各国名人英文介绍-Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th Pope, also known as the Bishop¹ of Rome and Sovereign of the Vatican. He is the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected Pope in 2005 and succeeded John Paul II. Benedict is a prolific² author and has written dozens of books on religion. He believes consumerism is the biggest threat to our world.

Benedict was born as Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria, Germany, in 1927. He was very interested in the Church from a young age. When he was five, he wanted to be a cardinal³. World War II saw him drafted into the army, but an illness meant he didn’t fight. When the war finished, he went into training to become a priest.

Ratzinger became a professor of theology at the University of Bonn in 1959. He was a highly respected scholar on Vatican matters. He wrote in his 1968 book ‘Introduction to Christianity’ that Rome had too much control of the Church. In 1977, he was appointed a cardinal, fulfilling his boyhood wish. He was very influential⁴ in the Vatican and was close to John Paul II.

Ratzinger had hoped not to be elected as Pope, preferring instead to quietly retire. He joked that God hadn’t listened to his prayers. In his time as Pope, he has stuck to the traditional values of Biblical teaching and has modernized⁵ the Church. He has reached out to other faiths and apologized for child sex abuse cases committed by priests.

1 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

2 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

3 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。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。