Philippines
Celebrated the Black Nazarene Parade in Grand Style
This January a huge parade in Manilla attracted over one and a half million people, and most
of them walked barefoot to show their respect. The focus of the religious celebration is a
life-sized statue of Jesus wearing a crown
of thorns and carrying a wooden cross. What makes this statue special is that
it shows Jesus as a black man, with dark skin. The faithful pray to the “Black
Nazarene,” as the statue is called, in the hope that their
wishes for miracles will be granted. The majority of Filipinos are Catholics, many of whom
believe the Black Nazarene has the power to cure disease.
In Philippines, the Black Nazarene Parade is celebrated on January 9th every year. On that
day, the Black Nazarene statue is placed on a carriage.
The carriage is then paraded through the streets of Manilla, the capital of the Philippines, by volunteers who take it in turns to push and pull it with long ropes.
Meanwhile, the excited crowd presses close around the carriage every step of
the way, trying desperately to touch the statue to receive a blessing. Such sincere religious devotion can be dangerous, however. Injuries and even occasional deaths can
occur as people fall and get crushed underfoot by others in the mad rush.
The parade usually lasts around twenty hours non-stop. Since it is
impossible for so many people to actually get close enough to physically lay a
hand on the statue, the hopeful devotees
throw their towels and cloths in its direction
instead. Volunteers riding on the carriage with the Black Nazarene catch these
cloths, wipe them quickly on the surface of the statue, and throw them back
into the crowd. Those lucky enough to catch one can take the holy object home,
which is considered to be the next best thing to touching the statue itself.
With the streets so crowded, the parade brings the traffic
to a standstill in the Manilla neighborhoods. Vehicles are forced to take different
routes, leading to long transportation delays and challenges for emergency
services. Since large public events can make tempting targets for terrorists, the Black Nazarene parade has
thousands of soldiers and police deployed by the government of the Philippines to ensure order and public
safety. Fortunately, this year’s event sees no serious
problems. When the parade finishes, the Black Nazarene is returned to its
home in a church in
the Quiapo district of Manilla, where
it will await next year’s parade.
Reading Comprehension
( ) 1. What is the passage mainly about?
(A)
Emergency services face a
tough challenge during the parade.
(B)
The Black Nazarene parade is an important event to many Filipinos.
(C)
The Philippine government cares about public safety and order.
(D)
The route of the Black Nazarene parade is crowded with people and cars.
( ) 2. What does the Black Nazarene statue
look like?
(A)
It is dark-skinned, wearing a crown of thorns, and carrying a wooden cross.
(B)
It is fair-skinned, wearing a crown of gold, and carrying a wooden cross.
(C)
It is dark-skinned, wearing a towel, and carrying long ropes.
(D)
It is fair-skinned, wearing a towel, and carrying long ropes.
( ) 3. Why do the faithful want to touch the
Black Nazarene statue?
(A)
They want to receive a blessing.
(B)
They hope it can cure their disease.
(C)
They expect a miracle from it.
(D)
All of the above.
( ) 4. According to the passage, what do
people who cannot physically touch the statue do during the parade?
(A)
They throw towels and cloths in the parade’s direction.
(B)
They drive and take different routes.
(C)
They push and pull the carriage with long ropes.
(D)
They ask soldiers and police to let them get closer.
( ) 5. According to the passage, which of the
following is NOT true?
(A)
The parade usually lasts around twenty hours.
(B)
The parade usually stops for a long break around halfway.
(C)
The parade is held every year on January 9th in Philippines.
(D) The
parade brings the traffic in Manilla to a standstill.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1.
parade [p1`red] n. [C] 遊行
parade [p1`red] vt. 展示
Many cities in the United States usually have parades on Independence Day.
The basketball team winning the NBA Finals paraded the championship trophy.
2.
barefoot [`bEr&f5t] adv. 光著腳地
Amber took off her shoes and socks so that she could walk barefoot on the sandy beach.
3. thorn [TOrn] n. [C] 荊棘
There is a deserted country mansion
behind the hedge of thorns.
4. grant [Gr8nt] vt. 賜與，准予
The journalist was granted
permission to take pictures at the museum.
5.
majority [m1`dZOr1tK] n. sing. 大多數
The majority of students find it quite difficult to learn trigonometric functions.
6.
capital [`k8p1tL] n. [C] 首都
The White House is located
in Washington, D.C. , which is the capital of the United States.
7.
volunteer [&vAl1n`tIr] n. [C] 志願者，志工
Jamie is one of the volunteers
who help take care of elderly people living alone.
8. desperately [`dEsp1rItlI] adv. 拼命地
Having eaten nothing since yesterday, the homeless man looked desperately for something to eat.
9.
blessing [`blEsI9] n. [C] 祝福，祝頌
The bishop gave God’s blessing to the people in the church.
10. devotion [dI`voS1n] n. [U] 忠誠，奉獻
I am impressed with Mother Teresa’s devotion to the poor and the sick in
India.
11. occasional [1`keZ1nL] adj.
偶爾的
Ben makes occasional visits
to the public library. He goes there once a month.
12. underfoot [&^nd2`f5t] adv. 在腳下
Grasses and flowers are frequently trampled underfoot.
13. hopeful [`hopf1l] adj. 懷抱希望的
Mrs. Chen is hopeful about her husband’s future. She
believes that he will be successful as a photographer one day.
14. standstill [`st8nd&stIl] n. sing. 停頓，停止
Traffic in the downtown
area almost came to a standstill during
the rush hour.
15. route [rut] n.
[C] 路線，路徑
The taxi driver had to
take another route because the
bridge to the village was blocked.
16. tempting [`tEmptI9] adj. 吸引人的，誘人的
I couldn’t resist the tempting smell of a hot chocolate
brownie.
17. deploy
[dI`plOI] vt. 部署，調度
The United
Nations deployed troops to keep the
peace between the two neighboring countries.
Words for
Recognition
1.
the Black Nazarene [D1 bl8k &n8z1`rin] n. 黑拿撒勒人節
每年的1月9日，菲律賓馬尼拉都會舉辦國際知名的宗教盛事「黑拿撒勒人節」，遊行活動吸引數以百萬計的天主教徒參加。
2. Manilla [m1`nIl1] n. 馬尼拉
菲律賓的首都，位於菲律賓最大島──呂宋島的東岸，是全國經濟、文化、教育和工業中心。
3. Jesus [`dZiz1s] n. 耶穌
是基督教與天主教的開創者與中心人物。
4. the faithful [D1 `feTf1l] n. pl. (宗教的)信徒，信眾
5.
Catholic [`k8T1lIk] n. [C] 天主教徒
6.
devotee [&dev1`ti] n. [C] 虔誠的宗教信徒
7. Quiapo [`kwI1&pO] n. 奎阿坡
馬尼拉帕西河北岸最主要的舊城區。
Translation
菲律賓盛大慶祝黑拿撒勒人節遊行
這個一月份在馬尼拉舉辦盛大的遊行活動，吸引超過一百五十萬人參與盛事，他們多數赤腳行走以展現其虔誠。這場宗教盛事的焦點是真人大小、頭戴荊棘王冠和背著木十字架的耶穌雕像。這尊雕像特別在於它呈現黑人樣貌的耶穌，有著黝黑的膚色。信眾向「黑拿撒勒人」禱告，如這尊雕像所稱，希望他們祈求的奇蹟能夠實現。大多數的菲律賓人是天主教徒，他們大多相信黑拿撒勒人有治病的神奇力量。
在菲律賓，每年的1月9日都會慶祝黑拿撒勒人節。當天，這尊黑拿撒勒人雕像會被請置於神轎上。這座神轎會沿著菲律賓首都馬尼拉的街道遊行，由志工們輪流用長繩來推拉轎子。同時，興奮的群眾會推擠接近轎子的路線，卯足全力來摸到神像以求得到祝福。然而，如此虔誠的宗教儀式可能會有危險。在瘋狂推擠中，當人們跌倒和遭到踩踏時，就會發生受傷及偶發的死亡事件。
這場遊行通常持續約二十個小時不間斷。因為不可能讓這麼多人都能夠靠近、伸手觸碰到神像，信眾們會把毛巾和衣物丟往神像轎子前進的方向。在黑拿撒勒人雕像轎子上的志工們會接住這些衣物，將它們快速地擦過雕像的表面，再丟回群眾中。能接住衣物的幸運信眾就會把這個聖物帶回家，這被視為是僅次於摸到神像最棒的事。
由於街道太過壅塞，使得這場遊行所繞行的馬尼拉地區的交通陷入停頓狀態。車輛被迫改道，導致交通嚴重誤點和急救受到挑戰。因為大型公眾活動是恐怖份子喜歡下手的目標，黑拿撒勒人節遊行可以看到菲律賓政府部署了上千名士兵和警察，以確保秩序及公共安全。幸運的是，今年的活動並沒有發生大問題。當活動結束時，這尊黑拿撒勒人雕像會回到馬尼拉奎阿坡區的教堂內，靜待明年的遊行再度登場。
閱讀測驗解答：1. B 2. A 3. D 4. A 5. B
