2015考研英语阅读生命的终点_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读生命的终点

　　Pragmatism informs many funerary practices. The Zoroastrians in Iran, for example,traditionally leave corpses in towers for vultures to devour, so the bodies do not pollute thesoil. Cremation is becoming more popular around the world, not only because land forcemeteries is increasingly rare and expensive, but also because ashes are easily transported.This is important in an ever globalised world, as for most people the desire to be buried athome is the strongest.

　　实用主义影响着很多葬礼的风俗习惯。比如说，伊朗的拜火教按照传统将尸体放在高塔之上，让秃鹰啄食吃光，这样人的躯体就不会腐蚀土壤。火葬在全世界越来越受欢迎，不仅仅是因为墓地的持续紧缺，而且价格上涨，同时也是因为骨灰更容易运输。在不断全球化的世界中，这一点对于大多数强烈渴望落叶归根的人们非常重要。

　　But most practices are shaped by religious beliefs and a faith in the afterlife. The Chinesekeep shrines to the dead in their homes, and burn paper offerings to encourage the spirits tobestow good fortune on the living. Communities from Chile to Egypt to Sicily havemummified their dead to preserve the body for the afterlife. Ms Murray visits someparticularly ghoulish mummies, dressed but withered, in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo.For Hindus, though, the body is just a vehicle for the soul. In India the dying makepilgrimages to sacred sites, such as Varanasi, to be cremated and released into the RiverGanges, India s holiest waterway. This is so the dead can achieve mokshabreaking thecycle of birth, death and rebirth to gain enlightenment. The cremation ghats in Varanasi burnday and night.