VOA慢速英语2016 瀑布变紫色 纪念Prince还是女王?

AS IT IS 2016-04-23 For Prince or Queen Elizabeth? Niagara Falls Turns Purple 瀑布变紫色 纪念Prince还是女王?

This is What’s Trending Today.

这里是今日流行趋势节目。

The death of music superstar Prince shocked and saddened the world yesterday. In his honor, many famous monuments turned purple.  The color was chosen in memory of his hit song “Purple Rain.”

音乐超级巨星Prince昨日去世，引起全世界的震惊和悲痛。为了纪念他，许多名胜古迹都改为紫色调。紫色是为了纪念他的畅销歌曲《紫雨》。

Yesterday, even Niagara Falls - in Canada - turned purple. People on social media were impressed that such huge waterfalls could turn purple in such short notice.

昨日，加拿大尼亚加拉瀑布也变成紫色。如此大的瀑布能够在如此短的时间内变成紫色，社交媒体的人们都感到印象深刻。

But, the purple color was not, in fact, meant to honor Prince. The agency that manages Niagara Falls had been planning to make the falls purple on April 21 in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. Purple is the color of royalty¹. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth² of Nations.

但是，实际上，紫色并非是为了纪念Prince。尼亚加拉瀑布管理机构原本计划让瀑布在4月21日变成紫色，庆祝女王伊丽莎白二世90岁生辰。紫色是皇室的颜色。加拿大也是英联邦的成员国。

The Canadian travel site Canoe.com wrote on Twitter: “Niagara Falls goes purple for the Queen’s birthday -- and, inadvertently, for Prince.”

加拿大旅游网站Canoe.com在推特上写道：“尼亚加拉瀑布变成紫色是为了庆祝女王生日，不经意间也悼念了Prince的去世。”

Another Canadian landmark³, Toronto's CN Tower, also glowed purple Thursday night. That, too, was for the Queen’s birthday. A Toronto politician tweeted the reason:

加拿大另一个地标建筑，多伦多国家电视塔也在周四晚上变成紫色。当然，也是为了庆祝女王生辰。一位多伦多政客发表推文解释了原因：

The confusion has made “Niagara Falls” a trending topic on social media. And, even though it is now clear that officials planned to make the falls purple to honor the Queen’s birthday, many people are choosing to believe it was also in memory of Prince.

迷惑导致尼亚加拉瀑布在社交媒体上成为热门话题。尽管现在已经弄清楚，官员们计划让瀑布变成紫色是为了庆祝女王生日，然而许多人仍然选择相信也是为了悼念Prince。

Words in This Story

inadvertently - adv. not planned or intended

glow - v. to shine with a steady light

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 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。

3 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。