VOA标准英语2013--Pope Benedict Leads Last Ash Wednesday Mass

 

Pope Benedict Leads Last Ash Wednesday Mass

A choir¹ sang as the 85-year-old pontiff entered the church, walking on his own, his first public appearance since announcing his resignation earlier this week. Looking somewhat frail² in his ceremonial purple robe, he boarded a moving platform to travel down the long center aisle³ as some Roman Catholic cardinals⁵, one of whom may replace him as pope next month, formed a procession behind him.

His voice raspy but clear, Pope Benedict offered his thanks to everyone who had helped him during his papacy.

He received long rounds of applause at the beginning and end of the service. His chief assistant spoke⁶ briefly⁷, saying there was “a veil of sadness” over the service, and thanking the pope for being what he called a “simple and humble⁸ worker in the vineyard of the Lord.”

That was what Pope Benedict had promised to do on the day he was elected pope eight years ago.

The pope led the Ash Wednesday mass two days after he announced his resignation, saying age and physical frailty⁹ were preventing him from fulfilling his obligations as he would like to. The Vatican had publicly acknowledged for the first time that the pope, a German formerly¹⁰ known as Cardinal⁴ Joseph Ratzinger, has a pacemaker.

It is the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years, and many people did not even know it was possible.

The pope will hold a final public audience on the balcony at St. Peter's Square on February 27, and will retire the next day.

About two weeks later, Roman Catholic cardinals will convene¹¹ to choose his successor. Officials say the new pope is expected to be named by Easter, March 31, and that Pope Benedict will play no role in the selection.

A man's story

The chief of Vatican Radio's English Section, Sean-Patrick Lovett, says the pope's resignation “redefines the papacy,” focusing on the human rather than the divine-connection element.

“This is not a pope story, this is a man's story, Lovett said.” This is an old man, who is nearly 86, with a sense of responsibility looking at who he is relation to the office that he holds and saying, 'I have to be honest, I cannot do this anymore.'”

Lovett says the move sets a standard for future popes, but does not necessarily signal any major policy changes will come under the new pope.

“The Catholic Church is not about change, it is not a democracy," he said. "It is about continuity, and doctrine¹² is very unlikely to change no matter who becomes pope.”

There is lots of speculation¹³ on who that might be, particularly whether it might be someone from Africa or Latin America, which, combined, are home to more than half the world's Catholics. But Lovett says the same speculation was heard during the past 35 years for each of the three papal transitions he has covered.

Pope Benedict's rule has been concerned with the church's child sex abuse scandal that began long before he ascended¹⁴ to the papacy. Last year, his butler was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging¹⁵ corruption¹⁶ in the Vatican's business dealings. Pope Benedict also has been criticized for inflexibility¹⁷ on church dogmas.

In contrast, Pope Benedict has received praise for instituting a financial watchdog for the Vatican's financial dealings and becoming the first pope to communicate with followers¹⁸ via social media.

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

3 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

4 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。

5 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

10 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

11 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

12 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

13 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

14 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 inflexibility   

n.不屈性，顽固，不变性；不可弯曲；非挠性；刚性

参考例句：

• One basic advantage of organization planning is avoidance of organizational inflexibility. 组织规划的一个基本优点就是可避免组织缺乏弹性。 来自辞典例句
• Allenda was brought down by his own incompetence and inflexibility. 阿连德之所以倒台，是由于他自己的无能和固执。 来自辞典例句

18 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。