万万没想到：震惊你的8个英国冷知识

 　　Special humor and good football, morning porridge and royalty¹ buzz² – may any facts about England surprise you? Well, just give me a try…

　　独特的幽默感、高超的足球技巧、早餐麦片、皇室情结……有哪些关于英国的小知识会让你震惊吗？且听我道来。

　　万万没想到：震惊你的8个英国冷知识

　　1. The Church of England considers the Pokemon character Mewtwo to be a good Christian³ role model.

　　1、英国国教会曾认为《口袋妖怪》中的超梦是个基督教徒的理想楷模。

　　The Nintendo character of Mewtwo first appeared in the video games Pokemon Red and Blue and its sequels. Some people consider him to be a cliche⁴ villain⁵, others believe it to be a deep and very interesting character.

　　任天堂游戏中的角色超梦首次登场是在电子游戏《口袋妖怪红蓝宝石》以及它的续集当中。有些人认为他是典型的反派，而另一些人则认为他是个深刻而有趣的角色。

　　2. There's a pair of twins from England that, after being separated at birth, ended up marrying each other.

　　2、英国有一对双胞胎出生时就被分开，而最后他们却和对方结婚了！

　　However when getting married they didn't realize their relative connection.

　　不过在结婚时他们并不清楚互相之间的血缘关系。

　　3.In England, a failed suicide⁶ attempt used to be illegal and was punishable by death.

　　3、曾经在英国，自杀失败是违法的，并要判处死刑。

　　People who attempted suicide were punished by hanging in Great Britain until 1961.

　　1961年前的大不列颠，企图自杀的人会受到绞刑的惩罚。

　　4. The price of entry to a zoo in 18th century England was a cat or a dog: they were fed to the lions.

　　4、18世纪，进入动物园的门票是一只猫或一条狗，用来喂狮子的。

　　In fact visitors had a choice, instead of sacrificing an animal they could pay a half-pence.

　　其实游客也有别的选择，不愿牺牲动物的话，付半个便士也可以。

　　5. Back to football. The England national amateur⁷ football team once beat France 15-0.

　　5、回到足球上。英格兰的一支业余足球队曾经以15比0的比分战胜了法国队。

　　It was the first international match that took place on 1 November 1906 in Paris.

　　这是第一场国家之间的比赛，于1906年10月1日在巴黎举行。

　　6. America spells grey as grAy and England spells gray as grEy.

　　6、“灰色”这个单词，美国人拼成“grAy”而英国人拼成“grEy”。

　　It's easy to keep in mind: simply associate "A" with America, "E" with England.

　　其实非常好记，美国（America）的“grAy”里有个“A”，英国（England）的“grEy”里有个“E”

　　7.French was the official language of England for about 300 years, from 1066 till 1362.

　　7、法语曾是英国的官方语言长达三百年之久，从1066年到1362年为止。

　　The influence of French in England started with the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William the Conqueror⁸.

　　法语对英国的影响可以追溯到1066年威廉一世的诺曼征服。

　　8.In 1811, 1/4 woman in England were named Mary.

　　8、在1811那一年，四分之一的英国女人都叫玛丽。

　　Can you imagine that the quarter of all British women had the same name then? Perhaps it was rather confusing in everyday life.

　　你能想象那个时候整个国家四分之一的人都拥有同一个名字吗？她们的生活会很困扰吧。

1 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

2 buzz   

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

• My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
• A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

5 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

6 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

7 amateur   

adj.业余的，非专业的；n.业余爱好者

参考例句：

• He made an amateur attempt to build a cupboard.他很外行地试做了一个碗柜。
• Although Tom's only an amateur he's a first-class player.虽然汤姆只是个业余爱好者，但却是一流的高手。

8 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。