Unit 2       Beliefs
One   Do you believe in God?
你有什么宗教信仰嗎？

 1    Introduction
A    Most Westerners are Christians.  Some go to churches as often as twice a week, some less often.  Religious services include the singing of songs and listening to speakers, sometimes referred to as preachers.
大多數(shù)西方人都是基督教徒。一些一周去兩次教堂，一些去得更少一些。宗教儀式包括唱歌、聽(tīng)講，有時(shí)候是聽(tīng)傳教士布道。

B    God is the all powerful creator and sustainer of the Universe.  God is real and accessible.  The power of God enables ordinary people to lead extraordinary lives.
上帝是宇宙間萬(wàn)能的創(chuàng)造者和支撐者。上帝是真的，是可以接近的。上帝的力量可以使普通人過(guò)上美好的生活。

 2    Sample Sentences
1.    Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are the three major religions in the world.
      佛教、基督教和伊斯蘭教是世界上三大宗教。
2.    People have donated a large sum of money to reconstruct the old temple.
      人們已經(jīng)捐贈(zèng)了一大筆錢(qián)重修這座古寺。
3.    Where can I find a priest / minister who speaks English?
      哪兒有說(shuō)英語(yǔ)的神父/牧師？
4. What time is mass / the service?
幾點(diǎn)做彌撒/禮拜？
5.   Is there a Catholic church near here?
附近有天主教教堂嗎？
6.   I enjoy ministry.  To lead a hymn, to facilitate a Sunday School Class discussion, to preach in a tiny chapel, or to listen to a troubled soul, is not at all boring.
我喜歡牧師的職務(wù)。領(lǐng)唱圣歌，幫助主日學(xué)校進(jìn)行討論，在一個(gè)小教堂說(shuō)教，或者傾聽(tīng)一顆受困的心，這些一點(diǎn)都不枯燥。
7.   I strive to live each day with earnest gratitude.
     我努力使生活的每一天都充滿(mǎn)真誠(chéng)的感激。
8.   My church requires that I tithe every week in order to be a member of their congregation. 
     為了成為他們教會(huì)中的一員，我的教堂要求我每周捐款。
9.   My wife is currently working in China as a missionary. 
我的妻子最近在中國(guó)做傳教士工作。
10.  They really seem to understand that you would think differently from a typical church member.
     他們好像很能理解你會(huì)和一個(gè)典型的教堂成員想得很不一樣。

 3    Conversations
1.   College search.
Nancy:  How is the college search going? 
Ann:   It's a huge headache.  I have no idea what I want to do.
Nancy:  But don't you want to study music?  Shouldn't it be easy?
Ann:  It should be, but there are too many options.  My grades are good enough that I have a lot of choices, but after that…
Nancy:  I know.  You have to decide if you want to attend a school in a city or in the country, a big school or a small school, a public or private school…
Ann:  Yup, you understand.  And my parents are trying to pressure me into going to a Catholic1 college.  They both attended one and think that it combines2 a good education with good discipline.  And the tuition3 is usually pretty low.
Nancy:  I see.  Well, don't forget to talk to the college counselor4 at the school.  He usually gives good advice and can help point you in the right direction.  He gave me some information, and next week I'm going to take a look at some of the colleges he recommended. 
Ann:  Thanks for the information.  And good luck in your college search.
【譯文】
——學(xué)校找得怎么樣？
——是件很頭痛的事。我不知道我想干什么。
——難道你不想學(xué)音樂(lè)嗎？難道不容易一點(diǎn)嗎？
——應(yīng)該是容易，但選擇太多了。我的好成績(jī)足夠使我有許多選擇，但除此之外還有……
——我知道。你必須決定是去城市還是去鄉(xiāng)村上大學(xué)，是去大學(xué)校還是去小學(xué)校，是去公立的還是私立……
——是的，你懂。我父母正試圖強(qiáng)迫我去一所天主教大學(xué)。他們兩個(gè)都上過(guò)。他們認(rèn)為天主教大學(xué)能把良好的教育與良好的紀(jì)律結(jié)合起來(lái)。而且學(xué)費(fèi)通常很低。
——我明白。唔，別忘了跟學(xué)校里的大學(xué)指導(dǎo)老師談?wù)劇ＫǔＤ芴岢龊芎玫慕ㄗh，能幫助你指出正確的方向。他給了我一些信息，下周我打算去看一看他給我推薦的幾所大學(xué)。
——多謝你給我提供這些信息。祝你找學(xué)校時(shí)好運(yùn)。