英语悠选脱口秀 第69期:英联邦

 　　讲解

　　Today's key word is Commonwealth¹

　　Commonwealth 英联邦

　　The Commonwealth is an organization consisting of（组成） the United Kingdom and most of the countries that were previously² under its rule.

　　Here is the definition from the official website of The British Monarchy³: The Commonwealth is a voluntary (自愿的) association of 53 independent（独立的） countries, almost all of whichwere formerly⁴ under British rule. 简单的说，英联邦就是当年日不落帝国的殖民地们一起组成的一个组织。英国女王Queen Elizabeth II 就是这个组织的带头大姐。

　　话说，当年腐国不腐的时候还是相当腻害滴。Last week, 女王召集各位小弟开了一个会。但就在这团结的大会，胜利的大会上，加拿大新任帅哥总理竟然调戏了女王奶奶。他是这样说的"On that cool day in April, seated next to you, was my father," 在那个寒冷的四月，曾坐在你身边的是我的father…He “was your fourth Canadian prime minister. I am your twelfth. 他是你在位期间的第四任加拿大总理，而我！！！是第12个。"In 1947, you famously vowed（宣誓） that your whole life would be devoted⁶ to（奉献给） the service of the Commonwealth. You more than honored （光荣）your vow⁵."1947年的时候，你说你要为英联邦奉献终身。60多年过去了，我才发现，你是认真的。我想说，帅哥总理哥哥，你当女王傻啊，你这摆明了说人家老嘛！超长待机这件事儿，是你随随便便就能提的吗？女王这90多年是白当领导的吗？

　　Queen Elizabeth II 在twitter上@this Canadian Prime Minister. She said: "Thank you, @JustinTrudeau, for making me feel so old!"他赶忙发了一条twit，赶快开始找补~“On the contrary, you are forever young. I was honored to toast your lifetime of service tonight.”之后女王并未回复。

　　See you next time!

 

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 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。

4 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

5 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。