你以为你能当教宗吗？：英语精读讲义

Let's say you want to become pope, 表達脈絡

假设你想成为教皇，

head of the Catholic Church,

天主教会的首脑，

and shepherd to over 1 billion faithful. 講解

以及超过十亿信徒的牧羊人。

What requirements must you have for this lofty position?

这个崇高的职位需要什么条件呢？

First, be a Catholic, and second, be a man,

首先，你得是天主教徒，其次，你得是男性，

which seems a little thin. 習語

这听起来似乎要求不高。

And while it's technically possible for a regular Sunday Catholic to become pope, 用詞

虽然理论上一个普通的周日礼拜天主教徒也有可能成为教皇，

the last time this happened was essentially never 表達脈絡

但上一次发生这种情况基本要追溯到遥远的过去，

because becoming pope isn't like becoming president.

因为成为教皇不像成为总统。

You can't just run for office. 短語搭配

你不能直接竞选这个职位。

Selecting the pope is an inside job, 習語

选拔教皇是内部工作，

and the men who do it are the cardinals.

而负责选拔的人是枢机主教。

And while in theory, they can select any Catholic man to become pope, 表達脈絡

虽然理论上，他们可以选择任何一位男性天主教徒成为教皇，

in practice, they prefer to elevate one of their own. 短語搭配

但在实际操作中，他们更倾向于从自己人中提拔。

The last time a non-cardinal became pope was more than 600 years ago.

上一次非枢机主教成为教皇已经是600多年前的事了。

So, while it isn't an official requirement,

所以，虽然这不是官方硬性要求，

it's an unofficial official requirement. 表達脈絡

但它是一个不成文的官方要求。

Thus, in order to become pope,

因此，为了成为教皇，

you'll first need to be a cardinal.

你首先需要成为一名枢机主教。

And to do that,

要做到这一点，

you need to start climbing the Catholic corporate ladder. 習語

你需要开始在天主教会的晋升阶梯上攀登。

Step one,

第一步，

become a priest.

成为一名神父。

Unlike some churches where you can just fill out a form online 短語動詞

不像某些教会在网上填个表

and poof, ordained, 表達脈絡

然后“砰”地一下，就被任命了，

the Catholic Church treats becoming a priest

天主教会把成为神父

as a real you-need-training profession. 表達脈絡

看作是一个实打实需要培训的职业。

So, you're going to require a lot of education,

所以，你需要接受大量的教育，

usually a college degree in Catholic philosophy,

通常是天主教哲学本科学位，

and then a master's in divinity. 文化背景

然后是神学硕士学位。

In addition to your educational qualifications,

除了你的教育资格外，

you must also be a man,

你还必须是男性，

unmarried, and willing to remain celibate.

未婚，且愿意保持独身。

If you meet these requirements and have been working with the Church,

如果你满足了这些要求并且一直在为教会工作，

then you can be officially ordained as a priest, 用詞

那么你就可以正式被任命为神父了，

which basically means you get to run a Catholic Church 用詞

这基本上意味着你可以管理一个天主教堂，

or work with another priest who does.

或者和另一位管理教堂的神父共事。

But you want to move onward,

但你想继续往上走，

and to do that,

要做到这一点，

you need to take the job of the man who just made you a priest.

你需要接替那个刚刚任命你为神父的人的职位。

Step two, become a bishop.

第二步，成为一名主教。

Bishops are a much more select group. 用詞

主教是一个门槛高得多的群体。

While there are about 400,000 Catholic priests worldwide,

虽然全球大约有40万名天主教神父，

there are only about 5,000 bishops.

但只有约5000名主教。

While priests get churches, bishops get cathedrals

神父管理教堂，而主教管理大教堂，

from which they oversee a number of local churches.

并在那里监督许多当地的教堂。

To advance your career, you must wait for a bishop in your area

为了你的职业晋升，你必须等待你所在地区的一位主教

to be forced into retirement at age 75 短語搭配

在75岁时被迫退休，

or die sooner than that,

或者在此之前去世，

freeing up space for you. 短語動詞

从而为你腾出位置。

But you can't just apply because there's already a secret list of potential bishops

但你不能直接申请，因为这里已经有一份秘密的潜在主教名单，

that's updated every three years

这份名单每三年更新一次，

based on who the current bishops in your area think

依据是你所在地区的现任主教们认为

would make a good replacement for one of their own.

谁能很好地接替他们中的一员。

To be on that list,

要进入那份名单，

in addition to the obvious requirement of being a pious person,

除了显而易见的必须是个虔诚的人之外，

you should also be at least 35 years old,

你还应该至少35岁，

have been a priest for at least 5 years,

担任神父至少5年，

and have a doctorate in theology or equivalent.

并且拥有神学博士或同等学位。

Assuming you're all these things,

假设你都满足了，

your name may or may not be on the secret list. 語法

你的名字可能会，也可能不会在那份秘密名单上。

The local bishops then give that list to the pope's ambassador

然后，当地主教会把名单交给教皇驻你所在国家的大使，

for your country, known as the apostolic nuncio. 文化背景

也就是人们熟知的教廷大使。

The nuncio picks three priests from the list,

大使会从名单中挑选出三名神父，

does in-depth research on them, 短語搭配

对他们进行深入调查，

conducts interviews, and selects the one he thinks is best.

进行面试，并选出他认为最合适的一位。

But it's not over because the nuncio sends his report to Vatican City,

但这还没完，因为大使会把他的报告寄到梵蒂冈，

and the Congress of Bishops who work there

在那里工作的主教部

reviewing potential appointments from around the world.

会审查来自世界各地的潜在任命。

If the Congress of Bishops doesn't like any of the three candidates,

如果主教部对这三位候选人都不满意，

they can tell the nuncio to start over, 短語動詞

他们可以让大使重新开始，

returning to the list, picking another three candidates,

回到名单上，再挑三名候选人，

doing more research, more interviews, and sending off the results.

做更多的调查，更多的面试，然后再把结果发过去。

When the Congress of Bishops is happy with one of the nuncio's candidates,

当主教部对大使提出的一位候选人感到满意时，

that name is given to the pope,

这个名字就会被呈报给教皇，

who can reject the candidate and start the whole process over.

教皇可以否决该候选人，并让整个过程从头再来。

It shouldn't be a surprise that from a vacancy to a bishop's replacement

因此，从职位空缺到选出替补主教

can take months and on occasion years. 短語搭配

可能需要几个月，有时甚至几年，这也就不奇怪了。

But assuming a bishop in your area retired or died at the right time

但假设你所在地区的一位主教在合适的时间退休或去世了，

and you were on the secret list of good priests and the nuncio picked you,

且你在好神父的秘密名单上，而大使也挑中了你，

and you made it through his interview, 短語動詞

你也顺利通过了他的面试，

and the Congress of Bishops approved you,

主教部也批准了你，

and the pope didn't veto you,

并且教皇也没有否决你，

poof, now you're a bishop.

“砰”，现在你是一名主教了。

But you're still not on top.

但你仍然没有到达顶峰。

The penultimate promotion is step number three,

倒数第二次晋升是第三步，

become a cardinal.

成为一名枢机主教。

Despite the fancy name and snazzy red outfits to match,

尽管有着华丽的头衔和与之相配的时髦红色礼服，

cardinals are not the bosses of bishops.

枢机主教并不是主教的老板。

They are bishops, just with an additional title and additional responsibilities,

他们也是主教，只是拥有额外的头衔和额外的责任，

the most notable of which is electing the new pope.

其中最引人注目的就是选举新教皇。

The only way to become a cardinal

成为枢机主教的唯一途径

is to get the current pope to appoint you as one.

是让现任教皇任命你。

And of the 5,000 bishops, only about 200 are ever cardinals.

在这5000名主教中，只有大约200人能成为枢机主教。

But let's say your ambition doesn't go unnoticed by the pope, 短語搭配

但是，假设你的野心没有被教皇忽视，

and he makes you a cardinal.

他让你成为了一名枢机主教。

Now, it's time to play the waiting game for his death or retirement. 習語

现在，是时候玩等待他死亡或退休的等待游戏了。

And with popes, death is vastly more likely.

对教皇来说，死亡的可能性大得多。

When either happens, the cardinals under the age of 80 are brought to Vatican City,

当其中任何一种情况发生时，80岁以下的枢机主教会齐聚梵蒂冈，

where they are isolated from the outside world,

他们将被与世隔绝，

presumably by taking away their cell phones and tablets and carrier pigeons. 表達脈絡

大概是通过收走他们的手机、平板电脑和信鸽。

Once sequestered, the election of a new pope can begin. 語法

一旦被隔离，新教皇的选举就可以开始了。

These elections are never exactly the same because the ex-pope leaves instructions

这些选举绝不会完全一样，因为前任教皇会留下指示，

on how he wants his replacement to be picked.

说明他希望接替者如何被选出。

But in general, it works like this. 表達脈絡

但总的来说，流程是这样的。

Four times a day, the cardinals go to the Sistine Chapel to vote. 文化背景

枢机主教们每天四次前往西斯廷教堂投票。

And to become pope, one of them must get a 2/3 majority. 用詞

要成为教皇，其中一人必须获得三分之二的多数票。

There's a big dose of mustn't be too hasty here, 表達脈絡

这里有一种强烈的“绝不能太草率”的氛围，

as the cardinals don't just raise their hands or use a modern preferential voting system, 語法

因为枢机主教们不仅不能举手表决或使用现代的偏好投票系统，

but instead write down one name on a piece of paper,

反而要把一个名字写在纸片上，

stand before the altar,

站在祭坛前，

and say a long Latin phrase before officially casting the ballot. 短語搭配

念一段长长的拉丁语，然后正式投下选票。

Once all the cardinals have done this, the votes are counted and then burned. 語法

一旦所有枢机主教都这么做了，选票就会被清点，然后烧毁。

This is why TV news stations covering the election of the pope

这就是为什么报道教皇选举的电视新闻台

use super modern HD live streaming cameras

会用超现代的高清直播摄像机

to look at a chimney.

去盯着一个烟囱看。

If the smoke is black, no new pope. 文化背景

如果冒的是黑烟，说明没有新教皇产生。

The high victory threshold and tediously slow voting process is why it takes so long to elect a pope. 語法

高昂的获胜门槛和冗长缓慢的投票过程，就是选举教皇需要这么长时间的原因。

It's usually at least 2 weeks of voting four times a day,

通常情况下，每天投四次，至少需要两周的投票时间，

6 days a week, with one day a week reserved for prayer.

每周投票6天，留出一天用于祈祷。

But the record length is 3 years.

但最长的纪录是3年。

Assuming you eventually win the support of your fellow cardinals, 短語搭配

假设你最终赢得了各位同僚枢机主教的支持，

you have one final thing to do before becoming pope.

在成为教皇之前，你还有最后一件事要做。

Pick yourself a new name. 語法

给自己起个新名字。

There's no formal rule, and you can name yourself anything you like,

这没有正式规定，你可以给自己起任何你喜欢的名字，

but it's tradition to take the name of a previous pope. 短語搭配

但传统做法是沿用某位前任教皇的名字。

Upon the acceptance of your new name, the final ballots are burned clean 用詞

你的新名字被接受后，最后的选票将被烧净，

to make the smoke turn white and announce to the world 語法

冒出白烟，向全世界宣布

that a new pope has been selected.

新教皇已经选出。

So, that's the career path. 短語搭配

那么，这就是职业路径。

Be born into the right half of the population, 表達脈絡

出生在合适的那一半人口中，

become one of a billion Catholics, 表達脈絡

成为十亿天主教徒中的一员，

then one of 400,000 priests,

然后成为四十万神父中的一员，

then one of 5,000 bishops,

然后成为五千主教中的一员，

then one of 200 cardinals,

然后成为两百位枢机主教中的一员，

wait for the current pope to die or retire,

等待现任教皇去世或退休，

and convince 2/3 of your fellow cardinals to select you as the one, 表達脈絡

并说服三分之二的同僚枢机主教选举你，

the only pope.

成为独一无二的教皇。