VOA慢速英语听力：在比利时，空荡荡的教堂正在变成生意 In Belgium, Empty Churches Are Being Turned into Businesses .
Across Europe, churches and other Christian religious buildings stand increasingly empty.
在整个欧洲，教堂和其他基督教宗教建筑越来越空荡荡。
These empty churches are being repurposed. That means they are being changed into other things like hotels, sport climbing businesses, and even dance places.
这些空荡荡的教堂正在改变用途。也就是说，它们正在转变为其他用途，如酒店、运动攀岩场所，甚至是舞蹈场所。
Supporters say the changes remove the need for costly repairs and care of the buildings. But critics say such changes raise ethical concerns.
支持者表示，这些改变消除了对建筑物昂贵维修和保养的需求。但批评者表示，这样的改变引发了伦理关切。
Empty churches
空荡荡的教堂遍布欧洲大部分地区-从德国到意大利，以及中间许多国家。
But the empty churches really stand out in Flanders, in the northern part of Belgium. The area has some of the greatest cathedrals in Europe.
但空荡荡的教堂在比利时北部的佛兰德地区格外引人注目。该地区拥有欧洲最壮丽的大教堂。
Yet there are not enough people attending the churches. In 2018, the PEW research group released an opinion study of religion in Belgium. The study found that 83 percent of people said they had been raised as Christians. But only 55 percent still consider themselves to be Christians. And only 10 percent of Belgians still attend church regularly.
然而，参加教堂的人数不足。2018年，PEW研究小组发布了一项关于比利时宗教的意见调查。该研究发现，83%的人表示自己曾受到基督教的教育。但只有55%的人仍认为自己是基督徒。只有10%的比利时人经常参加教堂活动。
Johan Bonny is the bishop of Antwerp. He is a top Church leader in the city. He told the Associated Press about the issue: “That is painful. I will not hide it. On the other hand, there is no return to the past possible.”
约翰·邦尼（Johan Bonny）是安特卫普的主教，也是该市的高级教会领导人。他对美联社谈到了这个问题：“这是痛苦的。我不会掩饰这一点。另一方面，回到过去是不可能的。”
Mechelen is a town of 85,000 people just north of Brussels. It is the Roman Catholic center of Belgium. It has more than 20 churches. Mayor Bart Somers has been working for years to give many of the buildings a different purpose.
梅赫伦（Mechelen）是比利时布鲁塞尔以北的一个有85,000人口的城镇。它是比利时的罗马天主教中心。该地有20多座教堂。市长巴特·索默斯（Bart Somers）多年来一直致力于为许多建筑物赋予不同的用途。
“In my city, we have a brewery in a church, we have a hotel in a church, we have a cultural center in a church, we have a library in a church. So, we have a lot of new destinations for the churches,” said Somers.
“在我的城市，我们有一座教堂里有一家酿酒厂，有一座教堂里有一家酒店，有一座教堂里有一个文化中心，还有一座教堂里有一家图书馆。所以，我们为教堂找到了很多新的用途，”索默斯说道。
Somers, a Flemish regional minister, is also involved in repurposing about 350 churches spread across the densely populated area of 6.7 million people.
索默斯是弗拉芒地区的地方部长，他还参与了在人口稠密的670万人口的地区重新规划了大约350座教堂。
Hotel and rock climbing gym
酒店和攀岩健身房
A famous repurposing project in Belgium was Martin’s Patershof hotel in Mechelen. The inside of the church was cleaned out to create rooms. “We often hear that people come here to relax and enjoy the silence of its former identity,” said hotel manager Emilie De Preter.
比利时一个著名的改建项目是梅赫伦的马丁父修院酒店。教堂的内部被清空，以创造客房。“我们经常听到人们来这里放松身心，享受其以前身份的宁静，”酒店经理埃米莉·德普雷特（Emilie De Preter）说道。
With its simple luxury, it offers time for thought, and more. Since it is now a hotel, people might do many things in the former church.
在它的简约奢华中，它提供了思考和更多的时间。由于它现在是一家酒店，人们可以在这个曾经的教堂里做很多事情。
“So, you could say: ethically, is it a good idea to have a hotel in a church? I don’t have so many hesitations,” said Somers. “I am more concerned about the actual architectural value.”
“所以，你可以说：从伦理上来说，在教堂里开一家酒店是个好主意吗？我并没有太多犹豫，”索默斯说。“我更关心的是实际的建筑价值。”
The design value is especially clear at St. Anthony of Padua church in Brussels. These days, it is also known as Maniak Padoue climbing club. The rock climbing wall is located near large, special colored windows known as stained-glass windows.
设计价值在布鲁塞尔的圣安东尼教堂尤为明显。如今，它也被称为Maniak Padoue攀岩俱乐部。攀岩墙靠近大型特殊彩色玻璃窗，也被称为彩色玻璃窗。
“The stained glass brings a...warm light to the venue when the sun goes through it, so we can really feel the presence of the remains of the church,” said Kyril Wittouck, the co-founder of the club. “The altar is still in place, so we are surrounded by remains and it reminds us where we actually are.”
“当阳光透过彩色玻璃照射进来时，彩色玻璃会给场地带来温暖的光线，这样我们就能真正感受到教堂的遗迹存在，”俱乐部的联合创始人基里尔·维图克（Kyril Wittouck）说。“祭坛仍然存在，所以我们被遗迹所环绕，它提醒着我们我们所处的地方。”
Also in Brussels, the Spirito night club has taken over a former Anglican church and has an image of a priest kissing a nun as its logo.
同样在布鲁塞尔，Spirito夜总会接管了一座曾经的圣公会教堂，并以神父亲吻修女的形象作为其标志。
It is not exactly what Bishop Bonny had in mind.
这不完全符合邦尼主教的想法。
Even if the Roman Catholic religion is declining, a sense of the sacred and a need for thought still exists in society, whether one is religious or not. The sense of peace coming from a church is hard to match. So, for Bonny, there is no reason to turn churches into supermarkets or dance places.
即使罗马天主教的宗教信仰正在衰退，无论是否信奉宗教，人们对神圣感和思考的需求在社会中仍然存在。教堂带来的平静感难以比拟。因此，对于邦尼来说，没有理由将教堂变成超市或舞蹈场所。
History and future
历史和未来
Bonny thinks the most successful repurposing has been the handing over of churches to other Christian groups, such as Coptic or Eastern European churches.
邦尼认为最成功的改建是将教堂交给其他基督教团体，如科普特教或东欧教堂。
At his office, though, he can get tired just looking at the number of people coming to make deals for empty Roman Catholic buildings. His heart is heavy when a real estate agent shows up. “They see possibilities. And you cannot believe, suddenly, how pious they can become when a financial opportunity presents itself. Suddenly they are more devout than a nun,” he said.
然而，在他的办公室里，他只是看到越来越多的人来为空置的罗马天主教建筑物谈判，就感到疲倦。当一位房地产经纪人出现时，他的心沉重。“他们看到了机会。你无法相信，当出现一个经济机会时，他们突然变得多么虔诚。突然间，他们比修女还要虔诚，”他说。
Knowing the history of Christianity over hundreds of years, Bonny considers the effects of time since the near future does not look bright. “Every 300 years we nearly had to start again,” he said. “Something new, I’m sure, will happen. But it takes time.”
了解了基督教几百年的历史，邦尼考虑到时间的影响，因为近期的未来看起来并不明朗。“每300年，我们几乎都要重新开始，”他说。“我相信一定会发生一些新的事情。但这需要时间。”
At the hotel Martin's Patershof, there is even a condition that the church can reclaim the building if it is needed again, said De Preter. The hotel elements were built on steel beams and could be taken out. "If the church, at a certain point, wants the building back — which holds a very small chance, probably — it is possible," De Preter said.
在马丁·帕特斯霍夫酒店，甚至有一项条件是如果教会再次需要这栋建筑物，它可以收回，De Preter说道。酒店的结构是建在钢梁上的，可以拆除。“如果教会在某个时候想要收回建筑物——这种可能性非常小，但是有可能，”De Preter说道。
I’m Ashley Thompson.
And I'm John Russell.
Words in This Story
cathedral – n. the main church of an area
brewery—n. a place where beer is made
destination –n. a place that a person goes to or is sent to
relax – v. to spend time resting or doing something enjoyable
luxury –n. something that is very costly and attractive but not necessary
hesitation – n. to stop briefly before you do something especially because you are nervous or unsure about what to do
architectural – adj. relating to the art or science of designing and creating buildings
venue – n. the place where an event takes place
altar – n. an area used as a center of worship in Christian ceremonies
