21世纪大学英语英语课文讲解unit1( B ).doc

Text B Little Sister of the Poor 1.Mother Teresa (1910~1997) Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun, was born to Albanian parents in Yugoslavia. She is known as “the Saint of the Gutters” for bringing comfort and dignity to the destitute贫穷的. She founded an order (Missionaries of Charity) which is noted for its work among the poor and the dying in Calcutta, India, and throughout the world. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. 2. Roman Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church, also called the Catholic Church or the Church of Rome, is the Christian Church with administrative headquarters in the Vatican, of which the pope, or the Bishop of Rome is the supreme head. 3. John Paul II (1920~) John Paul II is the first non-Italian Polish Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic church. He was elected pope on Oct. 16, 1978. John Paul II is a conservative pope who firmly holds traditional Catholic views. 4. Chernobyl The world’s worst nuclear-reactor accident occurred at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear power plant on Apr. 26, 1986. The accident caused the immediate death of 31 people, while many others suffered radioactive contamination污染. 6. the Nobel Prize Any of the prizes (five in number until 1969, when a sixth was added) that are awarded annually by four institutions (three Swedish and one Norwegian) from a fund established under the will of Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Distribution was begun on Dec. 10, 1901, the fifth anniversary of the death of the founder, whose will specified that the awards should annually be made “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” The five prizes established by his will are: the Nobel Prize for Physics; the Nobel Prize for Chemistry; the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine; the Nobel Prize for Literature; and the Nobel Prize for Peace. An additional award, the Prize for Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was set up in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden, an