2017年雅思阅读辅导：要求国际足联进行改革声音渐涨

　　原文与译文：

　　Yesterday, in the House of Commons, Charles Kennedy’s parliamentary colleagues gave moving tributes to his life. There is never a rush, of course, to speak ill of the dead, but these tributes had the clear ring of sincerity. David Cameron said his “character and courage inspired us all”, and Nick Clegg that he always put people before politics. Outside the commons, colleagues and friends have spoken repeatedly of Kennedy’s compassion, decency, and principled nature as well as of his ongoing battle with human frailty in the form of alcoholism.

　　It seems Charles Kennedy displayed what the New York Times Columnist David Brooks would call “eulogy virtues”. In his most recent book “The Road to Character”, Brooks contrasts eulogy virtues like kindness, faithfulness and humility with what he calls resume virtues - the kind of things we put on our CV. He’s convinced that both eulogy virtues and resume virtues take work to develop, and is worried that western society pushes us to put our efforts into the ones that will help improve our careers, not our characters.

　　It's the age old question- what makes a good life? How do we go deeper amongst the clamour of a culture that monetises status anxiety and defines us by what earn, own or look like?

　　David Brook’s call for us to do the hard work of developing character, to cultivate self-restraint and self-suspicion in the age of the selfie stick, isn't really controversial. It's obvious, when we stop to think about it, that the real legacies of our lives aren’t job titles, twitter followers or cellulite free thighs. But how do we develop the eulogy virtues, when the gravitational pull of the self is so strong?

　　Christians would be the first to acknowledge that these virtues don't come naturally. The church’s hunch is that change happens through vulnerable, committed relationships. To overcome the tyrant self we must confess our frailty and darkest tendencies - first to God, and then to others.

　　Behavioural science is beginning to add evidence to what religions have long understood - virtue develops best in relational communities. Not short term communities of self interest made up of “people like us”, but awkward, diverse, grace filled communities, established for the long term. The New Testament encourages Christians to be part of communities like these, to encourage one another, bear with each other and create space for the hard conversations. To keep reminding each other of the virtues that matter and the things that last. These kind of communities aren't of course unique to Christianity, and they are often far from perfect, but if we want to be remembered not for our fleeting achievements but our depth of character, they might be the best hope we have.

　　昨天，在下议院，查尔斯·肯尼迪的同事为他的一生发表了催人泪下的悼词。当然，死者为大，没有人会在死者尸骨未寒时说别人的不是。但是这些悼词很明显是真诚的。大卫·卡梅伦说他的“品格和勇气鼓舞了我们所有人”，尼克·克莱格说他总是把民众放在政治前面。在下议院外，他的同事和朋友多次提到他的同情心，政治和原则性，并不断与人类酗酒的劣根性做斗争。

　　查尔斯·肯尼迪似乎体现了《纽约时报》专栏作家David Brooks所说的“悼词美德”。在他最近的书《通往品格的道路》中，Brooks将善良，忠诚等悼词美德与他所说的简历美德做了对比——也就是我们写在简历上的品德。他相信，悼词美德和简历美德都需要发扬。他担心西方世界导致我们努力塑造帮助我们职业发展的品德，而不是帮助性格成长的品德。

　　我们又要说一个老生常谈的问题——怎样才是好的生活?在宣扬金钱至上，追求社会地位，根据收入，财产和外表来定义我们的浮躁社会，我们怎样才能深入剖析自己的内心世界?

　　David Brook呼吁我们努力塑造品格，在自我吹嘘的环境中培养自制和自审的品格，这并无争议。很明显，当我们停下来认真思考的时候，我们真正宝贵的财产并不是我们的职位，推特粉丝或没有脂肪的大腿。但是在自我的万有引力如此强大的情况下，我们怎样培养悼词美德?

　　基督徒们将最先站出来承认这些美德并不是与生俱来的。基督教教义认为，改变是在脆弱忠诚的关系中发生的。要克服残暴的自我，我们必须承认我们的脆弱和最黑暗的本性——首先是对上帝，然后是对自己。

　　行为科学不断有证据表明各宗教很久以前就已经理解的问题——道德在关系社会中发展得最快。不是由“跟我一样的人”组成的短暂的利益团体，而是长期的，尴尬的，多样化的人组成的团体。<<新约圣经>>鼓励基督徒成为这样的团体的一部分，鼓励大家相互容忍，为艰难的对话打造空间。互相提醒非常重要的道德和永恒持久的事情。当然，这些团体并不是对基督教来说独一无二的，而通常并不完美，但是，如果我们不是想要人们记住卓越的成就，而是希望人们记住我们的品德，这或许是我们最大的希望。

　　词汇解释：

　　1.moving adj. 感人的

　　It is very moving to see how much strangers can care for each other...

　　看到陌生人之间这般彼此关照，实在令人感动。

　　2.inspire vt. 鼓舞

　　These herbs will inspire you to try out all sorts of exotic-flavoured dishes!

　　这些香草会激发你去品尝各种异国风味的菜肴!

　　3.repeatedly adv.反复地，重复地

　　A list of items is repeatedly flashed up on the screen.

　　一个选项列表反复出现在屏幕上。

　　4.ongoing adj.不间断的，进行的

　　There is an ongoing debate on the issue.

　　对此问题的争论一直没有间断过。

　　5.convince vt.使相信，说服

　　I'm not going to believe it myself, never mind convince anyone else.

　　我自己都不会相信，更别提说服别人了。

　　6.clamour n. 喧哗声，喧闹

　　She could hear a clamour in the road outside.

　　她能听得见外面路上的吵闹声。

　　7.acknowledge vt.承认

　　You have to acknowledge that we live in a racist society.

　　你得承认我们生活在一个有种族偏见的社会中。

　　8.fleeting adj. 疾驰的，飞逝的;短暂的

　　The world is like a fleeting show.

　　人世如白驹过隙。