美国国家公共电台 NPR--Crowds camped out to get a good spot to honor the queen and watch history

Crowds camped out to get a good spot to honor the queen and watch history

Transcript¹

Throngs² of people lined the streets of London to witness the spectacle surrounding Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Tens of thousands of people waited in line for many, many hours to see Elizabeth lying in state in Westminster Hall. NPR's Marc Rivers is here in London with us. And Marc went out to talk with some of them.

MARC RIVERS, BYLINE³: For anyone who's been to London, you know that Big Ben looks like it's snuggling right up next to Westminster Hall. That's where the queen was lying in state ahead of today's funeral. Over a chilly⁴ weekend, thousands of people huddled⁵ closely together as well. They lined up for miles from Westminster Hall across the river, all the way past Tower Bridge for a chance to see the queen's coffin⁶. Overlooking a sun-dappled Thames, I spoke⁷ with Teresa Bhatti (ph). Her wait was somewhere from 10 to 14 hours. But she didn't mind.

TERESA BHATTI: It's absolutely fantastic.

RIVERS: Bhatti drove here from west Sussex in southeast England to stand in the queue. That's what long lines are called here. She told me she was making the most of meeting people from all over the country.

BHATTI: Oh, I'll tell you, I've made friends in this queue. We've exchanged numbers. We've shared food. So it's been great. These 10 hours have just flown by. We've enjoyed every single second of it.

RIVERS: That about summed up the mood in the queue - reflective, sure, but also light, almost festive⁸. Stephen Hanson (ph), of the English Civil War Society, was a crowd favorite due to his festive dress.

Describe to me what you're wearing.

STEPHEN HANSON: What I am wearing is typical for the 17th century, a royalist.

RIVERS: A long, black coat with blooming pantaloons - large, lacey white collar and shirt cuffs⁹ and a broad, feathered hat.

HANSON: I am wearing this today because as the English Civil War Society, we commemorate¹⁰ and we educate. And what we do is commemorate historical events. And today is truly an historical event.

RIVERS: Hanson said that sharing this once-in-a-generation slice of history was helping¹¹ keep spirits up among his fellow queuers.

HANSON: This is quite possibly the queen's legacy¹². Look at this queue. All these people, she's brought us together. It's been a wonderful atmosphere. You've made - I've made a lot of friends along the way. And we're very buoyant. And we look after each other and keep each other going.

RIVERS: Although, he did acknowledge that the wait time had taken its toll¹³, too.

HANSON: It's now really starting to hurt. The lactic¹⁴ acid is really kicking in (laughter). We've walked over 22,000 steps, maybe.

RIVERS: Alan Fox-Hill (ph) was feeling the effects of a very early rise.

ALAN FOX-HILL: I mean, I guess we have been up since 4 o'clock this morning. So we have been in the queues for, by the time we get to see her, probably 14, 15 hours. But that's nothing compared to what she's actually done for the country.

RIVERS: Heather Labanya (ph) was using the time to reflect on English history. Her mother is from Zambia, a former British colony. And her dad is from Scotland.

HEATHER LABANYA: We were always very aware of what was going on from the colonial past. So I think I've always felt able to hold the understanding of all these composite parts. But the way my parents also raised me was to hold that rich history that we do have as a family, as a culture, with a forward-looking at, how can we rebuild a future that includes everybody?

RIVERS: Britain's monarchic¹⁵ future now rests with King Charles III. His coronation will come next year. Teresa Bhatti hopes that he's learned from his mother.

BHATTI: He's had a lot of years to actually train for the job, but, you know, a hard act to follow.

RIVERS: I'll admit I didn't wait 14 hours to get to Westminster Hall myself. But I did talk to a couple of other queuers on the way out. Debbie Harvey (ph), whose family is from Southampton, says she was overcome with emotion when she saw the queen's coffin.

DEBBIE HARVEY: Surprisingly overwhelming, I didn't - I'm really shocked at how emotional I felt. I just didn't expect that, too, you know? I don't know if it's because you've been waiting so long for it to happen. Or maybe because you've seen it so much on media. And then when you actually kind of see it in real life, it's just surreal almost.

RIVERS: It was the same for Keith Simpson (ph) from Yorkshire.

KEITH SIMPSON: I'm quite speechless. Just coming out, it was just - the emotion hits you. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do - got to the middle of the coffin and then just bowed my head. And I just said, thank you.

RIVERS: After so many hours waiting in line and such profound emotions, how to wrap up this day? Debbie Harvey and her family didn't have to think twice.

HARVEY: We're going to go to have a drink (laughter).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah, we are, definitely - definitely going to have a drink.

RIVERS: I think they earned it.

Marc Rivers, NPR News, London.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

5 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

6 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

9 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

10 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 lactic   

adj.乳汁的

参考例句：

• Now they wear rubber fingers treated with lactic acid.现在他们带上了用乳酸处理过的橡皮指套。
• Lactic acid is an important organic acid of industrial importance.乳酸是一种具有重要工业价值的有机酸。

15 monarchic   

国王的，君主政体的

参考例句：

• Both parties say they would have preferred to keep monarchic rule. 两个党都说他们会选择保留君主体制。
• But in the trouble of republican government, republicanism encountered the threat of monarchic thought. 但是，在民初共和制的困境下，思想界的君主立宪思潮发起了两次企图恢复君主制的复辟运动，共和主义的思想一度受到威胁。