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St. Peter's is so large that thirty services can be carried on at one time without one interfering with another. Inside the church everything is huge, to match the building. The statues of angels are the size of giants and the doves are the size of eagles. There is a bronze statue of St. Peter himself seated on a throne. This is one of the few statues there of natural size. Good Catholics from all over the World, when they come to St.Peter’s, kiss the statue’s bronze foot. So many millions have kissed it that they have kissed away all his toes.

At Easter and at other celebrations the inside walls of St.Peter’s are hung with crimson silk, thousands of candles burn, choir boys chant and altar boys swing smoke of burning incense to the high roof, while hundreds of priests in gorgeous robes and cardinals in red caps and red gowns and the Pope himself, the head of all the Catholics in the World, in glistening white, move in stately procession down the main aisle to the high altar, over the spot where, 1,900 years before, St. Peter himself was crucified and a Christian would have been afraid to show himself for fear of being killed.

The Pope lives next door to St. Peter’s in an immense house called the Vatican. Your house may have a dozen rooms, or perhaps even a score, but it is said that the Vatican contains more than a thousand rooms. There are so many rooms that probably no one has ever counted them all. Many of the large rooms are filled with famous pictures and sculpture. They are art museums which people may visit. One room is the Pope’s private chapel. It is called the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo painted pictures on the ceiling and walls of this chapel. In order to see the pictures on the ceiling comfortably you have to lie flat on your back or look at them in a mirror held in your hand.

Before the time of St. Peter, when people believed in many gods, another church was built in Rome “To All the Gods.” This building is still standing. It is called the Pantheon, which means “All Gods.” The Pantheon too has a dome, but it is not like St. Peter’s. The dome of St. Peter’s is like a giant cup turned upside down. The dome of the Pantheon is like a giant saucer turned upside down.

参考译文

圣彼得教堂大得可以一次同时举行三十个宗教礼拜仪式而不会彼此干扰。为了与这个巨型建筑物相配，教堂内每一件东西都是巨大的，天使的雕像如巨人一般大，鸽子如老鹰一般大。这儿有一座圣彼得坐在宝座上的青铜雕像。这是这儿仅有的几个真人般大小的雕像之一。世界各地虔诚的天主教徒来到圣彼得大教堂，亲吻雕像的铜脚，来膜拜的天主教徒是如此之多，以至于雕像的所有脚趾头都被吻没了。

在复活节以及其他庆祝活动的时候，圣彼得教堂的内墙上都会挂上深红色的丝绸，点上数千只蜡烛，唱诗班的男孩子们吟唱赞美诗，祭坛的侍者摆动燃烧的香使烟飘向高高的穹顶。与此同时，数百位牧师穿着华丽的袍子，红衣主教头戴红色帽子、身穿红色长袍，还有全世界天主教徒的领袖—教皇，穿着闪闪发光的白色长袍，他们组成庄严的队伍，沿着主通道走向高高的祭坛。就在祭坛下方这个地点，1900年前，圣彼得被钉死在十字架上，当时的基督徒担心被害都不敢在这儿露面。

教皇住在紧邻圣彼得教堂的一个巨大无比的被称之为“梵蒂冈”的房子里。你家的房子也许有十二间房间，或甚至二十间。但据说梵蒂冈有一千多间。有这么多的房子，以至于很可能没人数过。很多大房间里装满了雕像和名画。这些房间都是艺术博物馆，人们可以去参观。有一个房间是教皇的私人教堂，被称之为“西斯廷礼拜堂”，这个礼拜堂的穹顶上和墙壁上都是米开朗基罗绘的画。为了能很舒服地看穹顶上的画，你得仰面躺下来，或手上拿着一面镜子来看才行。

在圣彼得时代之前，人们信仰的神有很多，于是就在罗马建立了另一个教堂“献给一切诸神”。这座建筑物至今依然屹立在那儿，被称之为“万神庙”。“万神”表示“所有的神”。万神庙也有一个圆顶，但是与圣彼得的不一样。圣彼得的圆顶就像一个巨大的杯子倒扣着，而万神庙的圆顶则像一个巨大的茶碟倒扣着。