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78.

An Afghanistan war service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and then a reception at the Guildhall hosted bythe City of London Corporation, and then the launch of Walking With The Wounded’s Walk OfBritain, and then a visit to England’s rugby team, and then watching them practice for a matchagainst France, and then following them to Twickenham and cheering them on, and then amemorial for the Olympian Richard Meade, the most successful equestrian¹ in British history, andthen a trip with Pa to Turkey to attend ceremonies marking the hundredth anniversary of Gallipoli,and then a meeting with descendants of the men who fought in that epic² battle, and then back toLondon to hand out medals to runners at the London Marathon.

That was the start of my 2015.

Just the highlights.

The papers were awash with stories about Willy being lazy, and the press had taken to callinghim “Work-shy Wills,” which was obscene, grossly unfair, because he was busy having childrenand raising a family. (Kate was pregnant again.) Also, he was still beholden to Pa, who controlledthe purse strings³. He did as much as Pa wanted him to do, and sometimes that wasn’t much,because Pa and Camilla didn’t want Willy and Kate getting loads of publicity⁴. Pa and Camilladidn’t like Willy and Kate drawing attention away from them or their causes. They’d openlyscolded Willy about it many times.

Case in point: Pa’s press officer berated⁵ Willy’s team when Kate was scheduled to visit atennis club on the same day Pa was doing an engagement. Told that it was too late to cancel thevisit, Pa’s press officer warned: Just make sure the Duchess doesn’t hold a tennis racquet in any ofthe photos!

Such a winning, fetching photo would undoubtedly⁶ wipe Pa and Camilla off the front pages.

And that, in the end, couldn’t be tolerated.

Willy told me that both he and Kate felt trapped, and unfairly persecuted⁷, by the press and byPa and Camilla, so I felt some need to carry the banner for all three of us in 2015. But selfishly, Ialso didn’t want the press coming for me. To be called lazy? I shuddered⁸. I never wanted to seethat word attached to my name. The press had called me stupid for most of my life, and naughty,and racist⁹, but if they dared to call me lazy…I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t go down to FleetStreet and start pulling people out from behind their desks.

I didn’t understand until months later that there were even more reasons why the press wasgunning for Willy. First, he’d got them all worked up by ceasing to play their game, denying themunfettered access to his family. He’d refused several times to trot¹⁰ Kate out like a prized racehorse,and that was considered a bridge too far.

Then he’d had the temerity¹¹ to go out and give a vaguely¹² anti-Brexit speech, which reallygalled them. Brexit was their bread and butter. How dare he suggest it was bullshit.

 

1 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

5 berated   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. 玛丽昂严厉斥责乔吵吵闹闹。 来自辞典例句
• It berated Mussolini for selling out to Berlin. 它严厉谴责了墨索里尼背叛、投靠柏林的行径。 来自辞典例句

6 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

7 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

8 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

10 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

11 temerity   

n.鲁莽，冒失

参考例句：

• He had the temerity to ask for higher wages after only a day's work.只工作了一天，他就蛮不讲理地要求增加工资。
• Tins took some temerity,but it was fruitless.这件事做得有点莽撞，但结果还是无用。

12 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。