美国国家公共电台 NPR--British young adults are hoping for change as King Charles brings forth a new era

British young adults are hoping for change as King Charles brings forth¹ a new era

Transcript²

British college students talks about their feelings about the royal family.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest at St. George's Chapel³ on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The official national period of mourning is over. And the focus now shifts to King Charles III and to what many younger Brits hope is a new era that brings change.

BEN BAKER⁴: Hi. My name's Ben Baker (ph). I'm from Surrey, which is in the home counties. And I'm 23 years old.

ATIYA CHAUDHRY: Hi. My name's Atiya Chaudhry (ph). I'm 22. And I'm from Hampshire.

MADDIE BAKER: Hi. I'm Maddie Baker (ph). And I'm from Kingston.

MARTIN: I talked with these three young people over the weekend. They all recently graduated with master's degrees from City, University of London, each of them looking for their first jobs - an eye toward their country's future and their own. So much of the city was shut down, even the parks. So the easiest place for us to meet was at our hotel near Buckingham Palace. They were all feeling reflective. But they were watching all the memorials and ceremonies with a certain emotional distance.

B BAKER: I think younger generations have a lot more apathy⁵ towards the monarchy⁶. I don't think that there's the same reverence⁷. And I personally think that, maybe in the next 20, 30 years, there's no doubt going to be other countries that the queen and now Charles is head of state of - there will be moves there to have a referendum on whether they should have a monarchy and that the queen and now king should be head of state.

MARTIN: Other members of the commonwealth⁸?

B BAKER: Commonwealth. It's a conversation that the U.K. can't avoid because the monarchy will probably be in retreat globally after the passing of the queen. And I think that that will start a conversation in the U.K. about whether we should be doing similar things.

MARTIN: Atiya, you have thoughts?

CHAUDHRY: I grew up in an immigrant household. And my family are from Bangladesh, which is a former British colony. So my perspective of the crown is very different. And I never, like, growing up, understood why we had, like, a royal family. I think what's kind of baffling is that a lot of people expect the same reaction regarding the queen's death from everyone. And they want everyone to kind of have that respect. So I don't know about the future of where I want the monarchy to go. But I definitely want them to take more accountability for the history, because I don't think you can separate that from the crown.

MARTIN: You're talking about the history of colonialism, the exploitation of resources, quelling⁹ rebellions, in particular in Bangladesh. Can you tell me why your family ended up leaving?

CHAUDHRY: I think - see, a lot of people don't realize is an impact of colonialism is that when the British were in these countries, they were kind of telling everyone, come to England - there's a better life there - because they wanted the labor¹⁰. So even now in Bangladesh, like, my relatives that are still there, they think coming to England will improve their life so much, that they'll come here and everything will suddenly become better. But then coming here as an immigrant is so hard. And they don't understand that because they still have this fantasy in their head that life is better here for them, but it's really not.

MARTIN: Maddie, how do you think about the long-term prospects¹¹ of the monarchy?

M BAKER: Well, actually, I'd say that I agree in a lot of ways with what has just been said. I think that there's so many historical things that need to be taken into account. I do have a kind of - a bit of a soft spot for the queen in particular. And the idea of the monarchy is not really the same to me as the queen. And so, yeah, that institution, I don't have that same attachment¹². So that slightly - it feels like I'm kind of going to a clean slate¹³. But I think that it's really important that they adjust to now. And for young people, I think that it's really important that they kind of have that olive branch and try and reach out, things like trying to improve relations with Prince Harry¹⁴ and Meghan. I think that would be a really good way to bring more young people on side and kind of make sure that they are, you know, adjusting into the century that we are in. We are not, you know, in the 19th century. It's not the British Empire. It's a different era. And I think they need to make sure that they're adjusting to that.

MARTIN: What are the issues that are most important to you? What's worrying you as a young person in the U.K. right now?

B BAKER: In general?

MARTIN: Yeah, in general.

B BAKER: I think climate change has to be near the top. I think most young people would say that. I think a lot of young people worry about not having the same opportunities to earn and get on the property ladder, as their parents and grandparents would have had. And I think a lot of younger people want a more inclusive, fair society, because I think a lot of people see that we're not going to have exactly the same opportunities as our parents, grandparents had it.

MARTIN: Atiya?

CHAUDHRY: I would say, right now, probably the cost of living crisis. I feel like there's this, like...

MARTIN: Inflation's really high?

CHAUDHRY: ...Crippling fear that makes me feel paralyzed. Like, how am I just going to live? I feel like a baby that's come out of an egg and, like, the sun's too bright. And that sun is, like, the cost of living. That's been hard to deal with.

MARTIN: Yeah. Maddie?

M BAKER: I would kind of agree about the economic and political situation at the moment. I think there's so many political challenges that are going on, with the war in Ukraine, energy prices, domestic issues. I think all of that coming together, it makes quite a bleak¹⁵ picture for a young person, you know? It's, like, really hard with job opportunities, finding full-time¹⁶ work for a lot of people. And I think it's - yeah - kind of hard to be hopeful at the moment with stuff like that.

MARTIN: Which means King Charles has work to do if he wants to win over a younger generation.

CHAUDHRY: Personally, for me, I don't think there's anything about him that kind of appeals to me as a person. I don't know. Does that sound too harsh?

MARTIN: No.

CHAUDHRY: I'm just like, I don't think he cares for someone like me, which means that I don't care for someone like him.

MARTIN: Atiya Chaudhry, Maddie Baker and Ben Baker - no relation - all recent graduates from the journalism¹⁷ master's program at City, University of London.

(SOUNDBITE OF TAKENOBU'S "FIGHT TO MAKE IT UP")

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

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 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

6 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。

7 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

8 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。

9 quelling   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Quelling her grief, she said 'Good-bye! 'again and went on. 她把悲痛压下去，二番说了一声再见，又转身走去了。 来自辞典例句
• The police succeeded in quelling the riot. 警方把暴乱镇压了下去。 来自辞典例句

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

13 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

14 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

15 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

16 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

17 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。