Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - Platinum Jubilee｜又中又英

2022/06/09 04:12:30 網誌分類: 生活

09 Jun

During a four-day weekend last week Britain had street parties, carnivals, parades, a special horse-racing day, and a fly-past to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A fly-past means a group of aircraft that flies in a special pattern during a celebration. The word "jubilee" means a celebration of the day an important event happened many years ago. Platinum is an expensive silver metal but it can also mean the 70th anniversary of an event, such as a wedding. A 50th wedding anniversary is a golden anniversary. Elizabeth II, aged 96, has been monarch (king or queen) of the United Kingdom for 70 years. That's why the four-day celebration is called the Platinum Jubilee.

It is the first time in history a British monarch has celebrated a Platinum Jubilee. The Queen skipped (didn't attend) some of the celebrations because she is in frail (weak) health. But the Archbishop of York said at a special church service at St Paul's Cathedral that she is "still in the saddle" and thanked her for "staying the course." A saddle is a leather seat on a horse. The Queen is known for her love of horses and horse-racing. When the Archbishop said she was "still in the saddle" he used her love of horses as a way of saying she is still the monarch despite her age.

To stay the course means to continue doing something until it is finished or until you have achieved what you want to do. When the Archbishop said the Queen had stayed the course he meant she had been monarch for 70 years already. But should she still stay the course when she is 96 years old and has been the Queen for 70 years or should she abdicate and let her son Prince Charles be the King? If a monarch abdicates it means he or she makes a formal statement to no longer want to be king or queen. British people love their Queen but I feel she should consider abdicating because of her frail health.
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上星期周末一連四天，英國為了慶祝伊利沙伯二世登基白金禧紀念（Platinum Jubilee），舉辦了街頭派對、嘉年華、巡遊、一個特別的賽馬日，以及一個fly-past。A fly-past是指慶祝活動期間的編隊飛行表演，該組戰機會組成特定的隊形。Jubilee是指重大事件的周年慶祝；platinum是昂貴的白金，但它也可以指一個事件，例如結婚七十周年。結婚五十周年就叫金禧。年屆九十六歲的伊利沙白二世，就任成為英國的君主（monarch）已有七十年，因此這個四天的慶祝活動就叫Platinum Jubilee。

這是史上首次有一位英國君主（monarch）慶祝登基七十周年（Platinum Jubilee）。英女皇略過（skipped）沒出席一些慶祝活動，因她身體虛弱（frail）。但約克大主教在聖保羅大教堂的特別崇拜上說，她是 "still in the saddle"，也多謝她 "staying the course"。A saddle就是馬鞍，英女皇出了名酷愛馬匹和賽馬。當大主教說她是 "still in the saddle"，他是借用她對馬匹的熱愛，去形容她雖然年紀老邁，但仍穩坐君主（monarch）之位。

To stay the course即堅持到底，直至完成某事，或直至你想做的已達成了。當大主教說英女皇had stayed the course，他的意思是她已經作君主（monarch）七十年了。然而，當她已經九十六歲，做了女皇七十年了，是否應該堅持下去（stay the course），還是應該abdicate，讓她的兒子查理斯王子作王？若一個君主（monarch）abdicates，意即他或她正式宣布退位。英國人愛他們的女皇，但我認為，念到她身體虛弱（frail），好應考慮退位（abdicating）。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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