VOA常速英语2008年-Prince Harry Says He Wants to Return to Afghani

By Tom Rivers
London
02 March 2008

Speaking for the first time since flying back to Britain, Prince Harry¹ says he is no hero. The third in line to the throne, known in the army as Lieutenant² Windsor, was 10 weeks into a three-month deployment³ in turbulent Helmand Province when news about his duty was leaked on the Internet. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London has the latest.

Looking a bit tired and in a slightly somber⁴ mood, Prince Harry fielded a few questions in the terminal building of Brize Norton air force base, north of London. He rejected British tabloid⁵ coverage⁶ of him that widely labels him a returning hero.

"I would not say I am the hero at all. I am no more hero than anybody else. I mean, everyone, if you think about it there are thousands and thousands of troops out there. There are guys who, you know, two injured guys who came back on the plane with us who were essentially⁷ comatose⁸ throughout the whole way. One who had lost two limbs, a left arm and a right leg and another guy who was basically saved by his mate's body being in the way and took shrapnel to the neck. Both out cold throughout the whole of the flight, and you know, those are the heroes," he said.

It was widely known by the British media that Harry was serving in southern Afghanistan in Helmand Province. And a news blackout agreement between media organizations and the British Defense⁹ Ministry¹⁰ held for 10 weeks, but rapidly unraveled when the U.S.-based Drudge¹¹ Report Internet site broke the story.

Harry says it has left him disappointed.

"I thought I could sit through to the end and come back with sort of our guys and the colonel himself. But you know, I am back here now and I suppose, I think deep down inside it would be quite nice looking forward having a bath. So, I think once I have had a bath, I think it is nice to be back early. But no, I would like to still be out there with the guys," he added.

Second Lieutenant Windsor will discuss various options once his commanding officer returns from Afghanistan. Although it may not happen, Harry would like to go back to Afghanistan in another front line position and he says he hopes his brother can see some overseas duty as well.

"I know there are a lot of people who are thinking, well, you have done it once now, you have got the medal, why would you ever want to go back again? Well, as you know, if you spoke¹² to a lot of the other guys who came off the plane with me, there are plenty of people willing to go back again just to serve their country and do their bit," he added.

For the next month, it will be rest and relaxation¹³ for Harry, then it will be back to army life for the young prince. Just what he will do and where is anyone's guess.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

5 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 comatose   

adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的

参考例句：

• Those in extreme fear can be put into a comatose type state.那些极端恐惧的人可能会被安放进一种昏迷状态。
• The doctors revived the comatose man.这个医生使这个昏睡的苏醒了。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。