VOA标准英语2013--Egypt's Christians Look Ahead after Religious Violence

 

Egypt's Christians¹ Look Ahead after Religious Violence

A few months ago, Cairo's Saint Mark's Cathedral was a place of joy - as Christians welcomed a new Coptic pope.

Now the streets outside the main Coptic Church in Egypt are scattered² with rubble³, the remains⁴ of deadly fighting between those in the church and angry Muslims outside.

This latest bout⁵ of religious violence has prompted some Christians to consider the relative calm of the past -- before the revolution and the rise of Islamist politicians.

A Coptic man near the cathedral grounds says this type of thing has never happened before, nor has the country ever reached this state of affairs. It will hurt not only Christians and Muslims, but the nation as a whole. "This is wrong," he says. "We are one people and one country."

Analysts⁷ say a tradition of tolerance⁸ is eroding⁹ as security diminishes, the economy tumbles and conservative strains of Islam gain strength.

Youssef Sidhom, editor of the weekly Watani newspaper, is an advocate for Coptic rights. “This worries very much not only the Christians of Egypt, but also a good percentage of the Muslims of Egypt, whom I describe as moderate Muslims,” he said.

Political analyst⁶ Hisham Kassem says many Egyptians are beginning to take a stand. ”There is more frustration¹⁰ with extremism. The people are beginning to see how unnecessary it is, okay, that it does not improve their life in any way. In fact, it takes it to the opposite direction," he noted¹¹. "But, right now, there is only one solution in the short term, which is the firm application of the law."

Many feel the government has failed to do just that. Coptic Pope Tawadros criticized President Mohamed Morsi Tuesday for favoring promises over action.

Editor Sidhom says the fear that the government cannot, or will not, protect Christians has prompted some to consider drastic action of their own. “Of course, there are those who express their worries and concerns about tomorrow," Sidhom stated. "And, they do not hide their desire to leave Egypt if they can.”

Hisham Kassem says such thoughts recall the flight of another religious minority, in the 1950s and '60s. “There is a movie played in Cairo cinemas called On the Jews of Egypt, and it’s about the Jews who were forced to leave. And there is that fear now - people just don’t want the day to come when there is a movie called On the Christians of Egypt," he said.

Numbers may be on the Christians' side. In a country with some eight million Christians, analysts say Egypt has no choice but to confront the problem and find a remedy. 

1 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。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

9 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

10 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。