英语新闻︱一个时代的结束：英国女王伊丽莎白二世去世

英语新闻︱一个时代的结束：英国女王伊丽莎白二世去世The end of any life is a time to look back andreflect on the historic events it has witnessed — and rarely can that be somore than in the case of Queen Elizabeth II, whose life encompassed severaltransformations of the world stage.生命终结之后，人们便会不禁回顾反思这个生命一生所经所历。英国女王伊丽莎白二世的经历就像一本历史书，见证了世界舞台上的数次变革。The 96-year-old, whose death at Balmoral inScotland was announced by Buckingham Palace shortly after 6 pm on Thursday(Sept 8 2022), was born before the advent of talking pictures, and lived to seethe era of virtual reality and AI.白金汉宫8日宣布，伊丽莎白二世在巴尔莫勒尔堡去世，终年96岁。女王出生在有声电影之前，见证了虚拟现实和人工智能时代的到来。She arrived in a world where her grandfatherKing George V was the Emperor of India, and left it with Britain still findingits feet on the world stage following its exit from the European Union.1926年，女王出生，彼时印度还在伊丽莎白的祖父乔治五世的统治下。2022年，女王逝世，此时脱欧后的英国仍在寻寻觅觅，探索在世界舞台上站稳脚跟的方法。Her life encompassed the rise of fascism andthe fall of the Berlin Wall, World War II, the conquest of space, the global financialcrisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.女王的一生亲历了法西斯主义的兴起、柏林墙的倒塌、第二次世界大战、人类进入太空、全球金融危机、新冠肺炎疫情、俄乌冲突。Not only did she live to be the oldest monarch— only two of her predecessors had lived past the age of 80 — but she alsobecame the longest-serving monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, afigure of seemingly immovable permanence and dependability on the world stage,while leaders of so many countries came and went.伊丽莎白二世是英国最长寿、在位时间最长的君主，此前仅有维多利亚和乔治三世超过了80岁。在这个不断变化的世界里，政权迭代更替，但唯有女王一直屹立不倒。The woman she surpassed as the longest reigningmonarch was her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, whose era was known as theVictorian age. Similarly, the 70 years, seven months and two days of her reignbecame the modern Elizabethan age.伊丽莎白二世超越她的曾曾祖母维多利亚女王，成为英国在位时间最长的君主。维多利亚女王在位时期被称为维多利亚时代，而伊丽莎白二世在位的70年7个月零2天则铸就了第二个伊丽莎白时代。Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth AlexandraMary Windsor was the first child of Albert, Duke of York, and his wife,formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The young Elizabeth and sister Margaret,four years her junior, enjoyed a comfortable, happy and close family childhood,but all their lives were transformed in December 1936.伊丽莎白·亚历山德拉·玛丽·温莎出生于1926年4月21日，是乔治六世和伊丽莎白·鲍斯-莱昂的长女。童年时代，伊丽莎白与父母、妹妹玛格丽特公主一起过着舒适隐逸的生活，1936年12月，一切都发生了改变。Following a dispute over his wish to marryAmerican divorcee Wallis Simpson, the Queen's uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicatedthe throne before he was even crowned, and out of the blue, her shy, stammeringfather was thrust into the spotlight as the country's next king, a role he hadnever expected to take — and with him, into that spotlight, he took his wifeand two daughters.1936年，伊丽莎白的伯父爱德华八世坚持同离婚两次的辛普森夫人结婚而被迫逊位。伊丽莎白的父亲生来腼腆，自幼患有口吃，却出乎意料地被推到了聚光灯下，成为了下一任国王。The story of the Queen's father, known as KingGeorge VI, and his struggle to adapt to his new role in life is told in thefilm The King's Speech. His 16 years on the throne, from 1936 to 1952, took inone of the most turbulent periods in modern British history, including WorldWar II, the fragmentation of the Empire, and the construction of a new Britain.电影《国王的演讲》讲述了女王的父亲，即乔治六世国王，如何努力适应国王这一新角色的故事。乔治六世在位的16年（1936年到1952年），是英国现代史上最为动荡的时期之一，历经了第二次世界大战、大英帝国解体和英联邦的建设。In 1952, when the young Princess Elizabeth —who in 1947 had married her third cousin, Prince Philip — was on a trip toKenya, the news came through of the death of her father, aged just 56. At theage of 25, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II, and a new era hadbegun, one that has only ended now, 70 years later.1947年，伊丽莎白与远房表亲菲利普王子结为夫妻。1952年，伊丽莎白在肯尼亚收到了父亲英王乔治六世去世的噩耗。25岁的伊丽莎白加冕登基，成为了英国女王，一个新的时代就此展开。The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, a titleher husband was given on their wedding day, had four children; Charles, Anne,Andrew and Edward. They, in turn, produced eight grandchildren and 12great-grandchildren, the most recent addition being Andrew's grand-daughter,Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born in September 2021, and as those aroundthem struggled, the royal couple's marriage remained a rock of solidity untilthe Duke's death on Apr 9, 2021, aged 99.女王与其丈夫爱丁堡公爵、菲利普亲王育有三子一女，长子查尔斯、次子安德鲁、三子爱德华、女儿安妮公主，还有8个孙辈和12个曾孙辈。皇室最小的成员是安德鲁的孙女西耶娜·伊丽莎白·马佩利·莫齐，出生于2021年9月。女王与菲利普亲王一直相濡以沫、风雨同舟，2021年4月9日，菲利普亲王去世，享年99岁。In contrast, of her children's marriages, onlyEdward's has survived, with the high-profile separation of Charles and hiswife, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1992 being the darkest moment of what theQueen called an 'annus horribilis', which also saw Anne divorced and Andrewseparate from his wife, before the year ended with a serious fire at WindsorCastle.然而，女王的子女中，只有三子爱德华的婚姻没有以离婚告终。1992年被女王称为“多灾之年”，这一年，安妮公主离婚、安德鲁王子与妻子分居、温莎城堡失火。更有查尔斯和戴安娜王妃高调分居，女王将这称之为至暗时刻。Events of 1997 took an even darker turn,however, when the fallout of the shock death of Diana in a car crash in Pariscaused the biggest crisis for the royal family since the abdication.1997年，事情发生了更为黑暗的转折，戴安娜王妃在法国巴黎因车祸丧生，给王室带来了自1936年爱德华八世退位以来最大的危机。As the nation reeled and saw spontaneousdisplays of mass public emotion, unlike anything normally expected of theBritish, the perceived lack of reaction from the Royal family and the Queen wastotally out of step with the national mood.整个英国都陷入了混乱之中，与悲痛的民众所期待的不同，王室和女王并没有作出相应的措施悼念逝去的王妃，与国民情绪大相径庭。Rattled by this, the Queen made a livetelevised address the night before Diana's funeral, and the mood abated, butthis was a rare example of the woman who was regarded for so many years as thenation's grandmother failing to gauge public feeling.在戴安娜出殡前一天，惶惶不安的女王以电视直播的形式表达了对戴安娜去世的哀悼，才得以平息众怒。这一次，女王罕见地误判了公众的情绪。If the 80s and 90s were troubled times for theroyals, the turn of the millennium ushered in a new era of optimism.如果说上个世纪八九十年代是王室的乱世，那么21世纪则迎来了一个全新的时代。Her Golden Jubilee in 2002 marked 50 years onthe throne, with a chain of celebratory beacons lit the length and breadth ofthe British Isles, and four years later, she celebrated her 80th birthday.2002年6月2日是伊丽莎白二世登基50周年纪念日，庆祝灯塔照亮了不列颠群岛。2006年4月，女王迎来了80大寿。But it was 2012 that was the truly vintage year,with first the celebrations of her Diamond Jubilee, to honor 60 years on thethrone, and then the London 2012 Olympics, which she formally opened, as wellas appearing in a short comedy film as part of Danny Boyle's dazzling openingceremony.而对于女王来说，2012年才是真正的全盛之年。2012年是伊丽莎白二世的钻石禧年，即登基60周年。这一年，女王还迎接了伦敦奥运会，出人意料地出现在开幕式上丹尼·博伊尔执导的短片中。Dark days soon returned, however.然而，灰暗之日总会卷土重来。Family tensions arose again in January 2020,when her grandson Harry, Duke of Sussex, announced that he and his wife Meghanwould be stepping away from royal duties, causing a rift that has clearly upsetmany family members.2020年1月，王室成员之间的关系再次紧张起来。女王的孙子萨塞克斯公爵哈里宣布，他和妻子梅根不再履行王室职务。此举造成了王室之间的裂痕，让王室成员感到不快。The build-up to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in2022 saw Prince Andrew the focus of world attention because of his connectionsto convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his subsequent public disgraceand removal from public life did significant damage.2022年是英国女王登基70周年。这一年，安德鲁王子成为了全世界瞩目的焦点，因为他与性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦有所联系。安德鲁王子的丑闻和头衔革除对王室造成了极大损害。One of the Queen's greatest strengths, both onthe domestic and world stages, was her detachment from politics. In a lifetimetravelling the world, she was entertained by and hosted countless monarchs,presidents and heads of state.无论是在英国国内还是在世界，女王最大的长处便是对政治的超然。女王游走世界，受到了无数君主、总统和国家元首的款待。She met every president of the United Statesduring her reign, except Lyndon B Johnson, who she would have met at John FKennedy's funeral had she not missed the trip as she was pregnant with Edward.加冕登基以来，女王伊丽莎白二世已会见过13位在任的美国总统，她原定在肯尼迪总统的葬礼上和林登·约翰逊见面，但因怀上了三子爱德华而未能成行。In addition, the Queen saw 15 British primeministers during her reign, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. Speculationover the content of the weekly private meetings she had with them was even the subjectof an award-winning theatrical play of 2013, The Audience.与此同时，女王在位期间还会见了15位英国首相，从温斯顿·丘吉尔到伊丽莎白·特拉斯。女王与首相每周私下会进行会谈，2013年上映的电影《女王召见》将这些密谈搬上了银幕。The Queen reigned through social and politicaltransformations such as the Suez Crisis, the Troubles in Northern Ireland,which claimed the life of her cousin Lord Mountbatten, the decline of Britain'smanufacturing industries, and change from being a post-Imperial power to beinga player in a global economy, with a substantial and varied immigrant community,and Brexit.女王在位期间经历了社会政治变革，如苏伊士运河危机、北爱尔兰问题、英国制造业的衰退、英帝国向英联邦的转型过渡、移民浪潮、以及脱欧。In the run-up to the referendum in 2016, theunspoken convention of never ascribing political opinions to the Queen wasbroken by The Sun newspaper, when it claimed that, during a lunch with seniorpoliticians, she had voiced support for Britain leaving the trading bloc.女王不公开发表政治观点已是不成文的规定，然而2016年脱欧公投前，《太阳报》声称，在与资深政界人士共进午餐时，女王曾表示支持英国退出欧盟。The story caused a furious row, with BuckinghamPalace making a successful complaint to the press regulator Ipso, who calledthe article "misleading", and the Queen's reputation for impartialityremained intact.这篇报道引发了轩然大波，白金汉宫向英国报业独立监管委员会投诉，称这篇报道“具有误导性”，因此女王公正不阿的形象并未受到影响。But Remain supporters were quick to react when,in 2017, the snap General Election led to a stripped-down ceremony for theState Opening of Parliament which was less formal than usual, and rather thanthe traditional royal robes, the Queen attended wearing a blue and yellowfloral hat which they said bore a strongly coincidental resemblance to the EUflag.但2017年，英国大选提前举行，英国国会开幕大典并未像以往那么正式，女王并未身披皇袍、头戴皇冠，而是戴了一顶蓝黄花帽。留欧派认为这顶帽子的图案与欧盟旗帜十分相像，于是便迅速作出了反应。Both sides of the Brexit divide trying, howeverindirectly, to claim royal patronage sums up the Queen's importance to the Britishpsyche and identity over the last 70 years.留欧派和脱欧派都在直接或间接地试图获得女王的支持，可见在过去的七十年中，女王在精神层面和身份认同上对于国民的意义。Born just eight years after the end of WorldWar I, she grew up in World War II, training as a vehicle mechanic and lorrydriver towards its end, and the first prime minister of her reign was wartimeleader Winston Churchill.第一次世界大战结束后的第8年，女王出生。她在二战中长大，学会了如何驾驶军用卡车和修理机器故障。女王即位后，共事的第一位首相是温斯顿·丘吉尔。Her death marks the severing of a bond whichties modern Britain to the wartime era which, through the language of debate,continues to cast a huge defining shadow across the modern British politicallandscape, sometimes to the bafflement of other countries.女王的去世标志着英国与二战的纽带被切断，当代英国政治始终笼罩着二战的阴翳，时时让其他国家感到困惑。Her passing is also the end of an era for the world,as of all the world's major political leaders and heads of state, only USPresident Joe Biden, born in 1942, shares any connection to World War II.女王的去世还标志着一个时代的结束，如今，在主要的政治领导人和国家元首中，只有出生于1942年的美国总统乔·拜登与二战有着相似的联系。In the same way that Victoria, the previouslongest-reigning monarch, gave her name to her era, defining generations, thishas been the modern Elizabethan era, brought to a close by the Queen's death.人们用维多利亚女王的名字为她的时代命名，定义了几代人。如今的伊丽莎白时代，因为女王的去世而宣告结束。She is now the past, and her successor, King Charles III, is the future.Where Britain goes from here, in what state of mind, and how it handles thechallenge of striking a balance between dealing with its past, grappling withits present challenges, and embracing its future, remains to be seen.女王已成历史，继任者查理三世国王则意味着未来。英国将何去何从，以何种心态前行，如何应对挑战，如何在应对过去、当前与迎接未来之间取得平衡，我们拭目以待。记者：JulianShea编辑：李雪晴encompass英[ɪnˈkʌmpəs]；美[ɪnˈkʌmpəs]vt. 围绕，包围;包含或包括某事物;完成vintage英[ˈvɪntɪdʒ]；美[ˈvɪntɪdʒ]adj. 酿酒的;老式的，过时的;最好的，最有特色的;古老而享有声誉的n. 美酒;葡萄产量;酒产年，酒产地;制造年份bloc英[blɒk]；美[blɑːk]n.（政治利益一致的）国家集团;共同体successor英[səkˈsesə(r)]；美[səkˈsesər]n.接替的人或事物;继承人，继任者