Calm in the face of uncertainty
世事難料，沉著以對
This year's Golden Jubilee 1)celebrations mark the 50th year that Queen Elizabeth II has sat on the English throne. Elizabeth's father took the 2)throne in 1936, when she was just a girl of 10. Being 3)next in line to the throne from such an early age put a lot of pressure on the young Elizabeth, but she handled it with the calmness for which she is known.
今年的金禧慶典是英國伊莉莎白女王二世在位五十週年的紀念。1936年女王的父王即位時，她還只是個十歲的孩子。年紀輕輕就排在王位繼承的第一順位，讓小伊莉莎白承受了相當大的壓力，但是素以沉著著稱的她，仍舊沉著以對。
‧ 本段單字
1) celebration (n.) 慶祝
2) throne (n.) 王位，王座
3) next in line (phr.) 排隊排在下一個
2.
At the age of 21, she gave a speech saying that she would 1)devote her life to serving her people all over the world. A short five years later, when her father died and Elizabeth 2)assumed the throne, she once again let her 3)subjects know that she would spend her life helping them. And she has. Over the past 50 years, the Queen has traveled the world over while keeping herself extremely well 4)updated on her country's current affairs.
二十一歲時，她在一場演說中表示將奉獻其一生，為她全世界的子民服務。就在短短五年之後，父王駕崩，伊莉莎白登基，她再次讓其子民了解她將窮自己一生之力來幫助他們，而她也真的做到了。過去五十年來，女王已經遊遍世界，同時對國內時事也瞭若指掌。
‧ 本段單字
1) devote...to (phr.) 將……奉獻於……
2) assume (v.) 取得
3) subject (n.)（君主國）子民
4) updated (a.) 更新過，沒有落後
3.
Yet not all of the Queen's years on the throne have been easy ones. In a 1981 1)assassination attempt, a young boy fired a gun 2)loaded with 3)blanks at the Queen as she was making a public appearance. Her son Prince Andrew entered the 4)battlefield as a 5)Royal Navy 6)helicopter pilot during the Falklands War in 1982. Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 7)marital problems ended in a 8)messy 9)divorce that was reported on a day-by-day basis by British 10)tabloids.
然而，女王在位的日子並非都是稱心如意。1981年女王在一次公開露面的場合，遭遇暗殺攻擊，一個年輕男孩持著裝有空包彈的槍對女王射擊。1982年福克蘭戰爭期間，女王的兒子安德魯王子以皇家海軍直昇機飛行員的身分投入戰場。而查爾斯王子和黛安娜王妃的婚姻問題以難堪的離婚收場，也被英國小報逐日報導。
‧ 本段單字
1) assassination (n.) 暗殺，刺殺
2) load (v.)（槍等）裝填彈藥
3) blank (n.)（無彈頭的）空包彈
4) battlefield (n.) 戰場
5) Royal Navy (phr.) 英國皇家海軍
6) helicopter (n.) 直昇機
7) marital (a.) 婚姻的
8) messy (a.) 混亂的
9) divorce (n.) 離婚
10) tabloid (n.)（煽動性報導的）小報
4.
Diana's death in 1997 was another 1)blow to the 2)royal family. Additional negative 3)publicity came from the divorces of one of her other sons and her daughter. Prince Charles' 4)involvement with his 5)longtime lover and Prince Harry's experiments with marijuana 6)added to the Queen's headaches. These events have also damaged the 7)reputation of the 8)monarchy in the people's eyes.
1997年黛妃去世，王室再度受到打擊。女王另外一子一女的婚姻雙雙觸礁，又造成一些負面宣傳。查爾斯王子與其長期愛人的關係，以及哈利王子嘗試大麻，都讓女王更加頭痛。同時這些事件也破壞了人民心目中君主政體的威望。
‧ 本段單字
1) blow (n.) 打擊
2) royal family (phr.) 王家，皇室
3) publicity (n.) 宣傳
4) involvement (n.) 牽連，涉入
5) longtime (a.) 長久以來的
6) add to (phr.) 添加
7) reputation (n.) 名聲
8) monarchy (n.) 君主政體，monarch (n.) 則為君主、統治者之意
5.
With this Golden Jubilee year 1)kicking off under such 2)circumstances and with the recent deaths of her mother and sister, how does the Queen find the desire to celebrate? Perhaps it is because she has accomplished something only four other British monarchs could-50 years of service. And this is what she is really celebrating.
這次的金禧年在如此情況下揭開序幕，而女王母后與妹妹又甫辭世，女王何來慶祝的慾望？或許是因為她做到了英國史上只有另外四位君主能做到的事——為民服務達五十年。這才是她真正要慶祝的。
‧ 本段單字
1) kick off (phr.) 開始，開賽
2) circumstance (n.) 情況
6.
With appearances from pop stars like Ricky Martin and Ozzy Ozbourne, the Queen hopes to make the Jubilee a 1)festival for everyone. Above all, it is an expression of thanks to the people who have supported her over the years.
瑞奇馬汀與奧茲奧斯朋等流行巨星都要亮相，女王希望這是一個屬於所有人的金禧慶祝活動。最重要的，是向幾十年來始終支持她的人民表達感謝之意。
‧ 本段單字
1)festival (n.) 慶祝活動，節慶