冷风刮成表情帝 英女王冒严寒守岁

 　　The February weather looked a tad too bracing¹ for the Queen yesterday, who grimaced² as she ventured out in a north-westerly wind and temperatures just above freezing for a service at West Newton Parish Church in Norfolk.

　　2月份的天气还是有些过于凉爽了。上周日的温度刚刚超过零度，英国女王不顾西北寒风，来到诺福克郡西牛顿教区教堂守礼拜。寒冷的天气让女王不停地扮鬼脸。

　　Despite being wrapped up in a dusky pink coat and hat, a white scarf and black gloves, she could not help but shiver as she left the royal car flanked by her husband, Prince Philip.

　　虽然身穿暗粉色外套，还戴着暗粉色帽子、白色围巾及黑色手套，可女王由丈夫菲利普亲王陪伴从车上下来后步行的时候仍然止不住浑身打颤。

　　Yesterday’s engagements were the Queen’s last in Norfolk before she and the Duke of Edinburgh leave Sandringham and return to Buckingham Palace next week.

　　下周女王和爱丁堡公爵将离开桑德灵厄姆返回到白金汉宫，所以这次是女王在诺福克郡最后一次参加守礼拜活动。

　　The Queen seemed in lively spirits, opting³ to walk and talk to her subjects outside the church.

　　女王看起来精神很好，在教堂外边走边和她的臣民们讲话。

　　Fellow church-goers offered her bouquets⁴ of flowers, which a helpful royal aide held in her arms to give the monarch⁵ a free hand.

　　在教堂守礼拜的民众为女王献上一束束鲜花，女王的助手帮忙拿着以便女王腾出双手。

　　Meanwhile it has been revealed that Her Majesty⁶ has decided⁷ against introducing any new dogs to Buckingham Palace.

　　另外据透露，女王已经决定白金汉宫以后不再饲养新的宠物犬了。

　　She no longer replaces the pets as they die and, as she gets older, she is worried about tripping over the small dogs.

　　即使现在的宠物犬去世了，女王也不会再养了，原因是女王年龄越来越大，她担心会被新的小狗绊倒。

　　It comes after the Queen declined the offer of two puppies from her granddaughter Princess Beatrice.

　　之前，女王的孙女比阿特丽斯公主要给她两只小狗时，女王拒绝了

　　A senior courtier told the Daily Express: 'The Queen thought it was a lovely offer but she politely declined.

　　一位白金汉宫官员透露：“女王觉得这个主意很好，可还是礼貌地拒绝了。”

　　'The fact is she worries about too many dogs around her feet and the danger she will trip up and hurt herself badly. She is after all 88 and not getting any younger.

　　“事实是女王担心太多小狗在脚边跑来跑去可能会让她绊倒而受伤。女王已经88岁了，不再年轻了。”

　　'Her corgis are getting on a bit and move along at a sedate⁸ speed but a young dog would obviously be very lively and much more active.

　　“女王现在拥有的柯基犬年龄也逐渐变大，因此平时行动安静迟缓，可一只年龄较小的新宠物犬一定是活泼闹腾的。”

　　'Her main fear is that if she fell and broke her arm or even a leg she would not be able to perform her duties for many weeks if not months, and that would upset her greatly.'

　　“女王最大的担忧是万一她摔倒了伤着胳膊或腿，就可能在几周甚至几个月之内无法履行她的日常职责，这将会是让女王非常难过的事情。”

1 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

2 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

4 bouquets   

n.花束( bouquet的名词复数 )；（酒的）芳香

参考例句：

• The welcoming crowd waved their bouquets. 欢迎的群众摇动着花束。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• As the hero stepped off the platform, he was surrounded by several children with bouquets. 当英雄走下讲台时，已被几名手持花束的儿童围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

6 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

7 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。

8 sedate   

adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的

参考例句：

• After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后，医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
• We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。