新奇事件簿 日本迎新皇

A Japanese emperor has abdicated¹ for the first time in more than 200 years. Emperor Akihito stepped down from the Chrysanthemum² Throne on April 30 after 30 years of being the Japanese monarch³. He made way for his son Crown Prince Naruhito to become the new emperor. Akihito decided⁴ to step down because of his health. At the age of 85, he has been visibly slowing down for the past few years. He has also had a couple of health scares. He believes his son is now better able to carry out the duties of emperor. Emperor Akihito will be remembered for using a personal touch to bring his people together after many national disasters. He continually visited people after earthquakes, tsunami⁵ and other tragedies.

日本天皇200多年来首次退位。日本明仁天皇于4月30日退位，结束了30年的天皇生涯。他为他的儿子皇太子德仁让路，让他成为新皇。由于健康原因，明仁天皇决定退位。现年85岁的他在过去几年明显放满了脚步。他也出现过几次健康危机。他相信他的儿子现在能够更好地履行天皇的职责。在多次国家灾难后，明仁天皇用个人品质将他的人民团结在一起，他将因此而被铭记。在地震、海啸和其他悲剧性灾难后，他经常地去看望大家。

The new Emperor Naruhito became the 126th emperor to ascend⁶ the throne of the world's oldest monarchy⁷. Naruhito, 59, spent two years studying at Oxford⁸ University. His wife, the new Empress Masako, studied at Harvard University and worked as a diplomat⁹. A traditional ceremony took place as part of the historic handover. In the ceremony, Naruhito received a sacred sword, a jewel and official seals that date back thousands of years. The ceremony took place in the middle of a ten-day Japanese holiday. The traditional Golden Week holiday was extended to allow people to celebrate the new emperor. Millions of Japanese were glued to their TVs and smartphones watching the historic event.

新皇德仁天皇成为这个世界上最古老君主政体的第126位皇帝。现年59岁的德仁在牛津大学学习了两年。他的妻子，新皇后雅子曾在哈佛大学学习，曾当过外交官。作为历史性交接的一部分，他们举行了传统仪式。在仪式上，德仁收到了一把圣剑，一颗宝石和传承千年的官方印章。仪式在日本为期十天的假期中举行。传统的黄金周被延长，以让人们庆祝新皇帝。数百万日本人盯着电视和智能手机观看这一历史性事件。

1 abdicated   

放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位

参考例句：

• He abdicated in favour of his son. 他把王位让给了儿子。
• King Edward Ⅷ abdicated in 1936 to marry a commoner. 国王爱德华八世于1936年退位与一个平民结婚。

2 chrysanthemum   

n.菊，菊花

参考例句：

• Each mourner wore a black armband and a white paper chrysanthemum.每个吊唁的人都佩带着黑纱和一朵白纸菊花。
• There are many species of chrysanthemum.菊花品种很多。

3 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

4 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。

5 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

6 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

7 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。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。