中英对照读新闻／"The Simpsons" just got a blessing from the Vatican. 「辛普森家庭」甫得到梵蒂冈赐福

◎陈成良

The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics -- and what’s more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch "the adventures of the little guys in yellow."

梵蒂冈官方报纸宣布，爱痛饮啤酒、爱吃甜甜圈的荷马辛普森及他的儿子「霸子」是天主教徒，该报还进一步表示，父母不应害怕让孩子观看「黄色小人物的冒险故事。」

"Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it’s true： Homer J. Simpson is Catholic", the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined "Homer and Bart are Catholics."

「很少人知道荷马辛普森是天主教徒，因为他尽一切努力来隐藏这点。但荷马辛普森确实是天主教徒」，罗马观察报在周日题为「荷马及霸子是天主教徒」的文章中写道。

The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show called "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star". That study concludes that "The Simpsons" is "among the few TV programs for kids in which Christian faith, religion and questions about God are recurrent themes."

该报引述耶稣会教士针对2005年辛普森1部名为「圣父、圣子与圣客星」影集的研究结果，该研究总结指出，「辛普森家庭」是「少数一再重复基督信仰、宗教及对上帝疑问等主题的儿童电视节目」。

The Simpsons pray before meals, and "in its own way, believes in the beyond," the newspaper quoted the study as saying.

辛普森家庭吃饭前会祷告，并依「他们自己的方式，相信来世」，该报引述这份研究指出。

It’s the second time the animated U.S. TV series, which is broadcast in 90 countries, has been praised by the Vatican.

这是这部於90国播映的美国电视卡通影集，第2次得到梵蒂冈赞扬。

新闻辞典

swill：动词，大口喝；痛饮。例句：Unshaven horsemen swill the great wines of the Chateaux.（满脸胡须的马夫们大口痛饮着上等的夏朵葡萄酒。）

episode： 名词，（人生的一段）经历、插曲；（连续剧或影集中的）一集、一出。

recurrent ：形容词，一再发生的；周期性的。例句：The recurrent dream really disturbed him.（那一再出现的梦确实令他不安。）