2016年12月大學(xué)英語六級閱讀練習(xí)(31)

　　Islam

　　The number of Muslims worldwide is estimated to bein excess of one billion, making Islam the largestfaith community after Christianity. Of this numberthe overwhelming majority would identifythemselves as Sunni2 Muslims whilst about 15 percent follow a variety of Shiah3 Muslim persuasions.The Arabic word islam means the willingrecognition of and active submission to the guiding command of the One God, Allah4.Whoever acts in this manner is called a muslim, one who acknowledges and submits to the sole, unique God. The Islamic tradition or din( a word which conveys the sense of obedienceclosely related to islam ) is founded upon the guiding command of Allah as contained in theKoran5 . Muslims hold the Koran to be the word of God delivered to Muhammad6, God’s electedmessenger. The revelations were received in just over a twenty-year period , first in Mecca7 ,the Prophet’s birthplace , and later in Medina8 where the first community was established.Both these cities are in present day Saudi Arabia and are regarded by all Muslims as the centralholy places of their faith.

　　A Muslim must make formal prayers each day at five appointed times: at daybreak, at noon, inmidafternoon, at sunset and after nightfall. The mosque is the place of public worship in Islam.If a mosque is too far away, a Muslim may pray in his own home or elsewhere on a specialprayer rug or mat. He takes formal postures for each statement in the prayer, until heachieves full prostration in the direction of Mecca. Mecca is the holy city and the center ofworship for Muslims. It is not only because Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad, but alsobecause there exist the Kaaba 9— the holiest shrine, and the Black Stone. It is believed thatthe Kaaba was built by Abraham and the Stone was brought out of Paradise by Adam. Everyyear numerous pilgrims go to Mecca to pay homage. Thus the word“Mecca”has come intoEnglish language, meaning“place one aspires to visit”

　　閱讀自測

　?、? Are the sestatements True or False according to the article ?

　　1. Shiah is the biggest sect of Islam.

　　2. Muhammad founded the religion of Islam and he was the messenger of Allah.

　　3. Every Muslim must go to mosque every day to say his prayers. )

　?、? Translate the Chinese into English , using the word or phrase in paren theses :

　　1. 花錢切勿超過你的收入。( in excess of) 2. 他拒絕服從不公正的決定。( submit to) 3. 我們對莎士比亞的天才表示敬仰。( pay homage to)

　　參考答案

　?、? 1. F 2. T 3 . F

　　Ⅱ. 1. Never spend in excess of your income. 2. Herefused to submit to an unjust decision. 3. We payhomage to the genius of Shakespeare.

　　參考譯文

　　基督教

　　伊斯蘭教世 界各地的穆斯林加起來總數(shù)估計超過十億, 這個數(shù)量使伊斯蘭教成為基督教之后世 界第二大宗教組織。伊斯蘭教中絕大多數(shù)人認(rèn)為自己是遜尼派教徒, 而約15% 的伊斯蘭 教徒則歸屬于各種什葉穆斯林宗派。阿拉伯語中islam 這個詞意為對唯一的神——— 真主的 統(tǒng)率的主動認(rèn)可和主動順從。承認(rèn)并順從這個至高無上的神的人就被稱為穆斯林。伊斯 蘭教的傳統(tǒng), 或稱為din ( 該詞表達的順從的意思與islam 的意思緊密相關(guān)) , 是基于真主的 統(tǒng)率而建立的, 全部寫在《可蘭經(jīng)》里。穆斯林認(rèn)為《可蘭經(jīng)》是上帝傳達給穆罕默德的旨 意, 穆罕默德是上帝的使者。真主將他的旨意傳給穆罕默德只用了二十多年的時間, 先是 在麥加, 麥加是這位先知的出生地, 后來又在麥地那, 穆罕默德在那里創(chuàng)立了第一個教派。 現(xiàn)在這兩座城市都屬于沙特阿拉伯, 它們已成為所有穆斯林心中最神圣的地方。

　　穆斯林每天要在五個指定的時間做正式禱告: 黎明、中午、下午3 點左右、黃昏和夜里。 清真寺是伊斯蘭教徒集體做禮拜的地方。如果清真寺離自己太遠(yuǎn), 那么穆斯林可以在家里 或其他地方站在一種專門用來禱告的特制地毯或墊子上進行禱告。穆斯林禱告時每說一 句話都要作出一些正式的姿勢, 直到面向麥加完全拜倒在地為止。對穆斯林來說, 麥加是 神圣的城市, 是他們朝拜的中心。這不僅因為麥加是穆罕默德出生的地方, 還因為那里有 最神圣的圣堂——— 天房和神圣黑石。穆斯林相信天房是由亞伯拉罕建造的, 而神圣黑石則 是由亞當(dāng)從伊甸園里搬來的。每年都有眾多的朝圣者去麥加朝拜。因此,“ 麥加”這個詞 后來就被收入英語, 引申為“ 人們渴望拜訪的地方。