英语听力：探索发现 2012-08-12 爱尔兰的故事 Story Of Ireland—13

 Tell me what happens when the monks¹ arrive.

 

Well, they would have, first of all, made their way to the local king, the local lord, or something like that, because you couldn’t just arrive off the next available flight and announce, hi, I’m your new local Christian² mission. You’d end up dead. So you'd have to get some kind of physical protection. Once you had the king’s protection, on that basis, go around, spread the message. Certainly with the passage of time when monasticism is the growing trend if you like and it’s a cool thing to have a monastery³ on your land. It’s cool to have a member of your family, a member of a monastic community, if you can have a brother or sister who’s actually a saint, somebody who’s so high in the hierarchy⁴, then obviously that adds a certain prestige as well. 

 

As the influence of Patrick and his successors expanded, the monasteries⁵ would emerge as the focal points of intellectual and artistic⁶ life. 

 

Patrick was born a child of the Roman Imperium, but by the time of his death in the 5th century, that empire has disintegrated⁷. And across Europe, there was a catastrophic decline in learning. In the 6th century, the scholar Gregory of Tours wrote, that in the cities of Gaul, there could be found no scholar trained in ordered composition who could present a picture in prose or verse of the things that have befallen. Everywhere except Ireland. There a cultural revolution was underway. 

 

The Church in Ireland was untouched by the traumas⁸ afflicting⁹ Europe. And as the kings of Ireland were converted, the monks found protectors and patrons, a culture that blended the natives and the Latin flourished. At the center of this flowering were the monasteries.

1 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

4 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

5 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

9 afflicting   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。