First female Poet Laureate named 第一位女性桂冠诗人

    First female Poet Laureate named 第一位女性桂冠诗人

Carol Ann Duffy has been named as the new Poet Laureate, the first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post.
    Duffy, 53, who takes over immediately from Andrew Motion and will serve 10 years in the position, says she will give the ?5,750 annual payment away.
    The author, who is best known for her collection The World's Wife, is also the first Scot to be named Laureate.
    Duffy said she felt "very honoured and humbled¹" by her appointment.
    'Truly brilliant'
    The poet told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour she had thought "long and hard" about taking the appointment.
    I look on it as a recognition of the great woman poets we have writing now," she said.
    "I've decided² to accept it for that reason."She added: "Poetry is all around us, all of the time, whether in song or in speech or on the page, and we turn to it when events, personal or public, matter most.
    "In accepting this Laureateship, I hope to contribute to people's understanding of what poetry can do and where it can be found."She has said she will donate her yearly honorarium（酬劳金） for the new post to the Poetry Society to fund a prize for the best collection of the year.
    The job also comes with a payment of a "butt³ of sack" or, in modern terms, about 600 bottles of sherry.
    Duffy said: "Andrew [Motion] hasn't had his yet so I've asked for mine up front."Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "She is a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly⁴."Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said Duffy "has achieved something that only the true greats of literature manage".
    "That is to be regarded as both popular and profound," he said.
    'Difficult poems'
    The reigning⁵ monarch（在位君主） chooses the Laureate on the advice of the government.
    Part of Duffy's responsibilities over the next 10 years will be to write works commemorating⁶ royal events, a role her predecessor（前辈，前任）, Motion, has said he found "very difficult".
    After being passed over for the Laureate job in 1999, she commented: "I will not write a poem for Edward and Sophie. No self-respecting poet should have to."But speaking on Friday, she said: "Poetry is all about looking at the ordinary and transforming it - the Midas touch. And the monarchy⁷ has that too.
    "The presence of the Queen can help heal, transform and make things magic," she added.
    Fellow poet Roger McGough said there was a guarantee with Duffy that, in her commissioned poetry, "we get things which are real and surprising".
    Reports suggested Duffy was ruled out of the running for the Laureate post in 1999 because it was thought her sexuality might not play well in Middle England.
    Asked on Woman's Hour if she was apprehensive（惴惴不安的）about intrusion（闯入，侵扰）into her personal life, she said: "I am a very private person and will continue to protect my privacy and my daughter.""When giving public readings I will be, as I always have been, accessible."Her first themed collection, The World's Wife, spoke⁸ of great men, myths and moments in history through the women in the background. It included poems called Mrs Midas and Queen Kong.
    In 2002 she was made a CBE.
    The poet's work is taught in schools at GCSE and AS level. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

6 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

7 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

8 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。