新西兰英语 642 Tongan wedding

 　　A royal wedding was held today in Tonga. The crown¹ prince, Prince Tuku’aho, is the oldest son of the king. He married his second cousin, Princess Sinaitakala, who is a teacher. Queen Salote was the great-grandmother of both the bride and groom². This was an arranged³ marriage because one day he will be king and his wife must be from the royal family so that their children have royal blood. There were only nine young single women in the royal family. However, couple seemed very happy today. The 2,500 guests looked very happy too. Hundreds of local people came to watch.

　　The wedding was postponed⁴ from May until today because it was too soon after the death of the previous king. Listen to March 26th 2012 to hear about the king’s unexpected⁵ death.

　　The cost of the wedding was a worry for the government because Tonga has financial problems. New Zealand gives Tonga $41m in aid each year. Usually the government pays for a royal wedding; however, the king has his own money and he paid for it this time. Today is a national holiday. Celebrations⁶ will continue until Sunday.

　　Questions

　　?Is there a biological risk for the children of second cousins?

　　?Do you think arranged marriages are usually more successful than love marriages? Give reasons for your answer.

　　?Who should pay for a royal wedding?

1 crown   

n.王冠，王权，顶点；v.使...成王，加冕，居...之顶

参考例句：

• He won the crown in 1973.他荣获1973年冠军称号。
• They wanted to crown Caesar king.他们想立凯撒为王。

2 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

3 arranged   

adj.安排的v.安排，准备( arrange的过去式和过去分词 )；把…（系统地）分类；整理；改编（剧本等）

参考例句：

• The party was arranged quickly. 聚会很快就安排好了。
• Chairs in rows are not as conducive to discussion as chairs arranged in a circle. 椅子成排摆放不如成圈摆放便于讨论。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

6 celebrations   

n.庆祝( celebration的名词复数 )；庆祝会（仪式）

参考例句：

• The mayor was there to dignify the celebrations. 市长的光临为庆祝活动增辉。
• Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations 维多利亚女王登基50周年庆典