美国国家公共电台 NPR--On the day of her funeral, we remember Queen Elizabeth's coronation

On the day of her funeral, we remember Queen Elizabeth's coronation

Transcript¹

Memories of Queen Elizabeth's coronation on June 2, 1953, from some people in Britain old enough to remember it. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to NPR's Frank Langfitt and author Claudia Joseph.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We are live in London, where thousands of mourners have gathered. In just moments, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will begin, and we will take you inside the famed Westminster Abbey. I'm joined this morning by NPR's London correspondent Frank LANGFITT, also Claudia Joseph, an author and journalist. Frank, I'm going to start with you. What can we expect from the events today?

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE²: Well, I think you're going to see sort of the British royalty³ and the monarchy⁵ sort of at its best in terms of pageantry. I mean, right now we have the queen's coffin⁶, which has been lying in state, in Parliament, in Westminster Hall for a number of days. Tens of thousands of people have come to see it. And it is now being borne on a gun carriage by 142 naval⁷ officers making their way over to Westminster Abbey and, of course, the heart of London. This is a place that many Americans be very familiar with - Big Ben, No. 10 Downing Street and, of course, the Abbey.

MARTIN: Claudia, put this moment into perspective. It seems like almost such an insufficient⁸ question to ask you to do that because 70 years on the throne - the U.K. has never gone through this before.

CLAUDIA JOSEPH: Well, it's extraordinary, isn't it? I mean, we've had lengthy⁹ reigns¹⁰ before. We've had ceremonial funerals, state funerals. But if you combine the fact that it's a state funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch⁴, the ceremony involved and, I think, the fact that we're seeing the queen's children in a new light - we live in a very different era. They're all very much wearing their hearts on their sleeves. They're going through the ceremonial duties, but we're seeing tears, their eyes are rimmed¹¹ in red. Prince Charles looks grief stricken, as does Prince Harry¹², the Duke of Sussex. There's a lot of warmth towards them, I think, because they are so obviously grieving.

MARTIN: And King Charles, of course, gave that national address after his mother passed. And it was noted¹³ that he was emotional as he introduced himself as king.

JOSEPH: Well, I noticed that all the queen's children have been making very personal statements. They're not just talking about her sense of duty and her religion, but they're talking about what she meant to them and as are grandchildren.

MARTIN: We've met so many people who are reflecting on their own personal connection to the queen, and it cuts across generations. We've talked with elderly people but also younger generations of Brits who feel a connection. But it is interesting to hear the voices of people who are old enough to have remembered when Elizabeth was coronated. And we have collected some of those voices and those reflections. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: On what must surely be the greatest day of her life, Queen Elizabeth drives to her coronation.

AVRIL SHATTUCK: I'm Avril Shattuck (ph), and I'm 75. We were the only people in our street to have a TV, and my parents invited all the street to come in to watch her coronation. And my mother hardly watched the coronation because she was too busy making sandwiches for everybody.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Imagine, if you can, our young queen's feelings, as she's slowly borne towards the hourslong ceremony consecrating¹⁴ her as queen of all the nations and all the races over which she holds sovereignty.

SHATTUCK: It was just lovely to see her walk down with this golden dress and this fantastic cloak behind her. Then there's me. I think I once tried to copy what she did as a child. My mother had a wedding - her wedding dress, and I used to get in it and march up and down in it.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC, CHEERING)

CLIVE BENDER: Clive Bender (ph), 78 years old. I was 8 years old when the king died.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: The passing of King George VI came as a sudden and most grievous shock to his people all over the world.

BENDER: We all had to wear a black armband on our school blazer.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BENDER: Well, he died in February, the king, and the coronation was in June. I can remember the procession. The one thing that everybody remembers is Queen Salote of Tonga, which is in the Pacific Ocean. And it was pouring, the rain. She was in an open-top carriage on her own. And she wouldn't put an umbrella up, so everybody could see her.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BENDER: We do put on a good show in this country of pageantry. It's the way we do things here.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BARBARA STONE: My name's Barbara Stone (ph), 92. My husband and I, we just got engaged. And we're walking up Regent Street, and we saw the Union Jacks¹⁵ at half-mast. And we went into a jewelers, and they said that the king had just died.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STONE: My father rented a television set, and we invited the neighbors in, and we watched the queen on this television.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Now the archbishop moves to the theater for the ceremony of recognition.

GEOFFREY FISHER: I here present unto you, Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted queen.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: God save Queen Elizabeth.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STONE: She had a very tiny waist and this beautiful dress and with all the different flowers from all the different nations that she was in control of. It looked very beautiful.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Prince Charles and Princess Anne watched enthralled¹⁶ as the troops swung down the Mall around the Victoria Memorial.

STONE: I think she was extremely good. I mean, it's going to be a completely different world now.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: And so this day of days most memorable¹⁷ comes to an end, and with it begins a new era, the new Elizabethan age.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: A reminder¹⁸ there of how much this queen, Elizabeth II, meant to people, especially the older generation who remember when she was coronated.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 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。

4 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。

5 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

6 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

7 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

8 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

10 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

11 rimmed   

adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边

参考例句：

• Gold rimmed spectacles bit deep into the bridge of his nose. 金边眼镜深深嵌入他的鼻梁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Trees rimmed the pool. 水池的四周树木环绕。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 consecrating   

v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的现在分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• Participant of Consecrating Wat Ling Khob Amulet. WLK佛牌（光辉之佛）加持的参与者。 来自互联网

15 jacks   

n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃

参考例句：

• Hydraulic jacks under the machine produce the movement. 是机器下面的液压千斤顶造成的移动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front end is equipped with hydraulic jacks used for grade adjustment. 前瑞安装有液压千斤顶用来调整坡度。 来自辞典例句

16 enthralled   

迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快

参考例句：

• The child watched, enthralled by the bright moving images. 这孩子看着那明亮的移动的影像，被迷住了。
• The children listened enthralled as the storyteller unfolded her tale. 讲故事的人一步步展开故事情节，孩子们都听得入迷了。

17 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

18 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。