创新英语-1,900 Royal Wedding Invitations Sent

Buckingham Palace has sent out invitations for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Officials have not disclosed who is invited but journalists who follow the royal family say half of the guests are family and friends. The rest will be leading British politicians, VIPs from all over the world, and a scattering¹ of stars and celebrities². Of those invited to the ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey on April 29, a third will go on to attend a celebration reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth, and then half of those will go on to a dinner party hosted by Prince Charles, William’s father. This select group will be family and close friends of the happy couple. It is expected they will go on honeymoon³ the following day.

Prince William and Kate Middleton met at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. They began dating in 2003 and shared an apartment together. Their relationship became the subject of considerable media speculation⁴ from the very beginning. This intensified⁵ after Ms Middleton attended a special parade when William graduated from the Sandhurst military academy. The attention from the press became so intense that William had to ask the paparazzi to keep their distance and respect Ms Middleton’s privacy. William has painful memories of how the media hounded his mother, Princess Diana. In 2007, there were reports that the couple had split up, even though they were regularly seen together at various high-profile events and holidays. Prince William proposed to Kate on 19 October 2010 on a trip to Kenya.

1 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

3 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》