经济学人:厚葬理查德三世 大力出效益

 　　Burying Richard III

　　厚葬理查德三世

　　The hunch¹ paid off

　　大力出效益

　　Leicester does a better job of burying a Plantagenet king at the second attempt

　　二葬金雀花王朝国王，莱斯特市更胜一筹

　　Top this, Tudors

　　看看人家，都铎王朝

　　IT WAS reckoned to be Leicester's biggest turnout in decades—maybe since the footballer Gary Lineker was made a freeman of the unfashionable Midlands city in 1995. But the 35,000 people who lined its streets on March 22nd had not come to honour a living son of Leicester. They were honouring the bones of a medieval king, Richard III, dug up in a car park in 2012.

　　据预计，重新安葬理查德三世，会是莱切斯特市数十年来最大的集会，有可能是暨加里·莱因克尔在1995年结束足球生涯，选择在不知名的米德兰市做一个普通人这件事之后最大的集会。但3月22日街边成排的3.5万名民众，并不是来敬仰某个莱斯特市的大活人的。他们是来瞻仰中世纪国王—理查德三世的遗骨的，他的骨骸于2012年在一个停车场被挖出。

　　厚葬理查德三世.jpg

　　Wearing expressions of curiosity, respect, even grief, and in a few cases also doublet-and-hose, the mourners watched as the remains² of a king who had ruled England over half a millennium³ ago were transported in splendour beyond the city to Bosworth Field; which was perhaps the last place Richard would have wanted to revisit. That was where, in 1485, he became the last English king to die in battle, thus ending his Plantagenet dynasty and ushering⁴ in the Tudor age. After a further three days of pageantry and public prayer in Leicester Cathedral—which 20,000 visited to see Richard's coffin⁵ lying in state—the bones were reinterred there on March 26th. The ceremony was televised live and attended by bishops⁶, royals and celebrities⁷, including the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, a second cousin of Richard's, 16 times removed.

　　来悼念的人群或是脸上带着好奇、或是尊敬，甚至是悲痛的表情，还有一些人兼具这些情绪。送葬者们看着这位曾在五百多年前统治过英国的君主的遗骨，在恢弘显赫的仪式中，从城市之外运送到博士沃斯原野，这也许是理查德三世最想重返的地方。1485年，在博士沃斯原野，理查德三世在玫瑰战争中阵亡，成为金雀花王朝的“亡朝”国王，由此也迎来了都铎王朝时代。安葬盛典举行了三天多，有约2万名公众进入莱斯特大教堂，来瞻仰理查德三世的灵柩，他的遗骨于3月26日改葬于此。这场安葬仪式有电视直播，与会人物有主教，王室成员，名人等，包括演员本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇，据传是理查德三世的远方十六世侄。

　　The discovery of the bones was even weirder⁸. The dig was partly instigated⁹ by a group of enthusiasts¹⁰ who consider Richard, depicted¹¹ by Shakespeare as a nephew-killer and “poisonous bunch-backed toad”, to have been slandered¹² by Tudor propagandists. They point to his achievements, including making courts use English. They also pointed¹³, absurdly, of course, to a large letter “R”, randomly¹⁴ painted onto the tarmac of the car park, which was thought possibly to be the site of a Medieval abbey, in which Richard's corpse¹⁵ was thought possibly to have been buried. The king's skeleton—complete with a staggeringly telltale scoliosis—was discovered in the first exploratory trench¹⁶, right under the letter “R”. It was authenticated¹⁷ by DNA¹⁸ testing, through a link to one of Richard's living relatives, a Canadian furniture-maker, who then made the king's coffin.

　　遗骨的发现更不寻常。挖掘是由一群爱好者发起，他们认为理查德被莎士比亚描绘成了一个杀害外甥的凶手，以及“有毒的驼背蛤蟆”，这些话支持都铎王朝的人造谣中伤他的。他们指出了理查德三世的成就，包括要求法庭使用英语。他们还荒谬地指出，有一个大写字母R被胡乱写在停车场的沥青地面上，这里疑似一中世纪修道院的遗址，而理查德三世的遗骸有可能正是被埋葬于此。在第一条考古沟中发现，国王的骨骸非常完整，而且有非常严重的、辨认度极高的脊椎侧弯，就在字母“R”的下方。遗骨已通过国王还在世亲属的DNA检测证实，确实是理查德三世。这位亲属是一位加拿大家具制作商，后来还参与了国王灵柩的制作。

　　There followed a legal battle involving Leicester's authorities and another group of enthusiasts, The Plantagenet Alliance, who said the bones should be buried in Richard's ancestral city of York. “Over my dead body!” said the mayor of Leicester, Peter Soulsby, scenting¹⁹ a terrific tourism opportunity. Leicester does not have too many of those. One of its main historical attractions, hitherto, was a suit of clothes belonging to Daniel Lambert, an early-19th-century jailer, who was considered the fattest man in England and is still feted as “one of the city's most cherished icons”. Happily for Leicester, it got the nod. There is now hope that tourism will rekindle²⁰ interest in Bosworth Field and other nearby historic places—including the battlefield at Naseby, in Northamptonshire, which marks one of the main clashes of the English Civil War, or the ruined castle of Lady Jane Grey, who ruled for nine days in 1553. More important for Leicester City Council, it reckons Richard has already made ￡45m ($67m) forthe local economy—and is advertising²¹ city breaks to discover the “dynasty, death and dramatic discovery of the king's remains”, for ￡129 for two.

　　这引起了涉及莱斯特市政官员，及某爱好者组织的法律官司，这个组织名为金雀花王朝联盟，他们认为国王的遗骸应该被葬于理查德三世的祖籍约克市。莱斯特市长彼得·索尔斯嗅到这将是吸引游客千载难逢的机会，他说：“除非从我的尸体上踩过去。”莱斯特市并没有很多旅游资源。目前为止，主要历史景点之一还是丹尼尔·兰博托的一套衣服，他是十九世纪早期的一个狱卒，被认为是英格兰最胖的人，而且现在还被供成“城里最珍贵的形象之一”。莱斯特市愉快的得到了批准。现在就希望游客能够重燃对博士沃斯原野的旅游兴趣，北安普敦郡的博士沃斯原野记录了英国内战的主要战役，或是简·格雷夫人废弃的城堡，她登基成为英女王仅仅九天就遭处决。对莱斯特市议会更为重要的是，据估计，理查德已经为当地创造了4500万英镑（约合6700万美元）的经济效益，并且宣传人们出城去探索“王朝，死亡以及国王遗骨戏剧化的发现历程”，双人票129英镑。

　　1.want to 应该；想要

　　例句:The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.

　　你是什么样的人和你想成为什么样的之间的差距就是，你做了什么。

　　2.link to 与…连接，联系

　　例句:They have yet to break the link with the trade unions.

　　他们还必须断绝与工会组织的联系。

　　3.dig up 发现；掘起

　　例句:You would have to dig up the plant yourself.

　　你得自己把那株植物挖出来。

　　4.visit to 访问

　　例句:His visit to Paris was anything but a success.

　　他的巴黎之行根本不成功。

1 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

4 ushering   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They were right where the coach-caller was swinging open a coach-door and ushering in two ladies. "他们走到外面时，叫马车的服务员正打开车门，请两位小姐上车。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Immediately the two of them approached others, thanking them, ushering them out one by one. 他们俩马上走到其他人面前，向他们道谢，一个个送走了他们。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

7 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

8 weirder   

怪诞的( weird的比较级 )； 神秘而可怕的； 超然的； 古怪的

参考例句：

• Actually, things got a little weirder when the tow truck driver showed up. 事实上，在拖吊车司机出现后，事情的发展更加怪异。

9 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

11 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

12 slandered   

造谣中伤( slander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She slandered him behind his back. 她在背地里对他造谣中伤。
• He was basely slandered by his enemies. 他受到仇敌卑鄙的诋毁。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

15 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

16 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

17 authenticated   

v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效

参考例句：

• The letter has been authenticated by handwriting experts. 这封信已由笔迹专家证明是真的。
• The date of manufacture of the jewellery has not been authenticated. 这些珠宝的制造日期尚未经证实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

19 scenting   

vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soames, scenting the approach of a jest, closed up. 索来斯觉察出有点调侃的味儿来了，赶快把话打断。 来自辞典例句
• The pale woodbines and the dog-roses were scenting the hedgerows. 金银花和野蔷薇把道旁的树也薰香了。 来自辞典例句

20 rekindle   

v.使再振作；再点火

参考例句：

• Nothing could rekindle her extinct passion.她激情已逝,无从心回意转。
• Is there anything could rekindle his extinct passion?有什么事情可重燃他逝去的热情呢？

21 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。