GRE写作素材之丘吉尔

 　　Churchill, Sir Winston (Leonard Spencer) 1874 -- 1965British statesman, prime minister, and author. Born November 30, 1874, in Oxfordshire, England, the eldest¹ son of Randolph Churchill. Winston Churchill is most notable for his parliamentary career, which spanned the reigns² of six monarchs³, from Queen Victoria to her great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II. His early military service included hand-to-hand combat in the Sudan, and he lived to see the use of atomic weapons as a means to end World War II. He was most familiar as a diplomat⁴ in his homburg hat and bowtie flashing the V-for-Victory sign with his index and middle fingers; but he was also a weekend artisan, building garden walls at his home at Chartwell, as well as an accomplished⁵ painter. His paintings were regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy, which held a one-man retrospective of his work in 1958.

　　One of the greatest orators⁶ of the twentieth century, Churchill used words and phrases條ike "blood, toil⁷, tears, and sweat" or "the iron curtain" hat have assumed a permanent place in the English lexicon⁸. An example of his wit is his frequently quoted retort to Lady Astor who had told him, "If I were to marry you, I'd feed you poison," to which Churchill responded, "And if I were your husband, I'd take it."Churchill's military career began almost immediately upon his graduation with honors from Sandhurst, the West Point of Great Britain. In March 1895, he was appointed to the Fourth (Queen's Own) Hussars as a sub-lieutenant, assigned to duty at the Aldershop camp in Hampshire. After attachment⁹ as an "observer" to an anti-insurrectionary Spanish force in Cuba, he served in Bangalore, India. His next assignments included the Tirah Expeditionary Force in 1898 and the Nile Expeditionary Force, where he participated in the famous cavalry¹⁰ charge at Omdurman.

　　Churchill also saw battle as a journalist. In 1897, as a war correspondent for The London Daily Telegraph, he joined General Sir Benden Blood's expedition against the Pathams in the area of the Malakand Pass. In a similar capacity for The London Morning Post, he went to South Africa after the outbreak of the Boer War. There, on November 15, 1899, he was taken prisoner by Louis Botha, who later became the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa and a close friend of Sir Winston's.

　　Churchill followed his escape from Botha with a lecture tour of the United States, and thus helped finance the start of his political career. It began with an unsuccessful stand as a Conservative in a by-election in Oldham, Lancashire, in 1898; he ran again for the position, successfully, in 1900. Over the next three years, however, he found himself in disagreement with his party, particularly over the high tariff¹¹ policy of Joseph Chamberlain. Therefore, in 1904 he "crossed the aisle¹²" in the House of Commons and affiliated¹³ himself with the free-trade Liberals. Cabinet positions followed, first under-secretary for the colonies, then privy¹⁴ councillor. Upon the rise of Herbert Henry Asquith to prime minister in 1908, Churchill became president of the board of trade and home secretary. In these last two positions Churchill sponsored such progressive legislation as the establishment of the British Labor¹⁵ Exchanges, old age pensions, and health and unemployment insurance.

　　In 1911, Churchill became first lord of the admiralty, readying the British fleet for war with Germany. By the start of World War I in 1914, the Royal Navy was so well prepared, having changed over from coal to oil-fueled vessels¹⁶, that it quickly confined the German fleet to its home ports. The Germans refrained from an all-out naval¹⁷ confrontation¹⁸, relying instead upon the submarine. Churchill's other major accomplishment¹⁹ at this time was the establishment of the Royal Air Force, first called the Royal Flying Corps²⁰. But after encountering loud criticism for the British landings on Gallipoli (the Dardanelles campaign), which resulted in heavy casualties, Churchill was demoted. He resigned his office in 1916 to go to the front as a lieutenant-colonel in command of the Sixth Royal Fusiliers. Nevertheless, he was soon recalled by Prime Minister Lloyd George to become minister of munitions²¹.

　　After World War I, Churchill introduced a number of military reforms as secretary of state for war and for air (1918-21). As secretary for the colonies (1921-22), he worked toward the establishment of new Arab states, toward a Jewish homeland in the Middle East, and toward an Irish free state. At this time, Churchill was growing increasingly anti-socialist, setting himself at odds²² with the pro-labor segment of the Liberal party. His use of British troops to suppress the Bolshevist regime in the Soviet²³ Union lost him the favor of Lloyd George, who appointed Sir Robert Horne chancellor²⁴ of the exchequer²⁵ over Churchill. But in 1924, Churchill rejoined the Conservatives and was immediately named chancellor of the exchequer.

 

1 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

2 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

3 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 orators   

n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The hired orators continued to pour forth their streams of eloquence. 那些雇来的演说家继续滔滔不绝地施展辩才。 来自辞典例句
• Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. 人们的耳朵被军号声和战声以及呆在这的演说家们的漂亮言辞塞得太满了。 来自飘（部分）

7 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

8 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

9 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

10 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

11 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

12 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

13 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

14 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 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。

18 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

19 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

20 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

21 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

22 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

23 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

24 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

25 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。