Tue, Sep 02, 2008 page14

• “Miss Sister Italy” contest cancelled 「義大利修女小姐」選美賽宣布取消

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  The first beauty pageant for nuns was cancelled last week after drawing widespread criticism. “Miss Sister Italy” was due to start this month, and was aimed at erasing a stereotype of nuns as being old and sad.

  Before making the decision to cancel, event organizer Priest Antonio Rungi of the southern Italian town of Modragone, told reporters, “Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God. This contest will be a way to show there isn’t just the beauty we see on television but also a more discrete charm.”

  The idea was for nuns wishing to participate in the contest to send their picture to Rungi, who would publish it on his blog. Internet surfers would then vote for their favorite nun online.

  “You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn’t the case any more, thanks to the arrival in our country of young and vital nuns, notably from Africa and Latin America,” Father Rungi added.

  The idea of organizing a beauty pageant had been pushed by the nuns themselves, he said, adding he had been expecting roughly 1,000 candidates.

  Father Rungi has high hopes for the future. “I hope the next pageant won’t just take place online but that we can organize a real show that can take place during the Miss Italy contest,” Rungi said.

  The contest drew criticism from the association of Catholic teachers who made a stand against it.

  “It’s an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God,” the group’s president, Alberto Giannino, told Italy’s ANSA news agency. (AFP)

  第一屆修女選美大賽在引發各界強烈反彈後，已於上週宣佈取消。原訂本月展開的「義大利修女小姐」選美比賽，旨在打破修女既老又鬱鬱寡歡的刻板印象。

  活動發起人是義大利南部莫最崗小鎮的安東尼歐．朗吉神父，他在決定取消活動之前，曾對記者表示：「修女的美凌越世上所有女性，她們的美麗是上帝的恩賜。透過這場比賽，人們會知道美不僅是我們在電視上看到的那套標準，還有另一種更與眾不同的魅力。」

  朗吉神父原打算請希望參賽的修女先將照片寄給他，他把照片放上部落格後，再由網友上網票選出最喜歡的修女。

  朗吉神父還說：「你們真的以為所有修女都是鬱鬱寡歡的瘦小老太婆嗎？現在情況可大不相同了，因為有一群主要來自非洲和拉丁美洲的姊妹加入我們。」

  他說，舉辦這個活動其實是修女們的提議。他估計大約會有一千名修女報名參加。

  朗吉神父對未來還抱持著莫大希望，他說：「我希望下一屆選美比賽不僅是在網路上舉行，更可以在『義大利小姐』選美賽舉辦同時，舉行現場選美。」

  該選美比賽引來持反對態度的天主教教師協會的抨擊。

  協會理事長艾伯托．基亞尼諾對義大利國家通訊社表示：「這場選美活動會讓世人看輕將自己全心奉獻給上帝的修女。」

  （法新社�翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. beauty pageant n. 選美比賽 (xuan2 mei2 bi3 sai4) 例: Sarah came second place in the varsity beauty pageant. (莎拉在大學選美比賽中得到亞軍。) 2. stereotype n. 刻板印象 (ke1 ban3 yin4 xiang4) 例: Stereotypes are often unfair and inaccurate. (刻板印象往往不客觀也不正確。) 3. participate v.i./v.t. 參加 (can1 jia1) 例: Henry participated in the city marathon, but he regretted it afterwards. (亨利參加了城市馬拉松賽，但之後他就後悔了。) 4. criticism n. 批評 (pi1 ping2) 例: Max's decision to dye his hair blue drew lots of criticism. (麥克斯決定把頭髮染成藍色引來許多批評)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  make a stand 表明立場 People make a stand when they have strong feelings about something. They make a stand for or against the idea, depending on whether they support it or not. For example: “When Doris heard that a new runway was going to be built near her house she made a stand against it, and wrote to her congressman to block the plan,” or “Norman supported the decision to open a new swimming pool and he made a stand for it at every opportunity.” 當人們對某事懷有強烈情緒時，就會「make a stand」；若他們贊成此事，就是「make a stand for it」，若反對，則是「make a stand against it」。 例如：「當朵利絲聽說住家附近要蓋新跑道時，她非常反對，還寫信給議員希望能凍結這項計畫」，或是「諾曼贊成興建新游泳池的決定，因此一有機會便大力推崇」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Terry: You’ve lost a lot of weight recently. What’s going on? June: I’ve entered the county beauty pageant, and I want to look my best for the big day. Terry: Hmm, if you ask me, you’ve got no chance of winning. I don’t think you should enter it. June: Well, I’m not asking you, and I’m not interested in your opinion! Terry: Ok, but I’m just trying to be cruel to be kind, that’s all. 泰瑞：妳最近瘦了好多，怎麼了嗎？ 瓊：我參加了縣市選美比賽，我想在那天展現最佳狀態。 泰瑞：嗯，我個人是認為，妳的贏面不大，我覺得妳不應該參賽。 瓊：唔，我沒有問你，我也不在乎你的意見！ 泰瑞：好吧，忠言逆耳，我只是實話實說罷了。 be cruel to be kind　忠言逆耳，良藥苦口 When you are being cruel to be kind, you do something that may hurt somebody in the short term, but it will eventually benefit them. 當你「be cruel to be kind」，表示你做了某件短時間可能會讓人感到難過，但最終還是對他們有益的事。
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