3-31

31.

By pure chance the 2017 Invictus Games were going to be in Toronto. Meg’s backyard. Perfect

occasion¹, the Palace decided², for our first official public outing.

Meg was a bit nervous. Me too. But we had no choice. Has to be done, we said. We’ve hidden

from the world long enough. Also, this would be the most controlled, predictable environment we

could ever hope for.

Above all, once we did a public date, it might reduce the bounty³ on our heads among the paps,

which at that point was running at around a hundred thousand pounds.

We tried to make the whole thing as normal as possible. We watched wheelchair tennis from

the front row, focused on the game and the good cause, ignored the whir of cameras. We managed

to have fun, to crack a few jokes with some Kiwis sitting beside us, and the photos that appeared

the following day were sweet, though several in the British press slammed⁴ Meg for wearing ripped⁵

jeans. No one mentioned that everything she wore, down to the flats and button-down shirt, had

been pre-approved by the Palace.

And by “no one,” I mean not anyone at the Palace.

One statement, that week, in defense⁶ of Meg…it might’ve made a world of difference.

1 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

4 slammed   

v.砰地关上（门或窗）( slam的过去式和过去分词 )；用力一放；使劲一推；猛劲一摔

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car juddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，汽车在剧烈震动中停下来。
• He walked out of the room and slammed the door. 他走出房间，猛地关上了房门。

5 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。