新闻万花筒：BBC视角之谦逊的智慧-谦卑是永无止境的

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Good morning. I’ve been unable to get an old Beatles’ song out of my mind this week. Friends sang “When I’m 64” for my birthday on Monday. I’d rather expected it. Now I discover that Paul McCartney originally wrote the words when he was just 16. The chorus “Will you still need me, will you still feed me” questions whether affection survives ageing. But it was probably adolescent insecurities about lovability which inspired it. We often project present anxieties well into the future.

At the time the song was written there were plenty of wider insecurities in the world. Nuclear weapons, the Soviet threat and the escalation of the Vietnam War: they were then the background for the personal dramas of our lives. I feel almost nostalgic for such times. The choices we faced seemed clearer. For those so inclined, CND marches or anti-Vietnam demonstrations gave a vehicle for protest. It was the policy of Western Governments which many people then wanted to change. Now, as in France last week, leaders of those governments march with the people. Governments protest too. And sometimes seem almost as bewildered as those they govern. None of us would have predicted that jihadist terror would be such a threat nor that we would feel so helpless personally to do anything about it.

Such helplessness may be why there seems such weariness in our public and political discourse. Routine policy quarrels about the mansion tax, the NHS or the deficit seem to miss these broader insecurities. Perhaps this is why those who have a longer perspective on political and social questions are heard with more respect. Elder statesmen such as Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachov are honoured more now than when in office. In South Africa, despite his reported retirement from public life, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s voice is still heard with reverence, though not so much by those in power. Elder statesmen are most respected when they do not claim too much. We respond positively to informed humility.

There’s a gospel story about two very old and humble people, Simeon and Anna. They both saw the child Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem and discerned in him the promise of a new age. It wasn’t just the passing of the years which gave them insight and wisdom. Their humility kept them open to the unexpected. TS Eliot dismissed the idea that age alone makes us wise and then went on to write:

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”

Humility isn’t a sign of insecurity. Nor is it weakness. But it causes other virtues to flourish. It’s often accompanied by hope for a better future – possible even when you’re 64.

词汇解析

northeast

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

n.东北

adj.东北的；向东北的；来自东北的

adv.向东北；来自东北

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

At this point the road turns northeast.

路在这里转向东北。

用作形容词 (adj.)

Hereby he is presenting the fellows in Northeast China.

在这里他向我们呈现的是东北的父老乡亲。

用作副词 (adv.)

Another ocean current flows northeast along the steep continental shelf.

还有一股沿陡峭陆架坡向东北流动的海流。

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commission

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.佣金；委员会；委托；委任；犯罪

vt.授予；使服役；委托

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The prisoner pleaded that he was drawn in to the commission of the crime.

囚犯辩解说他是受人引诱而犯罪的。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

The musician was commissioned a new symphony for the festival.

那位音乐家受托为这个节庆写一首新的交响乐曲。

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remains

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

n.剩余物；遗迹；遗体

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

After the wheat crop has been gathered, many farmers burn the remains and plough the ash into the soil, so as to enrich it.

小麦收割完成后，农夫们把剩余物烧掉，然后用犁把灰埋入地里，使土地更肥沃。

Choi's remains true today for cremation.

崔真实的遗体今天进行火葬。

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unity

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.整体；统一；一致；结合

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

These works, taken together, are essentially a unity.

这些作品，放在一起，基本上是一个整体。

The meeting is seen as the first step towards greater unity between the parties.

这一会议可视为两党走向进一步联合的第一步。

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specialist

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.专家；专科医生；专食性动物

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The provision of specialist teachers is being increased.

配备专业教员的人数有所增加。

He is a plastic surgery specialist.

他是个整形外科医生。

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presence

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.出席；存在；到场；【生】存在度

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

We shall be very glad to have your presence.

你如能出席,我们将感到很高兴。

He made believe not to be aware of my presence.

他假装不知道我在那里。

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brand

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.烙印；商标；牌子；标记

vt.加污名于；铭记；打烙印

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

As an author who was in a period when the new and the old interlaced, Cervantes had a brand of two ages inevitably.

作为新旧两个时代交替期的作家,塞万提斯身上不可避免地带有两个时代的烙樱

用作及物动词 (vt.)

Those who have triumphantly withstood such strains may brand his name.

那些成功地经受了严峻考验的人们或许会污辱他的名声。

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