VOA常速英语2008年-Thousands Gather in Lourdes to Celebrate 150th

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
11 February 2008

Some 50,000 pilgrims are expected in the southwestern French town of Lourdes Monday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the reported sighting of the apparition¹ of the Virgin² Mary by a 14-year-old shepherd girl. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris the event will be celebrated³ throughout the year, with a visit by the Pope expected in September.

Lourdes is usually filled with pilgrims year round. But many more are gathering⁴ now to mark the beginning of the months-long period in 1858 during which Bernadette Soubirous, 14, is said to have seen the Virgin Mary no less than 18 times.

The Roman Catholic Church was initially⁵ skeptical⁶ about the appearances, but Bernadette was eventually canonized in 1933.

Today, the place where Bernadette is said to have seen the Virgin is a sanctuary⁷ run by the Catholic Church. Millions of pilgrims, and not only Christian⁸ ones, flock here each year to seek spiritual and physical healing. Because Lourdes is also considered the source of miraculous⁹ cures.

At a televised mass Sunday at Lourdes, the bishop¹⁰ of Lourdes and Tarbes, Monseigneur Jacques Perrier, drew connections between the celebrations and the start of Lent, the Christian period of fasting before Easter which began last week.

Monseigneur Perrier says Lent is a time for Christians¹¹ to deepen their faith that should be seized and not be allowed to disappear.

The celebrations are expected to last all year. But the highlight will likely be in September, when Pope Benedict is expected to pay his first visit to the holy sanctuary as pontiff.

1 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

2 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

3 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。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

8 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。

9 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

10 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。

11 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。