胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯037：我的牧師生活 My Life as a Clergyman
I’m a clergyman. I have been a member of the clergy for about twenty-one years. I’m the only priest in my clan. I work in an old church at the edge of a cliff. The aged walls are made out of clay and wood. In certain areas of the church, we’ve had to clamp the wood together to prevent if from falling apart. The church looked a lot better twenty years ago when we clinched the deal to buy this property.
我是一名牧師，我已做了21年的神職人員。我還是家族中的唯一的一名牧師，我在懸崖邊的一座老教堂工作。教堂古老的墻壁是用泥土和木頭做的。在教堂里的某些地方，我們不得不將木頭夾緊才能防止脫落。20年前，我們達成交易，決定買下這塊房產(chǎn)時的教堂要比現(xiàn)在漂亮多了。
I take confessions everyday. People like confessing to a priest because it cleanses their soul. Some people confess simple sins, such as stealing a clam or starting at the cleft of a woman’s bosom. Usually, I don’t need to ask them to clarify these types of confessions. Others confess very bad sins, like killing someone during a clandestine government operation. I never ask for clarification when someone makes this type of confession.
我每天都要接受人們的懺悔。人們喜歡向一個教士懺悔。因為這樣能凈化他們的靈魂。有些人懺悔一般的小過錯，比如偷了一只蛤蜊或者偷看女人的乳溝。通常，我不必讓他們對這類罪過進行澄清。其他人則懺悔深重的罪孽，比如在秘密的政府行動中謀殺某人。我從不要求這樣的懺悔者做任何闡述。
I like giving the Sunday sermon. I make it a point to save the climax of my talk until the very end. I can tell that people like it this way because they clap loudly.
我喜歡做禮拜天的布道。我總是在講話最后才將布道推向高潮。我能看出人們喜歡這樣，因為他們會大聲鼓掌。
Lately, I’ve been thinking of changing the way I conduct church. I want to do a better job of catering to the variety of needs in my congregation. It’s because people who come to my church can be classified into two groups. One group clings to tradition church values and comes to honor God. The other group has a clinging lifestyle of sinning all week and seeking redemption on Sundays. If I could prepare a separate sermon for each group according to their classification, I think I could better address their specific needs. However, it might cause a clamor. What do you think?
最近，我在考慮改變我履行圣職的方式。我想更好地滿足廣大教眾的各種不同需要。原因在于來教堂的人可以分為兩類：一類人墨守傳統(tǒng)教義，他們來教堂是為了敬仰上帝;另一類人一貫堅持生活方式就是一星期頭六天都在造孽，到星期日再求贖罪。如果我能按這兩類人的不同分類分別準備一次布道，我想就能更好地針對他們的具體需要。但這也許會招致一場喧囂。你認為如何?
Words:
clam n. 蛤，蛤肉
clamor n. 叫囂，喧嘩
clamp vt. 夾住，夾緊
clan n. 家族，宗族
clandestine adj. 秘密的
clap n. 霹靂聲;vt. 鼓掌;輕拍
clarification n. 澄清，闡明
clarify vt. 澄清，闡明
classification n. 分類，分級
classify vt. 把。。。分類，分等級
clay n. 黏土;泥土
cleanse vt. 使清潔，使純凈
cleft n. 裂縫
clergy n. (總稱)神職人員;教士，牧師
clergyman n. 牧師，教士
cliff n. 懸崖，峭壁
climax n. 高峰，頂點
clinch vt. 釘牢，揪住;確定，最終決定
cling vi. 粘附，附著;堅守，墨守，忠實于
clinging adj. 貼身的;堅持的;忠實的;依賴的
