文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：Want to be a nun? You need to pass these tests
原文发布时间：23 May 2023
Want to be a nun? You need to pass these tests
Saint Catherine of Siena might have struggled with psychometric tests. The 14th-century saint and mystic had many virtues: she could pray for hours, fast for days and devoted herself to God for years. Some of the statements found on a typical psychometric form, such as "136. I cannot keep my mind on one thing", would have held no fear for Saint Catherine.
But she might have had more difficulty with others. For she was also tormented by pornographic visions in which she saw "shameless crowds dancing". She believed she had been married to Christ in a secret ceremony, and that she wore his invisible foreskin on her finger in lieu of a wedding ring. Having to respond to statements such as number 257 ("I have strange and peculiar thoughts") might have tripped her up.
None of this mattered to Catherine's career in the medieval era: she was canonised after her death and is revered as a saint to this day. But it would have been more problematic in the modern one, because since 2005 the Catholic church in Britain has been using stringent psychometric tests to screen applicants to religious and to holy orders. Those who feel called by an invisible, intangible God to become a monk, nun or priest now have to commit not only to poverty, chastity and obedience but also to three days' worth of psychiatric interviews and tests (among them, the double-edged "139. I often hear voices without knowing where they come from.")
想当修女吗？你需要通过这些测试
精听党背景导读
圣凯瑟琳1347年出生于意大利锡耶纳城的一个染工家庭，她和一个孪生姐妹是家里25个孩子中最小的。从很小的时候起，凯瑟琳就成为了虔诚的天主教徒，她能看到一些不同寻常的视觉景像，她相信那是上帝传输给她的。17岁时她正式成为了一名修女，两年后开始服务病者——她常常选择那些别人不愿意帮助的患有传染恶疾的病人。她还常常帮助穷人，虽然偶尔需要忍耐身体的饥饿以接近天主，她仍然时时处在快乐情绪中。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：Want to be a nun? You need to pass these tests原文发布时间：23 May 2023关键词：修女 心理 测试
精听党带着问题听
1. 如何理解段二中的“lieu”？2.“无形资产”用英语可以怎么表达？3. 英国的天主教会什么时候开始采取心理测试来筛选申请者？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Want to be a nun? You need to pass these tests
想当修女吗？你需要通过这些测试
nun n. 修女；1. She wants to become a nun. 她想成为一名修女。
pass vt. 通过；1. He passed the test with flying colors. 他轻松通过了考试。
段一
Saint Catherine of Siena might have struggled with psychometric tests. The 14th-century saint and mystic had many virtues: she could pray for hours, fast for days and devoted herself to God for years. Some of the statements found on a typical psychometric form, such as “136. I cannot keep my mind on one thing”, would have held no fear for Saint Catherine.
saint n. 圣人；1. Saint Peter is an important figure in Christianity. 圣彼得是基督教中的重要人物。
struggle vi. 挣扎；1. He struggled to lift the heavy box. 他费力地举起那个沉重的箱子。
psychometric adj. 心理测量的；1. The psychometric test measures cognitive abilities. 心理测量测试衡量认知能力。
mystic n. 神秘主义者；1. The mystic claimed to have visions of the future. 那个神秘主义者声称看到了未来的幻象。
pray vi. 祈祷；1. She prays every night before going to bed. 她每晚睡觉前都会祈祷。
fast vi. 斋戒；1. He fasts during the month of Ramadan. 他在斋月期间斋戒。
hold no fear for 无所畏惧；1. Death doesn't hold any fear for me. 死亡对我来说没什么可怕的。
参考译文
锡耶纳的圣凯瑟琳可能很难通过心理测试。这位14世纪的圣人和神秘主义者有许多美德：她可以祈祷数小时，禁食数天，并将自己献给上帝数年。在典型的心理测量表格中发现的一些陈述，如“第136条：我不能把我的注意力集中在一件事上”，圣凯瑟琳为此毫不担心。
段二
But she might have had more difficulty with others. For she was also tormented by pornographic visions in which she saw “shameless crowds dancing”. She believed she had been married to Christ in a secret ceremony, and that she wore his invisible foreskin on her finger in lieu of a wedding ring. Having to respond to statements such as number 257 (“I have strange and peculiar thoughts”) might have tripped her up.
torment vt. 折磨；1. She was tormented by her past mistakes. 她被过去的错误折磨着。
pornographic adj. 色情的；1. The movie was banned for its pornographic content. 这部电影因其色情内容而被禁止放映。
vision n. 幻象；1. He had a vision of a better future for his country. 他有一个为国家创造更美好未来的愿景。
shameless adj. 无耻的；1. The politician’s shameless behavior was exposed by the media. 这位政客无耻的行为被媒体曝光了。
ceremony n. 典礼；1. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony on the beach. 他们在海滩上举行了一场美丽的婚礼仪式。
invisible adj. 看不见的；1. The invisible man could not be seen by anyone. 隐形人无人能见。
foreskin n. 包皮；1. The doctor explained the importance of foreskin hygiene to the patient. 医生向病人解释了包皮卫生的重要性。
lieu n. 代替；1. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to a charity. 这个家庭要求捐款给慈善机构，而不是送花。
peculiar adj. 奇怪的，不寻常的；1. Mr. Kennet has a rather peculiar sense of humour. 肯尼特先生有一种相当不寻常的幽默感。
trip up 出错；绊倒；
参考译文
但她在其他方面可能会有更多的困难。因为她也被色情幻想所折磨，她看到“无耻的人群跳舞”。她相信她是在一个秘密的仪式上与基督结婚的，她在手指上戴着他看不见的包皮，代替了结婚戒指。不得不回应诸如第257条（“我有奇怪的想法”）之类的陈述可能会让她陷入困境。
段三
None of this mattered to Catherine’s career in the medieval era: she was canonised after her death and is revered as a saint to this day. But it would have been more problematic in the modern one, because since 2005 the Catholic church in Britain has been using stringent psychometric tests to screen applicants to religious and to holy orders. Those who feel called by an invisible, intangible God to become a monk, nun or priest now have to commit not only to poverty, chastity and obedience but also to three days’ worth of psychiatric interviews and tests (among them, the double-edged “139. I often hear voices without knowing where they come from.”)
matter vi. 要紧，有关系；1. It doesn’t matter what other people think of you, as long as you’re happy with yourself. 只要你对自己感到满意，别人怎么看你都无所谓。
canonise vt. 封圣；1. Mother Teresa was canonised by the Catholic Church in 2016. 德兰修女于2016年被天主教会封圣。
revere vt. 尊敬；1. Nelson Mandela is revered as a hero in South Africa and around the world. 纳尔逊·曼德拉在南非和世界各地都被尊敬为英雄。
problematic adj. 成问题的；1. The new law is problematic and may face legal challenges. 新法律有问题，可能面临法律挑战。
stringent adj. 严格的；1. The government has introduced more stringent measures to combat air pollution. 政府采取了更严格的措施来治理空气污染。
screen vt. 筛选；1. The company uses a rigorous screening process to select the best candidates. 该公司使用严格的筛选程序来选拔最佳候选人。
applicant n. 申请人；1. Many applicants were turned away due to lack of experience. 由于缺乏经验，许多申请人被拒之门外。
religious n. 宗教人士；1. He decided to become a religious and devote his life to serving others. 他决定成为一名宗教人士，将毕生奉献给服务他人。
holy orders 圣职；1. He was ordained into holy orders and became a priest. 他被授予圣职，成为一名牧师。
intangible adj. 不可捉摸的，难以确定的；（资产，利益）无形的；1. intangible asset 无形资产；
monk n. 僧侣，修道士；
chastity n. 贞洁；纯洁；简洁；1. Nuns take a vow of chastity. 修女矢发贞洁愿。
double-edged adj. 双刃的；对双方皆不利的；有双重目的的；
参考译文
这些对凯瑟琳在中世纪的职业生涯都没有影响：她死后被封为圣徒，直到今天仍被尊为圣人。但如果是在现代，问题就更大了，因为自2005年以来，英国的天主教会一直在使用严格的心理测试来筛选宗教人士和圣职的申请者。那些感觉被无形的上帝召唤成为僧侣、修女或神父的人，现在不仅要承诺贫穷、贞洁和顺从，还要接受为期三天的精神病学访谈和测试（其中包括双刃剑般的第“139条：我经常听到不知道从哪里来的声音。”）
精听党每日单词
nun
/nʌn/ n. 修女；
pass
/pæs/ vt. 通过；
saint
/seɪnt/ n. 圣人；
struggle
/ˈstrʌɡ(ə)l/ vi. 挣扎；
psychometric
/ˌsaɪkəˈmetrɪk/ adj. 心理测量的；
mystic
/ˈmɪstɪk/ n. 神秘主义者；
pray
/preɪ/ vi. 祈祷；
fast
/fæst/ vi. 斋戒；
hold no fear for
无所畏惧；
torment
/ˈtɔːrment/ vt. 折磨；
pornographic
/ˌpɔːrnəˈɡræfɪk/ adj. 色情的；
vision
/ˈvɪʒ(ə)n/ n. 幻象；
shameless
/ˈʃeɪmləs/ adj. 无耻的；
ceremony
/ˈserəmoʊni/ n. 典礼；
invisible
/ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ adj. 看不见的；
foreskin
/ˈfɔːrskɪn/ n. 包皮；
lieu
/luː/ n. 代替；
peculiar
/pɪˈkjuːliər/ adj. 奇怪的，不寻常的；
trip up
出错；绊倒；
matter
/ˈmætər/ vi. 要紧，有关系；
canonise
/ˈkænənaɪz/ vt. 封圣；
revere
/rɪˈvɪr/ vt. 尊敬；
problematic
/ˌprɑːbləˈmætɪk/ adj. 成问题的；
stringent
/ˈstrɪndʒənt/ adj. 严格的；
screen
/skriːn/ vt. 筛选；
applicant
/ˈæplɪkənt/ n. 申请人；
religious
/rɪˈlɪdʒəs/ n. 宗教人士；
holy orders
圣职；
intangible
/ɪnˈtændʒəb(ə)l/ adj. 不可捉摸的，难以确定的；（资产，利益）无形的；
monk
/mʌŋk/ n. 僧侣，修道士；
chastity
/ˈtʃæstəti/ n. 贞洁；纯洁；简洁；
double-edged
/ˌdʌbl ˈedʒd/ adj. 双刃的；对双方皆不利的；有双重目的的；
精听党文化拓展
修女（Nun），是天主教、东正教、基督教圣公会以及信义宗的女性修行人员，通常须发三愿（即“绝财”、“绝色”、“绝意”），从事祈祷和协助神父进行传教。在中国，修女有时称为“姆姆”。
修女必须领洗5年以上才可提出申请，并需加入女修会，在初学院修道至少6年。此外，要正式成为修女，需经过誓发初愿、暂愿、终身愿等过程，表示自己对天主的献身。在誓发终身愿后，便终身不能结婚。
修女中对世人影响最大是特蕾莎修女、德兰修女等。
特蕾莎修女一生中曾18次被提名为年度最受尊敬人物（Gallup's most admired man and woman poll）中的十大最受尊敬女性之一，并在20世纪80-90年代间数次当选。1999年，特蕾莎修女被美国人民投票选为二十世纪最受尊敬人物榜单之首（Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century）。排在她后面的是马丁路德金与美国前总统肯尼迪。在此次广泛囊括各年龄层（除婴孩外）的调查投票中，她以压倒性的优势成为全美人民心目中的伟人。
精听党每日美句