英国新闻听力 达尔文是否无神论者?

Good morning. I live just down the lane from Walton Hall, the home of the 19th century naturalist¹ and explorer, Charles Waterton.

早上好。我家就住在沃尔顿大厅所在的这条街。该大厅是19世纪自然学家和探险家查尔斯·沃特顿的家。

He had several visits from Charles Darwin, following his epic² voyage on the Beagle and whist he was writing his book "On The Origin of Species" whose theory of evolution was to rock the worlds of science and religion.

他在比格尔进行史诗般的探险过后，查尔斯·达尔文因撰写《物种起源》多次造访他。达尔文的进化论轰动了科学界和宗教界。

The two men had much in common when it came to science, but not when it came to religion. Waterton was a devout³ Roman Catholic, Darwin, it was thought was an agnostic.

在科学方面，两人有许多共同点，但是在宗教方面却并非如此。沃尔顿是一位虔诚的罗马天主教徒，而达尔文据说却是一位不可知论者。

There were good reason for believing this for late in his life he wrote to a prominent atheist⁴ who was perhaps seeking his support,

我们有很好的理由相信这一点，因为晚年时他给一位向他寻求支持的无神论者写道：

"It has always been my object to avoid writing on religion, and I have confined myself to science."

“我向来避免书写与宗教有关的内容，因为我已经献身科学。”

But as many of us learned this week that wasn't to remain strictly⁵ true.

但是本周我们许多人了解到，严格来说这并不是真的。

On Monday afternoon in New York, a brief letter hand written by Darwin was auctioned⁶ for almost 200 thousand dollars.

周一下午，达尔文手写的一封简短的书信在纽约拍卖出近20万美元的高价。

It was penned just a month after his letter to the atheist, but was sharper in tone and content.

这封书信就在他写给那位无神论者的书信一个月之后，但是在论调和内容方面更加尖锐。

It was sent to a young barrister, who was obviously a keen Christian⁷ and was worried that if he derived⁸ pleasure in reading Darwin's books he might lose his faith.

这封信是寄给一位年轻的大律师的，他很显然是一位热切的基督徒，担心如果他阅读达尔文的书时得到快乐，他或许会失去自己的信仰。

He'd written, "I ask you to give a 'yes' or 'no' answer to the question 'Do you believe in the New Testament⁹?"

他写道：“我要你给出明确肯定或否定的答案，你是否相信圣经新约？”

Darwin replied, "Dear Sir, I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Yours faithfully".

达尔文回复道：“尊敬的先生，我很抱歉地告诉您，我不相信圣经是上帝的启示，因此不相信耶稣·基督是上帝之子。”

Why did the young barrister's letter so get under Darwin's skin that he broke with a life-time of reticence¹⁰ on matters of religion?

为何这位年轻大律师的书信如此激怒达尔文，打破了他一生抗拒发表于宗教有关言论的习惯？

We will probably never know, but clues can perhaps be found in other letters which he wrote.

我们或许永远不会知道，但是从他书写的其他书信中或许可以找到一些线索。

When he and his wife Emma settled in Down in Kent Darwin correspondence shows that he made great friends with the local vicar and Darwin would do everything to support his local church except worship there.

当他和妻子艾玛在肯特定居时，达尔文的通信表明，他和当地教区牧师成为很好的朋友，达尔文愿意做一切事情来支持当地教堂，除了做礼拜。

He would accompany his wife and family to the church gates, and then go for a thoughtful walk whilst they went to worship.

他会陪伴妻子和家人去教堂门口，然后在亲人做礼拜时他就会去漫步一下。

But with the vicar he planned an educational and benevolent¹¹ trust for the parish and became its very active treasurer¹².

但是他和这位牧师一起计划在该郊区成立教育和慈善信托基金，并成为非常积极的财务主管。

Then the vicar left and a keen new curate arrived, who was a far more yes, or no, person.

后来这位牧师离开了，一位副牧师到来，他是一位更加是非明确的人。

The curate made local life so difficult for Darwin that he withdrew from the educational and care structure which he'd created.

这位副牧师让达尔文在当地的生活非常困难，所以他从自己创立的教育和慈善机构退出。

It wouldn't surprise me if the letter from the enthusiastic Christian lawyer reminded Darwin of his treatment by the Christian curate some years earlier and he took to his pen.

如果说这位虔诚的基督徒律师的信件提醒达尔文他在这位基督徒副牧师那里的遭遇，从而愤然下笔书写的话，我不觉得奇怪。

The press have interpreted the letter as evidence of Darwin's atheism¹³, but I don't necessarily think that that's the case.

媒体将这封信件解读为达尔文无神论的证据，但是我不认为是这样。

What Darwin certainly didn't believe was that a loving God would allow non-believers to burn eternally in hell fire. I agree with him.

达尔文确定不相信的是，仁慈博爱的上帝会让不信仰上帝的人永恒地在地狱之火中燃烧。我赞同他的观点。

1 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

4 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。

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

10 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

11 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

12 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

13 atheism   

n.无神论，不信神

参考例句：

• Atheism is the opinion that there is no God.无神论是认为不存在上帝的看法。
• Atheism is a hot topic.无神论是个热门话题。