讀點好英文:When Love Was the Adventure 愛的艱程

When Love Was the Adventure 愛的艱程

·Patrick·

On a cold January morning in 1936，George V was given a king's burial. Following his coffin was his eldest son, the handsome, much loved, Prince of Wales.He was about to be procIaimed the next king of England.He was that exceptional thing：a model royal.He was at ease in every company.Everyone expected him to shake the stuffiness out of the monarchy.But as time passed, as he span between the royal duties, people began to remark that the prince was approaching 40 and still unmarried.Only a privileged few knew that he'd been stepping out with the mysterious American, a woman who was cheating on her husband with the future king of England.This was the lady known as Wallis Simpson, whom he was determined to marry.

So now he was king, but no one could persuade him to give up Wallis. Not even Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin who spoke for the nation when he said Britain did not want an American divorcee for a queen.Ministerial car shuttled between Westminster and Buckingham Palace but the king could not be budged.He was forced to abdicate and all over the country flags flew at half-mast.

In the summer of 1937，there was a quiet wedding in France. The couple looked a bit nervous, especially the groom, but only a year before he'd been a king.Now he and his wife would be called the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

So now the man who'd given up a kingdom and a woman who'd given up two husbands embarked on their endless round of fun and gaiety. In the war years they'd been trapped in the Bahamas, but emerged every now and then to attend the great cultural festivals where they startled the locals with the brilliance of their attire.But the man who'd been a king found he was now only a celebrity.There were even rumors that he and the duchess were breaking up so they had to parade their devotion for the cameras.

Four years later, it was the nation's turn to mourn the Duke and to reflect on one man's decision to trade the crown of England for the love of Wallis and the price they had both had to pay.

帕特里克

1936年1月的一個寒冷的早晨，英國王室為喬治五世舉行了國葬。跟在他靈柩后面的是他的長子——英俊而深受愛戴的威爾士王子，他將被宣布成為英國的新國王。他是模范皇室成員，卓爾不群又平易近人。人人都期望著他會一改王室拘謹(jǐn)沉悶的形象。但隨著時間的流逝，在他履行王室職責(zé)的同時，人們開始注意到王子已年近40卻仍然形單影只。只有少數(shù)幾人知道他一直在和一位神秘的美國女子約會，她瞞著丈夫和未來的英國國王來往。這位女士就是華里絲·辛普森，是王子決意要娶的人。

他是國王，沒人能說服他放棄華里絲，連首相斯坦利·鮑德溫也不行——他代表國家說英國不想讓一個離過婚的美國人成為王后。大臣們的汽車在威斯敏斯特教堂和白金漢宮之間穿梭往返，但國王絲毫不為之所動。他被迫讓位，為此舉國降下半旗。

1937年的夏天，他們靜靜地在法國舉辦了婚禮。兩人看起來有點緊張，尤其是新郎，但一年之前他還是個國王。現(xiàn)在他和妻子被稱為溫莎公爵伉儷。

放棄了江山的他和曾經(jīng)兩度離婚的她開始去盡情地享樂。戰(zhàn)爭時，他們被困在巴哈馬群島，但偶爾會出席一些盛大的文化節(jié)慶，他們的華衣美服讓當(dāng)?shù)厝梭@嘆不已。不過，曾為國君的他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己現(xiàn)在只是個名人。甚至有傳言說他和公爵夫人將要離異，于是他們不得不在鏡頭前展現(xiàn)恩愛的一面。

四年后，全國哀悼公爵的逝世，并深思他的抉擇——他為了跟華里絲的愛情放棄了英國王位，他們兩人都為此付出了代價。

Practising&Exercise　實戰(zhàn)提升篇

核心單詞

procIaim[pr?'kleim]v.宣告；公布；聲明

persuade[p?'sweid]v.說服，勸服

abdicate['?bdikeit]v.正式放棄（權(quán)力等）；退（位）；辭（職）

emerge[i'm?：d?]v.浮現(xiàn)；出現(xiàn)

mourn[m?：n]v.哀痛，哀悼

實用句型

There were even rumors that he and the duchess were breaking up so they had to parade their devotion for the cameras.

甚至有傳言說他和公爵夫人將要離異，于是他們不得不在鏡頭前展現(xiàn)恩愛的一面。

①這是由that引導(dǎo)的同位語從句。同位語從句是對先行詞的解釋、補(bǔ)充和說明。

②break up分離。類似的表達(dá)還有break down失敗，故障；break into 闖入，打斷；break out爆發(fā)，突然發(fā)生。

翻譯練習(xí)

1.他裝出一副安詳自若的樣子。（at ease）

2.他們又開始著手一項新的冒險。（embark on）

3.我一直在考慮這件事。（reflect on）