美国国家公共电台 NPR--Prince Harry's much talked about memoir 'Spare' is on bookstore shelves

Prince Harry¹'s much talked about memoir² 'Spare' is on bookstore shelves

Transcript³

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Martin Pengelly of The Guardian⁴, who obtained a copy of Spare before it was published. The book has created a major scandal involving the British royal family.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have been generating a lot of attention lately through a streaming documentary series and high-profile TV interviews. And today, the prince's memoir "Spare" is out. Martin Pengelly is a reporter with The Guardian. He obtained a copy of the book before publication, and he's with us now. Good morning.

MARTIN PENGELLY: Good morning.

FADEL: So with all we've heard from Prince Harry, any big revelations left in this book?

PENGELLY: I don't think there are now. It's been thoroughly⁵ gutted⁶ before publication. We published two very small excerpts⁷. But copies went on sale in Spain, and the British press all have Spanish speakers and Spanish reporters, so they took it to pieces. Then there were the two interviews, and then there's been now - what? - about 11 hours it's been on sale in England. So judging from my research this morning, it's pretty much all out there.

FADEL: Yeah. Why is Prince Harry choosing this moment to share these intimate details of his life, of his private life, his family's life?

PENGELLY: He left the royal family basically with Meghan Markle, his wife, the actor. And it's a - it's hard to say what it is. It's a sort of howl in a way. It's a bit like primal⁸ scream therapy. He talks in the book extensively about therapy, and it, in some senses, feels like that. This is a fairly blistering⁹ howl of rage at...

FADEL: But there's also a lot of money attached to this project.

PENGELLY: Yes. I think the dollar total of the book deal is 20 million. It's for more than one book, I think. But, yes, there's a lot of money attached to it. There's a lot of - a lot riding on it. It's gone to the top of all the bestseller charts. How long it stays, though, is probably the next test.

FADEL: Now, right now, as of now, we haven't heard anything from the royal family. They've been silent. Why?

PENGELLY: They very rarely comment. I saw Anderson Cooper mentioning that, for the CBS "60 Minutes" interview, the palace said they would only comment if they were shown the entire interview first, before broadcast, which of course CBS didn't do. It's one of the themes of the book that Harry is at odds¹⁰ with his brother, William, and his father, now-King Charles, about how to deal with the press. Charles says, don't talk to them; don't read it, which Harry seems to be incapable¹¹ of doing and which he says his father doesn't do either. One of the themes of the book is about how various members of the royal family tried to shape press coverage¹² and sometimes direct press coverage against others, according to Harry.

FADEL: Now, this book and what it reveals, could there be a long-standing¹³ impact on Britain's royal family and the institution of the monarchy¹⁴?

PENGELLY: Some people think so. I've been reading a lot of coverage from back - I have to say, back home. I'm still British - who - a lot of people think it will be dangerous. I think one of Charles' biographers was in The Guardian yesterday saying very much that this could help remove some of the mystery. The queen's death certainly was, if not damaging, it wouldn't - you wouldn't say damaging - but could have done that. But I think this book will add to the lack of mystery that is peeling away, as it were, from the royals. Whether it will change the royal family's standing is another question 'cause England is a conservative place.

FADEL: Martin Pengelly is a reporter with The Guardian. He obtained a copy of Prince Harry's book before publication. Thank you so much for your time.

PENGELLY: Thank you.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

8 primal   

adj.原始的；最重要的

参考例句：

• Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
• Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们，钱是主要的需要。

9 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

10 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？

11 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 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。