磨难

    当地时间16日凌晨，悉尼咖啡馆人质劫持事件落下帷幕。请看本报周五的报道：

    As Australia digests the events of the attack on a Sydney cafe Monday, the two hostages who died have been hailed as heroes for the roles they played in ending the siege.

    The 16-hour ordeal marked the country’s first terrorist attack on home soil, resulting in the loss of three lives, including that of the gunman and self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis.

    报道中的ordeal就是“磨难”。这个词本来指借助神的力量对当事人或嫌疑者施行考验的原始审判方式。其方式多种多样 ：吞食某种有毒的东西、手下油锅取物、决斗、将嫌疑者投入河中，等等，以被考验者能否顺利通过考验来定输赢或判明当事人是否有罪。后引申为“严峻的考验、磨难”。例如：

    Mona remains unshaken by her ordeal and is matter-of-fact about her courage.

    莫娜经历磨难后毫不动摇，对自己表现出的勇气很淡定。