英国新闻听力 在德国科隆大教堂台阶上的感想

Not so long ago I stood on the steps of Cologne Cathedral in Germany and experienced the poignancy¹ of being somewhere that had in recent history endured dreadful human suffering.

就在不久前，我站在德国科隆大教堂的台阶上，感受着近代史上人们经历的痛苦辛酸往事。

The city was bombed to bits during the Second World War.

这座城市在二战期间被炸成碎片，

It is now well known that the enormous Cathedral only survived Allied² bombing because it served as a navigation beacon³ for pilots.

如今，这座大教堂之所以得名，是因为它是唯一一座在盟军轰炸中幸存的大教堂，给飞行员起到了导航灯的作用。

But, when the cathedral switched off its lights earlier this week, it was intended to question a different set of bearings and offer a different moral compass.

但是，当本周早些时候教堂熄灯时，其目的是在向另一种不同的问题进行质疑，并起到另外一种道德指南针的作用。

Cologne is one of the cities to have seen growing protests against what is called the "Islamisation of the West".

科隆等城市都目睹过日益渐涨的反对所谓“西方伊斯兰化”的抗议活动，

What began as a small demonstration⁴ by a couple of hundred from the east German right wing has grown into marches of up to 18,000 people.

最初只是从东德几百名右翼人士开始的小规模游行，如今已壮大到1.8万人的抗议队伍。

And the majority of these people can't be brushed off as wild neo-Nazis, although such people are deeply involved in shaping and leading the protests.

其中大多数人都不能被轻易地视为新纳粹而置之不理，尽管这些人对于促成和领导抗议活动起到很大作用。

Known as Pegida, this movement has provoked counter-demonstrations and serious critical comment by leading political and public figures, including Angela Merkel in her New Year address.

这项活动被称作Pegida，已引发了反游行活动，一些主要政界和公共人物都表示了严厉的批评，安吉拉·默克尔就在她的新年致辞中进行了表示

What is challenging about this phenomenon is how irrational⁵ some of the comment by protesters has been.

这一现象中的一个问题是，抗议者的一些看法非常不理智。

According to some, all Muslims are to be seen as a threat to the blonde daughters of civilised Germans.

在一些抗议者看来，所有穆斯林被视为是文明德国人金发碧眼女儿们的威胁。

In language that will sound familiar on this side of the Channel, Germany is being swamped by Muslims –

一些媒体的言论听起来很熟悉，它们认为德国正在被穆斯林吞噬，

despite clear evidence in some of these places that the numbers of Muslims is very low.

尽管很明显在一些地方穆斯林的人数很少。

Why is it that in such matters perception is so much more powerful than reality?

为何对这类问题的看法总是比现实看起来更严重？

And why is it that the fires of fear are so easy to stoke when people generally begin to feel a bit insecure economically

为何当人们普遍开始在经济上感到一点不安全时，恐惧之火总是很容易点燃？

– or that we often feel the need to turn inward and focus our fear or resentment⁶ on the 'outsider'?

为何我们总是感到有必要转向内部，将我们的恐惧或怨恨指向“外人”？

This is not to question the power of perception or the need for proper (and informed) debates about immigration and culture – at every level and from political leaders.

这并不是要质疑人们看法的力量，也不是质疑是否有必要就移民和文化问题在各个层面和政治领导人间进行恰当的辩论。

But, it is to dig beneath the presenting rationalization for such protests and ask if all is what it seems to be – or what we would like it to be.

但是，我们需要挖掘这类抗议活动表面理智的深部，要问是否一切都属实，或者我们希望什么样的局面。

Genuine motivation is not always immediately obvious, especially where fear or discomfort⁷ are concerned.

真实的动机并不总是显而易见的，尤其是当恐惧和不安相互关联时。

And these aren't exactly new questions either, are they?

确切来说这些都不是新问题，不是吗？

Read the Bible and you find ethnic⁸ cleansing⁹, dreadful brutality¹⁰ and fear of those who are different.

翻开圣经你会看到种族清洗、可怕的野蛮行径，以及对异己者的恐惧。

Yet, read the same Bible and you get injunctions to welcome the outsider, give hospitality to the asylum-seeker,

然而，阅读圣经，你也能得到关于欢迎外来者的劝告，款待寻求避难者，

feed the hungry, love the enemy as well as the neighbour, and drop the fear.

给饥饿者提供食物，爱你的邻居和敌人，放弃恐惧。

And the message is clear: we have a choice how to behave: be driven by fear and insecurity into suspicion and hatred¹¹ of the other, or take the risk of dancing to a different tune¹².

很显然，我们能决定如何表现：是受恐惧和不安全驱使陷入猜疑和仇恨，还是冒风险表现不同的态度？

1 poignancy   

n.辛酸事，尖锐

参考例句：

• As she sat in church her face had a pathos and poignancy. 当她坐在教堂里时，脸上带着一种哀婉和辛辣的表情。
• The movie, "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" treats this with hilarity and poignancy. 电影“火车，飞机和汽车”是以欢娱和热情庆祝这个节日。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

6 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

7 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

10 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

11 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

12 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。