时代周刊:梅根的意义(3)

The latest census¹ data revealed that people who are—like Markle—of mixed heritage

最新的人口普查数据显示，和马克尔一样的混血人群

are the fastest-growing demographic group, with the number al-most doubling between 2001 and 2011.

的数量在2001年至2011年间几乎翻了一番，成为了增长最快的人口群体。

Which brings us to the wedding.

这就又回到了婚礼的问题上。

The historian Eric Hobsbawm, analyzing² the "secular³ magic of monarchy⁴,"

历史学家埃里克·霍布斯鲍姆分析了“王室的世俗魔力”之后认为，

suggested that while it's tempting⁵ to ask what role a royal wedding plays in a time of social change,

虽然人们很想问皇室婚礼在社会变革时期能有什么作用，

it is often because of that change that the weddings have such significance.

然而，正是由于那些变化，婚礼才显得如此重要。

It is the perfect stage for a drama that brings together Britain's love affair with its tradition,

它发挥了一个完美的舞台的作用，将哈利王子代表的英国对传统的情愫

in the figure of Prince Harry⁶, and the symbol of its future, in the character of a brown woman.

与棕色皮肤的新娘梅根象征的英国的未来撮合到了一起。

Rather than reject the monarchy,

这对夫妇非但没有拒绝王室，

the couple have participated in its greatest contemporary act of renewal⁷,

还参与了这一王室当代最盛大的复兴活动，

by marrying with a huge amount of pomp and circumstance in a ritual seen by millions.

在数百万人的亲眼见证下，举行了盛大的婚礼。

To be biracial—or mixed race, as it is more commonly known in the U.K.

混血儿，或者说混合种族的身份，后一种说法在英国更为常见，

—was not always a talked-about phenomenon.

在英国并非人们经常会谈论的现象。

Growing up in Britain in the 1980s and '90s with, like Markle,

作为上世纪八九十年代在英国长大，而且和马克尔一样，

a mother of African heritage, I was acutely aware of my visible otherness,

有一位有非洲血统的母亲的我，就敏锐地意识到了自己明显和他人不一样，

especially in a society that is highly racialized but also deeply uncomfortable talking about race.

在这个高度种族化，谈论种族都会让人深感不安的社会里尤其如此。

Britain is a cluster of islands populated by immigration.

英国本身就是一个由移民居住的群岛组成的国家。

But the diaspora stretches back so many thousands of years that few Brits imagine it this way.

但很少有英国人这么认为，因为那段大移居的历史发生在遥远的几千年前。

Most are unaware⁸ that groups now considered indigenous⁹, like the Angles and Saxons,

大多数人都不知道，在公元后的第一个千年间，现在被认为是英国土著的人群，

were themselves migrants in the first millennium¹⁰ A.D.

比如盎格鲁人和撒克逊人，自己也是移民。

Their presence is predated by people of color,

他们出现之前，这片土地上就已经有有色人种生活了，

including Africans who have lived in Britain since at least the Roman times.

非洲人在英国的历史至少可以追溯到罗马时代。

Many contemporary black British people trace their family history to the British Empire,

当下一些黑人的家族史也可以追溯到大英帝国时期，

and especially the period of mass immigration shortly after World War II.

尤其是二战后不久的大规模移民时期。

The changing face of Britain's communities during the 20th century

20世纪英国社会面貌的变化

was an integral part of its postwar renewal,

是英国战后重建不可分割的内容，

and yet it created a hostile backlash that still reverberates¹¹ today.

然而，这一变化引发的敌意至今仍在影响着我们的社会。

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

3 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

4 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。

5 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

6 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。

7 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

8 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

10 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。

11 reverberates   

回响，回荡( reverberate的第三人称单数 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• His voice reverberates from the high ceiling. 他的声音自天花板顶处反射回来。
• No single phrase of his reverberates or penetrates as so many of La Bruyere's do. 他没有一个句子能象拉布吕耶尔的许多句子那样余音回荡，入木三分。