2007年VOA标准英语-Pope Celebrates Easter Mass, Calls for World Pe

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
08 April 2007

Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful before delivering Easter address, 08 Apr 2007

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated¹ Easter Mass in Saint Peter's Square Sunday and made an impassioned appeal for world peace in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message. He spoke² of his concerns for Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa. Tens of thousands of people were gathered at the Vatican for Pope Benedict's second Easter. Sabina Castelfranco reports for VOA from Rome.

Pilgrims and tourists from different nationalities crowded into Saint Peter's Square for the second Easter Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict. A sea of flowers adorned³ the steps of the basilica. Bells peeled and then the sound of the choir⁴ rang out across the square.

The pope appeared in brilliant golden vestments to preside over a joyous⁵ celebration on Christianity's most important feast day, which marks the day Jesus resurrected three days after his death.

At the end of the mass, the pope addressed a huge crowd from the central balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica overlooking the square.

"Christ is risen! Peace to You!" he said at the start of his Easter message to Christians⁶ all over the world. Then, the pope made an impassioned appeal for world peace.

Pope Benedict lamented⁷ the slaughter⁸ in Iraq and the growing unrest and instability in Afghanistan.

"Nothing positive comes from Iraq," he said, "which is torn apart by continual slaughter as the population flees." But the pope did note that there are some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

Speaking of the church's concerns in the world, he said, how much suffering exists with natural calamities⁹ and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction.

The pope mentioned the scourge¹⁰ of hunger, of incurable¹¹ diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people and of the thousand faces of violence, which some people attempt to justify¹² in the name of religion.

The pope also turned his thoughts to the African continent.

Pope Benedict mentioned the catastrophic and underestimated humanitarian¹³ situation in Sudan's Darfur region. He spoke of the violence and looting in Congo, which raises fears for the democratic process and reconstruction¹⁴ of the country.

The pope also said that renewed fighting in Somalia has driven away the prospect¹⁵ of peace and cited Zimbabwe, saying the country is in the grip of a grievous crisis.

Thousands listened to the pope's words in a sun-filled Saint Peter's Square. Millions more watched him on television as he wished the world a Happy Easter in 62 different languages.

Pope Benedict now heads to the papal summer residence at Castelgandolfo, in the hills south of Rome, for a few days of rest. When he returns to the Vatican, the pope has two important dates on his calendar: his 80th birthday on April 16, and the second anniversary of his election as pope three days later.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 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。

3 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

4 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。

5 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

6 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。

7 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

9 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

11 incurable   

adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

参考例句：

• All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
• He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。

12 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。