Westminster Abbey to Open More Space to Visitors

 

Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous tourist sites in Britain’s capital, London. Now, officials have decided¹ to open another area of the building to help teach its history.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee² Galleries are about 16 meters above the floor of the church, which is used for coronations, marriage ceremonies and funerals of Britain’s royal family. The abbey also holds the remains³ of many famous Britons.

More than 300 objects will be put on display in the newly opened area. They will be grouped by four guiding ideas - “Building Westminster Abbey,” “Worship and Daily Life,” “Westminster Abbey and the Monarchy” and “The Abbey and National Memory.”

Westminster Abbey official Vanessa Simeoni told the Reuters news agency, “It’s the first time that we’ve ever, in the history of the abbey, had the public up here.”

She added that many of the objects have never been displayed to the public before. Among them will be Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage document.

Visitors will be able to look down into the abbey from the Galleries. They can also look outside at the nearby Houses of Parliament.

The opening of the new area is next Monday, June 11.

I’m Caty Weaver⁴.

Words in This Story

tourist – n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure?

church – n. a building that is used for Christian⁵ religious services?

coronation – n. a ceremony in which a crown is placed on the head of a new king or queen?

royal - adj. of or relating to a king or queen

1 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。

2 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

5 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。