美国国家公共电台 NPR--Festivalgoers express opinions about Queen Elizabeth's passing and the monarchy

Festivalgoers express opinions about Queen Elizabeth's passing and the monarchy¹

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin asks some of the people attending an arts and music festival over the weekend in the London neighborhood of Pekham to reflect on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Rachel Martin is in London, and yesterday she went to a neighborhood festival in the southeast of the city to take in people's reflections about the queen's passing.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're at an arts and music festival in the neighborhood of Peckham. And it's pretty crowded. There are all kinds of families walking around, people balancing coffees while pushing their strollers, lots of pop-up shops. I'm looking at a couple of very cool, colorful murals. And we're going to go chat with some people to see how they're marking this moment of the queen's passing, what it means to them, if anything.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ANJELO DISONS: (Singing) If I could see this love...

MARTIN: A guy named Anjelo Disons is performing onstage. He's wearing a black T-shirt and a gold pendant in the shape of Africa. When I caught up with him, I asked how he and his family were feeling about the queen's passing.

DISONS: I'm second generation, so my mom came over. She was from Uganda. And Uganda is part of the commonwealth³. And what she meant - like, how she unified⁴ a lot of countries. However, to me personally, I'd be telling fibs if I'm saying it meant - she meant the most to me (laughter). Do you know what I mean?

MARTIN: Anjelo's friend is one of the event organizers. His green beanie covers his dreadlocks. And he's bouncing his baby daughter in his arms. He didn't want to give his name because he is nervous to say this.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's not my queen, yo. It's the queen. It's not my queen.

MARTIN: I ran into a group of young women taking in the scene. And when I asked one of them, Nancy (ph), if she thought about lining⁵ up to see the queen's coffin⁶, she laughed out loud.

NANCY: Like, I was getting my hair cut by my hairdresser. And she was like, yeah, I might go and queue. And I was like, what the hell (laughter)?

KESTA: Yeah.

MARTIN: Her friend, Kesta (ph), tells me that the monarchy is an outdated⁷ institution.

KESTA: I think the symbol of what she represents, I think, is sad in itself and has caused a lot of harm to other people.

MARTIN: We walk away from the stage, down an alley⁸ full of hip⁹ boutiques. And we find Sajida Kahn (ph). She's wearing a traditional shalwar kameez. She adjusts her light-brown headscarf over her gray hair.

What are your reflections about the queen's passing?

SAJIDA KAHN: It is quite sad because I have so much love and respect for her. I loved the way she lived her life.

MARTIN: Sajida says she's lived in London for 38 years. She's originally from Pakistan. I ask if she connects the queen to the darker parts of Britain's colonial past.

KAHN: I don't see her in this light, that she was a cruel person or whatever has happened in the past or happening even now. I don't think she has anything to do with it. That is my understanding.

MARTIN: Sajida's adult daughter is standing¹⁰ in the doorway¹¹ of a shop. She doesn't want to be interviewed, but she makes it clear she does not share her mother's views of the queen. Now, this is just one afternoon in one neighborhood in London. But of those we talked to, most felt like Anjelo, the musician we heard from earlier.

DISONS: It's time for a new age. It's time for new, progressive thinking. And I think this is the perfect opportunity. And she was loved by many. But it means that, OK, she's now sadly passed away. But can certain things pass away with her?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) I wish I knew...

MARTIN: And these voices, these perspectives, represent the Great Britain King Charles now inherits.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) Oh, you.

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 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。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

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 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

8 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

9 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。