英国女王圣诞致辞.doc

12015 英国女王圣诞致辞At this time of year, few sights evoke① more feelings of cheer and goodwill② than the twinkling lights③ of a Christmas tree.每年的这个时候，没有什么风景能比圣诞树上闪烁的灯光更能勾起我愉快和美好的感觉The popularity of a tree at Christmas is due④ in part⑤ to my great-great grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. After this touching⑥ picture was published, many families wanted a Christmas tree of their own, and the custom soon spread⑦ .圣诞树的流行源于我的曾曾祖父母：维多利亚女王和阿尔伯塔亲王当这幅触动人心的画公布之后，很多家庭都想要个自己的圣诞树，从此，圣诞树的风俗渐渐扩散开来。

In 1949, I spent Christmas in Malta as a newly-married⑧ naval wife. We have returned to that island over the years, including last month for a meeting of ⑨ Commonwealth leaders⑩ ; and this year I met another group of leaders: The Queen's Young Leaders, an inspirational⑪ group, each of them a symbol of hope⑫ in their own Commonwealth communities.1949 年，作为一个海军军人的新婚妻子，我在“马耳他”度过了圣诞节 【注 1】 后来，我曾多次回到那个岛上，上个月，在 2015 英联邦领袖的峰会上，我还刚去过今年，我还见到了另一群领袖：女王的青年领袖，他们是一群朝气蓬勃鼓舞人心的群体，每个人都代表他们各自领域的希望 【注 2】 注 1：当年女王还是伊丽莎白公主，丈夫菲利普亲王服役英国皇家海军，部队当时驻扎在马耳他。

注 2：今年 6 月，女王在白金汉宫接见了英国各届的青年领袖代表①evoke：及物动词，唤起 ②goodwill ：善意 ③twinkling lights：闪烁的灯光 ④is due to：由于 ⑤ in part：部分地 ⑥touching ：感人的 ⑦the custom soon spread：这个风俗迅速蔓延 ⑧a newly-married：新婚不久的 ⑨a meeting of：一次...的会议 ⑩Commonwealth leaders：英联邦领袖 ⑪inspirational：鼓舞人心的 ⑫a symbol of hope：希望的象征2Gathering round the tree gives us a chance to① think about the year ahead② - I am looking forward to③ a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice④ . It also allows us to reflect on⑤ the year that has passed⑥ , as we think of those who are far away or no longer with us. Many people say the first Christmas after losing a loved one⑦ is particularly hard. But it's also a time to remember all that we have to be thankful for.围坐在圣诞树旁边，让我们有机会展望下来年，尽管我已经被警告年事已高了，但我还是期待一个繁忙的 2016。

同时我们也回顾下过去的一年，想想那些远离我们的人很多人说，失去挚爱的第一个圣诞节最难熬，但同时这也是我们铭记我们应该感恩的人的时刻It is true that the world has had to confront⑧ moments of darkness⑨ this year, but the Gospel of John⑩ contains a verse of⑪ great hope, often read at Christmas carol services: 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it⑫'. 今年，世界遭遇了不少黑暗的时刻，但是约翰福音中有一段关于“希望”的章节，就像我们在圣诞颂歌里吟唱的那样：“光照在黑暗里，黑暗永远战胜不了光 ”One cause⑬ for thankfulness this summer was marking⑭ 70 years since the end of the Second World War. On VJ Day, we honoured⑮ the remaining veterans⑯ of that terrible conflict in the Far East, as well as remembering⑰ the thousands who never returned.今年的夏天值得感恩，是因为二战胜利 70 周年，在二战胜利纪念日，我们对那些曾在远东____________①...give us a chance to...：给我们一个...的机会 ②the year ahead：来年 ③be looking forward to：期待着 ④more than once or twice：不止一次（这里说自己过了很多的生日，意味着自己年事已高） ⑤reflect on：思考 ⑥the year that has passed：过去的一年，跟前面的 the year ahead 形成对应 ⑦a loved one：亲人或爱人 ⑧confront ：面对、遭遇 ⑨moments of darkness：黑暗的时刻 ⑩the Gospel of John：约翰福音（英女王是一个虔诚的基督徒，经常引用《圣经》 ） ⑪a verse of：一个关于...的章节 ⑫"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”：光照在黑暗里，黑暗永远战胜不了光（名句，请背下来） ⑬cause：原因 ⑭mark：纪念 ⑮honour：向...致敬 ⑯the remaining veterans：在世的老兵（注意 remaining 的用法） 3⑰remember：缅怀战场奋战的幸存老兵致以崇高的敬意，同时也缅怀那些为战争献出生命的人们。

The procession① from Horse Guards Parade to Westminster Abbey must have been one of the slowest ever, because so many people wanted to say 'thank you' to them.当时从皇家阅兵场到威斯敏斯特教堂的二战老兵方队，可能是走的最慢的一列，因为太多人想要对他们表示感谢At the end of that war, the people of Oslo② began sending an annual gift of a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square. It has 500 light bulbs③ and is enjoyed not just by Christians but by people of all faiths④ , and of none. At the very top sits a bright star⑤ , to represent the Star of Bethlehem⑥ .战争结束之后，挪威奥斯陆的人每年都给英国特拉法加广场寄圣诞树，上面有 500 个圣诞灯，它们不仅仅为基督徒所享，而是为所有人照亮。

在树的最顶端，有一颗特别闪亮的星，这个是“圣诞星” The custom of topping a tree⑦ also goes back to⑧ Prince Albert's time. For his family's tree, he chose an angel, helping to remind us that the focus of the Christmas story is on⑨ one particular family.为圣诞树装饰也源于我的曾曾祖父阿尔伯塔亲王时期，他们家的圣诞树装饰，他选了一个小天使，提醒我们勿忘“圣诞故事” For Joseph and Mary, the circumstances of Jesus's birth - in a stable⑩ - were far from⑪ ideal, but worse was to come as⑫ the family was forced to flee⑬ the country. It's no surprise that⑭ such a human story still captures our imagination⑮ and continues to____________①procession：列队行进（名词） ②the people of Oslo：奥斯陆的人们（注意 the people of...的用法） ③light bulbs：电灯泡 ④people of all faiths：各种信仰的人们 ⑤at the very top sits a bright star：倒装句（very 表示 “正好” ） ⑥the Star of Bethlehem：伯利恒之星（伯利恒--基督耶稣诞生之地，位于约旦河西岸） ⑦top a tree：这里指为圣诞树挂各种装饰品（top 在这里是动词） ⑧go back to：追溯到 ⑨the focus of...is on...：...的核心是关于... ⑩stable：马厩 ⑪be far from：远不是 ⑫worse was to come as...：当...，更坏的事来了 ⑬be forced to flee...：被迫离开（flee 及物动词，离开） ⑭it's no surprise that...：...一点都不令人意外 ⑮capture our imagination：抓住4我们的想象（。