Queen's platinum jubilee

正文

Queen's platinum jubilee: the royals must span the social divides

英国女王伊丽莎白二世“白金禧年”庆典：王室家族必须化解社会分化问题

The jubilee is seen as the most important event of the year, though that vote of confidence in the monarchy comes with future challenges. The monarchy should resist all attempts to turn it into a symbol of tradition to see off "woke" younger generations — and instead respond to the public appetite for a Crown that bridges divides.

“白金禧年”庆典被英国视为这一年中最重要的活动；可民众对王室的信任投票结果却表明，未来仍面临诸多挑战。因而，王室不应将这场庆典视作所谓传统的象征、去打击“觉醒的”年轻一代，而应借此机会满足公众对王室的诉求——弥合社会分歧。

It feels as if half a century of change has been packed into the volatile decade since the last jubilee summer — the diamond and, indeed, Olympic summer of 2012. Brexit, Covid and the Black Lives Matter protests all illuminated social divides.

2012 年的那个夏天，英国举行了女王的“钻禧庆典”，也举办了伦敦奥运会；上一个庆典以来的这短短十年，英国社会动荡不安，仿佛被塞进了半个世纪才会有的变化。英国脱欧、新冠疫情和“黑人命也是命”抗议活动，无不体现了国内的社会分化问题。

It is also a decade since British Future launched — to make our contribution to a more inclusive Britain. There has been a 30-point swing towards seeing immigration as positive rather than damaging for economic recovery — a view held by 53% to 23%, a direct reversal of the 24% to 55% finding in 2012.

而这十年，也是“英国未来”组织成立的十年，该组织致力于建设一个更加包容的英国社会。如今，认为移民对经济复苏有利而非有弊的观点出现了 30% 的波动：2012 年的调查显示，24% 的人认为移民对经济复苏有利，55% 的人认为有弊；如今，这一数据发生了大逆转，分别为 53% 和 23%。

There is more confidence about the positive contribution of ethnic diversity, too. Today, 72% say that having a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures is part of British culture, while 28% believe it can undermine British culture. There is consensus that climate change will be taken seriously, but scepticism that "levelling up" will have made a difference.***

同时，种族多样性方面进展良好，对此，人们也更加充满信心：如今，（英国国内）72% 的人表示丰富多样的背景及文化正是英国文化的一部分，28% 的人认为这会损害到英国文化。人们在重视气候变化的问题上达成一致，却也对（英国首相鲍里斯）的 levelling up 政策是否真的有成效持怀疑态度。

So Britain heads into the jubilee with a mixture of hopes and fears. Pessimism about economic pressures dominates public perceptions today. That the dramatic volatility of the last decade did not derail our society should be grounds for confidence that we can face this uncertain future with a resilience that can get us through.***

就这样，英国带着希望和忧虑走向了“白金禧年”庆典。如今，人们普遍对经济压力持悲观态度。不过，过去十年的剧烈动荡与不安都没能阻挠社会的前进；因此我们有理由相信，我们能凭借自身的复原力渡过难关，去应对这充满不确定的未来。

主编：思瑶、Lucky

品控：思瑶、Jodie

审核：Lucky

重点词汇

platinum

/ˈplæt.nəm/

n. 铂，铂金，白金

搭配短语：a platinum ring

jubilee

/ˈdʒuː.bə.liː/

n. 周年庆典，周年大庆

英文释义：a special anniversary of an event

文化补充：the platinum jubilee，“白金禧年”庆典，也叫“铂金禧年”庆典，指英国女王伊丽莎白二世登基 70 周年庆典。

1952 年 2 月，伊丽莎白二世被确定为英国女王；1963 年 6 月 2 日，正式举办加冕仪式。因此，王室也选择了这一天（6 月 2 日）来庆祝女王登基。

span

/spæn/

v. 消弭，解决；横跨；贯穿，持续

词性拓展：span（n. 跨度，范围）

例句：Her acting career spanned almost four decades.

例句：An old bridge spans the river just outside the town.

近义词：bridge（v. 弥合（差距），消除（分歧）

monarchy

/ˈmɑː.nɚ.ki/

n. 王室，皇室；君主制

文化补充：在表示“王室，皇室”之义时，该词常作 the monarchy。

see off

战胜，打败

近义词：defeat（v. 战胜，打败）

例句：They saw off the opponents.

appetite

/ˈæp.ə.taɪt/

n. 渴望，欲望；食欲，胃口

英文释义：a strong desire for something

搭配短语：the public appetite for gossip

bridge

/brɪdʒ/

v. 弥合（差距），消除（分歧）

词性拓展：bridge（n. 桥）

例句：We must bridge the gap between employees and management.

pack

/pæk/

v. 塞满，挤满；打包，装箱

例句：All the children's relatives and friends were packed into the tiny theatre.

搭配短语：to be packed like sardines（被挤得水泄不通）

例句：The people on the subway were packed together like sardines.

近义词：jam（v. 塞满，挤满）

例句：The stairs were jammed with students.

相关词汇：jam-packed（adj. 挤得满满当当的）

volatile

/ˈvɑː.lə.t̬əl/

adj. 动荡不定的，剧烈波动的；易挥发的

搭配短语：a volatile stock market

搭配短语：an increasingly volatile political situation

illuminate

/ɪˈluː.mə.neɪt/

v. 解释，阐明；照明，照亮

相关词汇：illumination（n. 照明；灯饰）

英文释义：to make something clearer to understand; light up

例句：This article illuminates the basic principles of economics.

文化补充：逆向构词法（back formation）：原词通过去掉后缀构成新词。如 editor（n. 编辑）--> edit（v. 编辑）；transaction（n. 交易）--> transact（v. 交易）

swing

/swɪŋ/

n.（意见、情绪的）明显改变

词性拓展：swing（v. 摇动，摆动）

例句：The rope bridge was swinging in the breeze.

例句：He experiences severe mood swings.

英文释义：a discernible change in opinion

例句：Voting showed a 10% swing to Labour.

undermine

/ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/

v. 逐步削弱，暗中破坏；破坏根基，使变得不稳

词根词缀：under-（表示“在……底下”）

相关词汇：mine（v. 挖矿，采矿）

例句：He's been trying to undermine her position by spreading rumours about her.

搭配短语：to undermine one's confidence

scepticism

/ˈskep.tɪ.sɪ.zəm/

n. 怀疑态度；怀疑主义

相关词汇：sceptical（adj. 持怀疑态度的）

搭配短语：to be sceptical about / of sth.

derail

/ˌdiːˈreɪl/

v. 阻碍，干扰；使（列车）脱轨，偏离轨道

词根词缀：de-（表示“除去……”）

相关词汇：rail（n. 轨道，铁路）

例句：The train derailed. / The train was derailed.

英文释义：to spoil or interrupt something

例句：The pandemic has derailed the progress on sustainable development goals.

ground

/ɡraʊnd/

n. 理由，根据

例句：He retired from the job on health grounds.

例句：You have no grounds for complaints.

resilience

/rɪˈzɪl.jən.s/

n. 适应力，复原力，韧性

相关词汇：resilient（adj. 有复原力的，有适应力的；有弹性的）

例句：She's a resilient girl.

例句：The company proved resilient during the recession.

get (sb.) through

（使某人）通过考验，渡过难关