英语听力精选进阶版 7079

Background: 英国政府一直在辩论有关庆祝英国民族意识日这一提议，最初想法是一个公假日，后来则是作为一个节日。不过，英国公众对这一提议始终反映平平。

Gordon Brown has made it his mission 使命 to foster 扶植 "Britishness". He's long argued that a greater sense of national identity 民族特征 would help fight Al Qaeda-inspired extremism 极端主义 and keep the different parts of the United Kingdom bonded¹ together 紧密联系在一起.

So even before he became Prime Minister, Mr Brown had suggested the idea of a patriotic² 爱国的 celebration similar to America's Independence Day or Bastille Day in France.

But the British version of these national holidays never really got off the ground 实施. Many critics 批评人士 ridiculed³ 嘲讽 the idea - arguing that the British didn't actually like to be overtly⁴ 公然的/公开表现出来的 patriotic.

It must be said, voters 选民 might have been a bit more excited by the prospect⁵ 前景 if it had meant an extra day off work. But it became apparent ministers 政府大臣部长们 were just thinking about turning an existing public holiday 公共假日 into a "Great British Weekend". And embarrassingly 令人尴尬地 the public holiday they had in mind 心里想的 wasn't actually a holiday at all in Scotland.

So now the idea of a Britishness day has been quietly dropped 放弃... and the government's gone back to thinking of other ways to encourage a bit of national pride.

GLOSSARY⁶ 词汇表

mission 使命

foster 扶植

national identity 民族特征

extremism 极端主义

bonded together 紧密联系在一起

patriotic 爱国的

got off the ground 实施

critics 批评人士

ridiculed 嘲讽

overtly 公开的/公然的

voters 选民

prospect 前景

ministers 大臣部长们

public holiday 公共假日

embarrassingly 令人尴尬的

had in mind 心里想的

dropped 放弃

Questions and Answers

1. True or false: Gordon Brown has only been interested in celebrating Britishness for a very short time.

False – He has long argued, he has argued for a long time, that a greater sense of national identity would help some of Britain’s problems.

2. What's the name of France’s national holiday?

France’s national holiday is called Bastille Day.

3. The public might have been more excited about the idea of a national celebration if it had meant what?

The public might have been more excited about the idea of a national celebration if it had meant an extra day off.

4. What has happened to the idea of a Britishness Day?

The idea of a Britishness Day has been dropped, abandoned.

1 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

2 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

3 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。