第233期:风暴来袭

 　　今天分享的是爱德华的故事。

　　Earnest¹: I love her, I will always love her. All I can ask is you do the same.

　　Earnest: 我爱她,我会永远爱她。我的要求只是希望你也这样。

　　Edward: You have my word.

　　Edward: 绝无虚言。

　　Wallis: your family won't stand for it!The prime² minister won't stand for it!

　　Wallis: 你的家人永远不会接受!首相也永远不会接受!

　　Edward: Then I'll give up the throne³!

　　Edward: 那我就放弃王位。

　　No.7 The Storm

　　The Prime Minister sat down.'Yes, Sir,'he began,'I've read about this Mrs. Simpson. She has two husbands still alive. And you must understand what that means⁴, Sir. She cannot marry a King.'

　　'But I cannot live without her,'Edward said.

　　'Then,Sir,'the Prime Minister replied,'I can see there's a storm coming. I have talked to your family and to Archbishop Lang, and we will not have this woman as our Queen.'

　　That night the Prime Minister and the King spoke⁵ for many hours. There were hundreds of questions, but only one answer. And so,in the early hours of the next morning, Ed-ward said：

　　'You tell me that Wallis cannot marry a King. So there is only one thing that I can do. I will give the crown⁶ to my brother, and leave England. I must follow my heart. You tell me that it's a crime⁷ to fall in love. You tell me that it's wrong to be happy. How strange this country is!'

　　An hour later Edward telephoned Wallis.'The Prime Minister says that a storm is coming,'Edward said.'So I want you to go away.'

　　Wallis packed her bags and left for France. Then Edward went to see his mother.

　　It was a sad, strange, and angry meeting.'Do you know what you are doing?'the Queen asked.'Look out of that window. Outside this palace there are 400 000 000 people who call you King. They need you. And you will leave all this for Mrs. Simpson?'

　　'Yes,mother, I will. I'm in love.'

　　'Love?'Queen Mary shouted.'You're a King!You must love your country first!'

　　'But I'm also a man,'Edward said softly⁸,'and there's nothing that I can do.'

　　No.7 风暴

　　首相坐了下来。“是的,陛下,”他开口说,“我读了关于这位辛普森夫人的事。她有两个丈夫,他们还活着。陛下,您必须明白这意味着什么。她不能嫁给一个国王。”

　　“但没有她我无法生活。”爱德华说。

　　“那么,陛下,”首相回答,“看得出一场风暴就要来了。我已经与您的家庭成员及朗大主教谈过,我们不会让这个女人做我们的王后。”

　　那天晚上,首相与国王谈了好几个小时。涉及的问题很多,但答案却只有一个。于是,第二天凌晨时分,爱德华说：

　　“您告诉我沃利斯不能嫁给国王。那么,我能做的只有一件事。我将把王位让给我的弟弟,然后离开英国。我必须依从自己的心。你告诉我与人相爱是罪恶。你告诉我幸福是错误的。这个国家多么奇怪啊!”

　　一小时后,爱德华打电话给沃利斯。“首相说,一场风暴就要来了,”爱德华说,“所以我想让你离开这儿。”

　　沃利斯收拾了行装,启程去法国。然后爱德华去见母亲。

　　这次会面伤感、奇特,而又充满火药味。“你知道自己在做什么吗?”王太后问,“向窗外看看吧。宫殿外有4亿人叫你国王。他们需要你。而你却要为了辛普森夫人抛弃这一切?”

　　“是的,母亲。我爱她。”

　　“爱?”玛丽王太后喊道,“你是国王!你首先要爱自己的国家!”

　　“但我首先是一个男人,”爱德华轻轻地说,“我无能为力。”

　　No.8 The Church

　　The next day, when Edward came down to breakfast,Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury,was waiting for him.

　　'Good morning, Gordon,'the King said.'How nice to see you again. And what can I do for you?'

　　For a minute the Archbishop said nothing. Then he opened a small black bag and took out three newspapers.'I have come to see you about Mrs. Wallis Simpson,'he began.'The newspapers say that you want to marry her. Are these stories true,Sir?'

　　'Yes,Gordon, Wallis is going to be my wife.'

　　'But that's not possible,'the Archbishop replied.'You know what the Church thinks about marriage and divorce⁹. Divorce is wrong in the eyes of God!'

　　Edward smiled and then said：'Can I ask you some questions about God, Mr. Lang?'

　　'Yes, of course, Sir.'

　　'Is God happy when two people fall in love?'

　　'Yes, Sir, but…'

　　'And is God happy when two people fall in love and get married?'

　　'Yes,Sir,but…'

　　'And is God happy when two people fall in love,get mar－ried, and live happily together?'

　　'Yes,Sir,but…'

　　'Then,Archbishop, Wallis and I will make God very happy. We are in love, we'll get married, and we'll live together happily!'

　　'But you don't understand,Sir,'Mr. Lang replied.'The Church says that divorce is wrong. Mrs. Simpson cannot leave Mr. Simpson and then marry you. You must forget about her and find another woman. Please,Sir, I must ask you to think again.'

　　'That is not possible,'Edward said softly.'When Wallis is free,I shall marry her.'

　　No.8 教会

　　第二天,爱德华下楼吃早饭的时候,发现坎特伯雷大主教戈登·朗正在等他。

　　“早上好,戈登,”国王说,“又见到您真好。我能为您做些什么?”

　　大主教沉默了片刻,然后打开一个小黑包,取出3份报纸。“我来见您是为了沃利斯·辛普森夫人的事,”他开口说,“报上说您要娶她为妻。这是真的吗,陛下?”

　　“是的,戈登,沃利斯将成为我的妻子。”

　　“但那是不可能的,”大主教说,“您知道教会对婚姻和离婚的看法。在上帝眼里,离婚是错误的!”

　　爱德华笑了,然后说：“我能问您一些有关上帝的问题吗,朗先生?”

　　“当然可以,陛下。”

　　“当两个人相爱时,上帝高兴吗?”

　　“高兴,陛下,但是……”

　　“两个人相爱并结婚,上帝高兴吗?”

　　“高兴,陛下,但是……”

　　“两个人相爱、结婚、在一起幸福地生活,上帝高兴吗?”

　　“高兴,陛下,但是……”

　　“那么,大主教,沃利斯和我会让上帝十分高兴的。我们相爱,我们要结婚,我们在一起生活会很幸福!”

　　“但您不明白,陛下,”朗先生说,“教会认为离婚是错误的。辛普森夫人不能离开辛普森先生,然后和您结婚。您必须忘记她,去找另一个女子。陛下,我请求您三思。”

　　“这是不可能的,”爱德华轻轻地说,“沃利斯一离婚,我就娶她。”

1 earnest   

n.定金，诚挚，认真；adj.认真的，热心的，重要的

参考例句：

• The words were earnest but they fell on deaf ears.言者谆谆，听者藐藐。
• Her earnest manner arrested me.她那种热忱的态度引起了我的注意。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 throne   

n.御座，宝座；王位，王权

参考例句：

• He was the legal heir to the throne.他是王位的合法继承人。
• The throne was footed with gold.这御座是用黄金做的脚。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 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。

6 crown   

n.王冠，王权，顶点；v.使...成王，加冕，居...之顶

参考例句：

• He won the crown in 1973.他荣获1973年冠军称号。
• They wanted to crown Caesar king.他们想立凯撒为王。

7 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

8 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

9 divorce   

n.离婚；分离；vi.离婚；vt.离婚；脱离

参考例句：

• Did he divorce his wife or did she divorce him?是他要和妻子离婚，还是妻子要和他离婚？
• None of us like the divorce of word and deed.我们都不喜欢言行不一。