刚刚过去的3月27日是复活节（Easter）。这是西方的一个重要节日，在每年春分月圆之后第一个星期日庆祝，为纪念耶稣基督于公元30到33年之间被钉死在十字架之后第三天复活的日子（Christ's Resurrection from the dead）。
对于基督徒（Christians）来说，复活节是比圣诞节更重要的日子，不过从商业角度来说，圣诞节卖得东西更多一些，也显得更热闹。
英国首相卡梅伦在这一天发表了视频致辞，字正腔圆的英音，是练习听力的好素材。一起来听听吧，顺便了解一下西方的宗教文化和价值观念。
David Cameron's Message on Easter 2016
27 March 2016
The message of Easter is a message of hope for millions of Christians in our country and all around the world.
Christians：基督徒
We see that hope every day in the many faith-inspired projects that help the homeless, that get people into work, that help keep families together and offer loving homes to children who need them.
the homeless：无家可归者
We see it in the compassion of church leaders and volunteers who visit our hospitals, care homes and hospices and those who comfort the bereaved.
hospice：救济院
the bereaved：失去亲人的人
And we see that hope in the aid workers and volunteers who so often risk their own lives to save the lives of others in war-torn regions across the world.
war-torn：受到战争破坏的
And at the heart of all these acts of kindness and courage is a set of values and beliefs that have helped to make our country what it is today.
Values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, pride in working for the common good and honouring the social obligations we have to one another, to our families and our communities.
obligation：义务，职责
These are values we treasure.
They are Christian values and they should give us the confidence to say yes, we are a Christian country and we are proud of it.
But they are also values that speak to everyone in Britain, to people of every faith and none.
And we must all stand together and defend them.
When we see Christians today in 2016 being persecuted for their beliefs, we must speak out and stand with those who bravely practice their faith.
persecute：迫害
And when terrorists try to destroy our way of life as they have tried to do again so despicably in Brussels this week, we must stand together and show that we will never be cowed by terror.
despicably：可鄙地
We must defeat the pernicious ideology that is the root cause of this terrorism by standing up proudly for our values and our way of life.
pernicious：有害的
So this Easter, as we pray for the friends and families of all those who lost loved ones in Brussels, let us also draw hope and inspiration from the values we share and from all those who, inspired by those values, seek to help others in our country and around the world.
And let me wish you and your family a very happy Easter.