and language. He worked hard and Oxford⁸ University accepted him as a student. He then became a teacher of English literature there. Everyone respected his work and communication skills.
At Oxford many of his friends questioned him about his beliefs. Lewis still claimed that God did not exist. But many disagreed with him. They were people that he respected. They had written papers on important matters. Among them was JRR Tolkien. Tolkien wrote the famous fantasy books, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’. These people’s ideas influenced Lewis. So he decided to think again about God. He read books. And he talked to people and he examined the evidence. All the evidence pointed⁹ him in one direction. Christianity made sense. Lewis remembered the day he decided to become a Christian. It was surprisingly easy. He said,
Voice 3
‘I was on a trip to the zoo when it happened. On the way to the zoo I did not believe that Jesus Christ³ was the Son of God. But by the time I got to the zoo I did. I had spent years thinking and debating about God’s existence. But in the end it was so easy. It was just like I had been sleeping, but now I was awake. Everything made sense’.
Voice 1
Almost immediately Lewis started writing about his faith. He wrote about his struggles. He wrote about how he had spent so many years trying to prove God’s existence.
Voice 2
In 1950, Lewis published the first of the Narnia books. From this time onwards he continued to write beautiful, fantasy books. Children loved them. And, adults enjoyed the deeper, spiritual meaning in the books. Lewis also gave a series of talks about Christianity on BBC radio.
Voice 1
Life was going well for Lewis. But then his faith was tested again. In 1952, Lewis married Joy Gresham. She was the love of his life. But shortly after they married doctors told Joy that she had cancer. Doctors treated the cancer. But after a long battle she died in 1960.
Lewis found her death hard to deal with. She had made him so happy. But they had experienced¹⁰ only a short time together. He was angry with God. Why had God chosen to take Joy away? Lewis had asked God to help Joy. Why did God not heal¹¹ her? At the time Lewis wrote,
Voice 3
‘There is no answer from God, only a locked door. People that ask, it seems, do not get. I was a fool to ask’.
Voice 1
Friends tried to help him. But Lewis rejected their efforts. However his connection with God remained. Lewis may have been angry. He may have blamed God - but he still accepted that God existed. In time, through prayer, Lewis came to believe that God did care. Lewis also accepted a very hard fact. He accepted that he would not have all the answers in this life. Lewis learned¹² to trust God with those things he did not understand. By the time of his death he had made his peace with God once again. Lewis talks of faith in terms of a long trip. The road of faith has hills to climb and difficulties along the way. But each difficulty and struggle can teach you more about God. As a Christian, Lewis believed that the trip would continue even after death. It would continue in Heaven. Lewis died in November 1963. But his books remain a powerful resource for many people. For some of these people his writings have proved to be a starting point for their own way of faith.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

3 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

4 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。

5 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 betrayed   

对…不忠( betray的过去式和过去分词 )； 背叛； 出卖； 泄露

参考例句：

• The shakes of the speaker's hands betrayed his nervousness. 发言者双手颤抖，可见他很紧张。
• He betrayed all his friends on his own account. 他为自己的利益出卖了所有的朋友。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

11 heal   

v.使愈合，治愈，使康复；平息(争吵等)；消除，解决(分支等)

参考例句：

• Time helped heal the old wounds.时间有助于治愈旧创伤。
• This wound will soon heal if yon keep it clean.如果你保持伤口清洁，它很快就会痊愈。

12 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。