新闻万花筒：BBC视角之道德的责任远比法律更复杂

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In one of the oldest examples of political evasion, instead of answering the question that incriminated him Cain countered God with another. How should I know where my brother is? Am I his keeper?

Is it wrong to pay cash to the teenager who mows our lawn? Of course not. Unless I happen to know he isn’t telling the Benefits Office, in which case of course it is. But suppose I merely suspect? Or don’t think to ask? Or consider it none of my business, want to encourage him with a taste for work and would very much prefer not to take the moral high ground with someone else’s conscience?

The morality of responsibility can be far more complex than merely the law.

Friends of mine have started to wonder whether and when they should stop a parent driving. They know it’s vital for seeing people, visiting offspring, staying interested in life. Yet the parent may never even have taken a driving test and certainly wouldn’t pass one now. The state allows it: should the son or daughter prevent it – balancing the safety of strangers against the needs of the loved one?

Or the abstract principle against the immediate family. I was told I shouldn’t work for someone who had made his money in a way some considered unethical: a friend had left his employment and wouldn’t talk to me unless I did too. I scoured the scriptures, finding several passages exhorting me to work hard and support my family, and one or two telling me how to submit to an immoral boss. None suggesting I was responsible for my employer’s conduct, past or present.

Someone I was very fond of at university turned his back on Christianity because he couldn’t accept rich Christians in a world of hunger: he believed they should take responsibility for those on the other side of the world. To his credit, he went on to establish two very well-known movements combating world poverty.

Responsibility can be brutal. Kevin Carter won the world’s attention for famine with his photograph of a toddler being stalked by a vulture, as well as vociferous criticism for being a vulture himself. And indeed the Pulitzer prize. The following year his suicide note read, “I am haunted by... memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain... of starving children.”

Cain knew the answer full well. His brother Abel’s blood cried out to him from the ground. Of course he should have cared for him.

But how do we pit one responsibility against another?

They tried to trap the Rabbi with questions. Should we support an oppressive regime? or refuse to pay taxes and break the law? He didn’t evade the question. He took it further. Show me a coin. Whose image is it made in? Then give the coin to him.

Now look at yourself. Whose image are you made in? Give responsibility where responsibility is due. To Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.

And to God the things that are God’s.

We all have complicated duties to disentangle day by day. We start by knowing where our ultimate responsibility lies.

词汇解析

fluid

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.液体；流体

adj.流动的；流畅的；不定的

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

There's some sort of sticky fluid on the kitchen floor.

厨房的地上有一种发黏的液体。

用作形容词 (adj.)

We have not enough fluid capital.

我们没有足够的流动资金。

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tolerance

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.宽容；忍耐力；容忍；公差

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Tolerance is another name for indifference.

宽容是不关心的别名。

She had no tolerance for jokes of any kind.

她容不得开任何玩笑。

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specially

英汉解释

adv.特别地；专门地；尤其

参考例句

用作副词 (adv.)

I made this specially for your birthday.

这是我特意为你生日而做的。

My dad was specially adroit at making small hand-painted ornaments.

我爸爸尤其擅长做些手工上色的小装饰品。

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impressive

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.给人深刻印象的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

His collection of paintings is the most impressive.

他的绘画收藏令人叹为观止。

Their success is all the more impressive when you consider the efforts they've made.

如果你考虑到他们所付出的努力,你就会觉得他们的成功真的很了不起。

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blast

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.爆炸；巨响；一阵(强风)；严厉的批评；<美俚>愉快的经历

v.爆破；摧毁；发出巨响；用力撞击；批评

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

27 school children were injured in the blast.

27名学龄儿童在爆炸中受了伤。

用作动词 (v.)

A massive car bomb blasted the police headquarters.

一个巨大的汽车炸弹在警局总部爆炸。

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comment

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.注释；评论；闲话

v.评论；注释

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The comment is recorded in the event log.

此注释将记录在事件日志中。

用作动词 (v.)

He commented that it was an excellent film.

他评论这电影很精彩。

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cancel

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.取消；作废；注销；抵消；删除

n.取消；删除

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

The match had to be cancelled due to the bad weather.

比赛因天气不好只得取消。

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