新闻万花筒：BBC视角之《新约》里最短的诗——“耶稣哭了”

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..Jesus ‘was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved’. And then that shortest verse ‘Jesus wept’. Rev Dr Michael Banner

The shortest verse in English translations of the New Testament is also one of the most perplexing. Jesus receives a message that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, is ill in Bethany near Jerusalem. When Jesus eventually arrives, Lazarus has been dead four days, and when he sees the party of mourners, Jesus ‘was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved’. And then that shortest verse – ‘Jesus wept’.

But why does he weep? As the story is told in John’s gospel, Jesus had always intended to raise Lazarus from the dead – and shortly after he has wept, Jesus does just that, calling Lazarus forth from the tomb still wrapped in his burial sheets. So if Jesus is not weeping for Lazarus, then for what? Commentators have said different things, but it seems to me that when Jesus sees the party of mourners, chief amongst them Lazarus’s sisters, he weeps with the weepers at the woes of the world. He weeps for a world which knows so acutely the bitterness of sickness and sudden death.

Yesterday’s plane crash in the French Alps has given us painful scenes of distraught mourners. This was one of those tragedies where the rescue services are left with really nothing to do. It is easier, of course, when human efforts of ingenuity and courage can save some, or better still all, from a perilous situation. But it was not one of those occasions.

What is left for us to do? What can we do when we are in the midst of a story which cannot end in triumph because it has already concluded in tragedy? It is a little thing, maybe, but what we can do is to grieve well with those who grieve, to weep with those who weep. Medics, I suspect, know about this better than most of us. Hospitals are places of great triumphs – when the seemingly dying are brought back to life. But health care professions, no matter how professional, cannot always succeed in relieving the distress and suffering of the sick - medicine has its limits. Though hospitals are scenes of triumph, they are also scenes of tragedy, failure and defeat, day by day, where care is not only about curing, but also about extending kindness and empathy and understanding. Good medics, I suspect, feel the weight of the world – good medics, even in the defeat of their medical efforts, can extend real sympathy to those whom medicine has failed.

The skill of being present with and for those who grieve is one good medics learn. It is a skill which will be especially needed by those close to families affected by yesterday’s tragedy – but it is a skill we will all need at some time in our lives.

 

词汇解析

bother

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.烦扰；使恼怒；使不安；费心

n.麻烦；烦扰；焦急

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

I've no time to bother with such things.

我没时间为这种事烦恼。

用作名词 (n.)

Oh,would you mind? I hate to be a bother.

哦，你不介意吗?我不愿麻烦别人。

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widespread

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.分布(或散布)广的；普遍的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The Government acted quickly to relieve the widespread distress caused by the earthquake.

地震造成大范围的灾难,政府迅速采取行动赈济灾民。

English is more widespread and more used in international intercourse than German.

英语在国际交往中比德语使用得更为广泛。

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distress

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.不幸；危难；苦恼；痛苦

vt.使苦恼；使痛苦

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

I pray that you will have pity on my distress.

我请求你可怜可怜我的不幸遭遇。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

Don't distress yourself about it.

别为那件事苦恼了。

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outstanding

难度：1星畅通词汇，属常用20000词

英汉解释

adj.优秀的；突出的；未支付的；未完成的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Given the chance, John might have become an outstanding painter.

如果有机会,约翰也许已成为一位杰出的画家了。

Two things are outstanding in the creation of the English system of canals.

在创建英国运河体系的过程中,有两件事是非常突出的。

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aviation

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.航空；飞机制造业

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

He devoted all his life to China's aviation.

他的一生都奉献给了中国的航空事业。

In old China,there was hardly any machine- building industry,to say nothing of automobile and aviation industries.

旧中国几乎没有机器制造业，更不用说汽车制造业和飞机制造业了。

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fairly

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

adv.公正地；相当地

参考例句

用作副词 (adv.)

This company deals fairly with every client.

这家公司公正地对待每位客户。

We're not rich but we're fairly comfortable.

我们并不富有,但生活还较宽裕。

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remote

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.遥远的；偏僻的；远程的；(感情等)距离很大

n.远程操作

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The most remote two points in this world are two estranged hearts.

人世间相距最远的两点,是两颗隔膜的心。

用作名词 (n.)

Actuation is often desired for process automation, precision timing, and remote operation not possible with manual valves alone.

执行机构经常用于实现紧靠手动阀门无法实现的工艺过程的自动化，准确定时，以及远程操作。

 

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