英文自修68：教师——被忽视的奉献者

本系列内容英文原文取自BBC Thought for the Day节目网站，朋友们也可以下载节目录音收听。如需收听节目音频，请单击文章底部“查看原文”链接，进入QQ空间日志后点击媒体播放按钮即可。

译者：王宥轩

审读：武太白

------------------------

Thought for the Day 20140430 - Bishop Tom Butler

王宥轩译

People here in Leeds 利兹市（英国城市名）are still reeling from the news of the stabbing to death of Ann Maguire, a teacher at a much respected Roman Catholic school in the city. Church schools are popular because, like any good school, parents know that their children are receiving their education in an atmosphere of mutual consideration and support, where students and teachers alike look out for one another.

利兹市的人们至今仍为被刺死的安·马奎尔感到悲伤，她在该市一所受人敬仰的罗马天主教学校任教。教会学校很受欢迎，因为和任何好学校一样，家长们知道在这所学校，他们的孩子能够在相互理解、相互支持的氛围中学习，师生之间相互关照。

That has been the pattern of Ann Maguire’s service to generations of pupils for 40 years. We tend to take teachers for granted but communicating a love of learning to youngsters going through the turmoil of teenage years is no easy task. Being both a teacher and an adult role model requires imagination, patience and stamina 耐力. Teachers get used to the myriad of small sacrifices they make daily, the hours spent in preparation and marking, the energy invested in creating and maintaining in the classroom an atmosphere of purposeful calm. We expect teachers to make such sacrifices on behalf of our children and grandchildren, what we don’t expect is for them to be called to make the ultimate sacrifice of giving their life in the midst of a normal working day. Such tragedies are rare, but when they occur they remind us of the potential risks that teachers face daily as they go about their civilizing task.

在过去40年中，安·马奎尔就是用这样的方式教育了一代又一代的人。我们认为老师的奉献是理所当然的，但要把求知好学传递给正处于青春叛逆期的孩子们，绝非易事。同时要做一位老师，又要树立一个成人榜样，是需要想象力、耐心和耐力的。老师们习惯了每天要做无数的小奉献——花在备课和改卷上的时间、在教室里营造并保持安静氛围需要投入的精力。考虑到自己的子孙后代，我们期望老师做出这样的奉献，但我们不希望发生的是，在一个平常的工作日中，他们做出最后的牺牲——付出生命。这样的悲剧并不多，但事情发生了，我们就意识到老师们从事文明事业，却每天都面临着潜在风险。

People vary in their assessment of Jesus of Nazareth 拿撒勒的耶稣, but most would agree that he was a gifted teacher whose words and stories moved hearts and changed lives. For three years he went about his teaching mission, pointing to the possibility of a world put right, where none are neglected or left out. He made sacrifices daily for that vision and taught his followers to do the same. This is pretty indisputable as is the fact that that earthly mission ended with his violent death on the cross.

人们对拿撒勒的耶稣的评价不一，但大部分人都认为他是一位有天赋的老师，他的言论和故事感动人心，改变人们的生活。在从事教育事业的三年中，他指出了世界恢复正常的可能性，不再有人被忽视或遗忘。他每天都向着这一憧憬付出努力，并且教导他的追随者们加入这一行动。鉴于他最后暴死在十字架上才终结在世使命的事实，这是毫无异议的。

It’s in the interpretation of that death that people disagree. To some it was the sad but predictable end to a prophetic, would-be reformer who disturbed both church and state. But it was the experience of the first Christian believers that this sacrificial death wasn’t the end but the beginning, they began to realize that the power of sacrificial love is unquenchable 难抑制的. 



有异议的是人们对耶稣之死的不同解读。有些人觉得，对一位扰乱宗教和社会秩序、可能成为改革者的先知，这结局很悲惨但也是可预见的。但在第一批基督信徒们的心路历程中，耶稣牺牲的生命不是终点，而是开始，他们开始认识到牺牲之爱的力量是不可抑制的。

We are seeing that power at work in the reaction to the death of Ann Maguire, messages of support and appreciation are flooding in from all over world as her former pupils speak of how they benefited from her care and concern. I hope that such messages give her family some comfort and encourage other teachers as they go into the classroom today, for a good teacher changes lives and we’re grateful for what they do. Perhaps we should say so more often.

由人们对安·马奎尔之死所做的反应，我们看到这种力量已经在发挥作用，她教过的学生谈及自己如何受益于她的关怀与照顾，支持与感激的信息从世界各地涌来。我希望这些能够让她的家人有些许安慰，并能鼓励如今的其他老师步入教室，因为一位好的老师，能够改变别人的一生，并且我们感激他们所做的一切。或许，我们应该更多地把感激表达出来。