印度起诉英女王 要求英国归还光之山钻石

 　　It was once the world's largest-known diamond, is worth a reported ?100m and is currently part of Britain's crown jewels.

　　它曾是世界上已知的最大钻石，现在是英国镶嵌在王冠上的御宝之一，据称价值1亿英镑。

　　But India wants it back.

　　但印度想把这块钻石讨回来。

　　Bollywood stars and businessmen have united to instruct lawyers to begin legal proceedings¹ in London's High Court to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

　　宝莱坞（largest-known diamond,）一众影星和多名商人联合委托律师，向伦敦高等法院（London's High Court）提起诉讼，要求归还光之山钻石（Koh-i-Noor）。

　　The diamond was in the crown worn by the Queen Mother at the coronation of her husband King George VI in 1937 and again at Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953.

　　伊丽莎白王太后出席1937年丈夫乔治六世国王（King George VI）和1953年女儿伊丽莎白女王（Queen Elizabeth）的加冕礼时，头上佩戴的王冠就镶嵌了光之山钻石。

　　印度起诉英女王 要求英国归还光之山钻石

　　The group, which has called itself the "Mountain of Light" after the translation of the stone's name, say that the 105-carat diamond was stolen from its true home in India and are demanding that the UK Government returns it.

　　诉讼团体以钻石的英文译名Mountain of Light（以下称“光之山”）自称。他们称，这颗重105克拉的钻石是从其故乡印度盗走的，要求英国政府归还光之山钻石。

　　The stone is "one of the many artefacts taken from India under dubious² circumstances", according to David de Souza from the Indian leisure group Tito's.

　　印度旅游休闲公司Tito's的戴维?德?苏扎（David de Souza）表示，这颗钻石只是“在可疑的情形下流失的众多印度文物之一。”

　　Souza claims the British colonisation of India had stolen wealth and "destroyed the country's psyche³".

　　苏扎称，英国对印度的殖民统治不仅掠夺了大笔财富，还“摧毁了印度的民族精神”。

　　The jewel was given to the reigning⁴ Queen of the time by the last ruler of the Sikhs, Duleep Singh, after the British annexe of the Punjab.

　　英国将印度的旁遮普邦（Punjab）吞并后，印度最后一位锡克大君达立普?辛格（Duleep Singh）将光之山钻石进献给了当时在位的英国女王。

　　Bollywood star Bhumicka Singh, also part of the group, said: "The Koh-i-noor is not just a 105-carat stone, but part of our history and culture and should undoubtedly⁵ be returned."

　　宝莱坞影星布米卡?辛格（Bhumicka Singh）也是这个诉讼团体的成员，她表示：“光之山不只是一颗105克拉的钻石，还是印度历史和文化的一部分。英国无疑应当归还。”

　　British Lawyers instructed by the "Mountain of Light" group to return the stone, said they would base their case on the Holocaust⁶ (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which gives national institutions in the UK the power to return stolen art.

　　“光之山”团体委托的英国律师表示，此次诉讼会以《大屠杀（文化物品归还）法案》为根据。这项法案赋予英国国家机构归还被窃艺术品的权利。

　　Satish Jakhu, of Birmingham-based law firm Rubric Lois King, said they would make their claim under the common law doctrine⁷ of “trespass to goods”, arguing that the government had stolen the diamond. He added that they would be taking their case to the International Court of Justice.

　　伯明翰律所Rubric Lois King的律师萨蒂什?雅库（Satish Jakhu）表示，他们将依据习惯法有关“非法侵占他人所有物”的规定提出诉讼，并证明这颗钻石确实是英国政府偷取所得。他还表示他们将会上诉至联合国国际法院（International Court of Justice）。

　　Historian Andrew Roberts told the Mail on Sunday: "Those involved in this ludicrous case should recognise that the British Crown Jewels is precisely⁸ the right place for the Koh-i-Noor diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernisation, development, protection, agrarian⁹ advance, linguistic¹⁰ unification and ultimately the democratisation of the sub-continent."

　　历史学家安德鲁?罗伯茨（Andrew Roberts）对《星期日邮报》（Mail on Sunday）表示：“参与这起荒唐诉讼案的原告应当承认，英国王室皇冠是光之山钻石的最佳归处，这是对英国对印度长达300多年的帮助的感念和认可。这些帮助促进了印度的现代化，帮助印度不断发展，给予了印度适当保护，推动了农业进步，使其语言统一，最终引领这块次大陆走上了民主的道路。”

　　According to legend, the gem¹¹ can only be worn by God or women, and whoever wears the jewel will become extremely powerful, but if a man wears it, he will meet an unfortunate end.

　　据传说，光之山钻石只可由上帝或女性佩戴，佩戴者将拥有极大的权势。但如果佩戴者是男性，就会厄运上身。

　　The jewel was also in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. It remains¹² in the Queen Mother's crown, which sat atop her coffin¹³ at her funeral in 2002.

　　光之山钻石也曾被镶嵌在亚历山德拉王后（Queen Alexandra）和玛丽王后（Queen Mary）的冠冕上。现在这颗钻石仍嵌在伊丽莎白王太后的王冠上，这顶王冠在2002年王太后的葬礼上被放置在她的棺木之上。

　　The UK Government has so far rejected the claims.

　　到目前为止，英国政府否认印方的说法。

　　Vocabulary

　　crown jewels：(镶在王冠、权杖等上面以示王权的)御宝

　　proceedings：诉讼

　　coronation：(国王或女王的) 加冕仪式

　　artefact：(尤指有历史或文化价值的)手工艺品

　　annexe：兼并(领土等)，强行占取(领土等)

　　doctrine：(法律的)规则

　　trespass：非法侵入，侵犯，侵占

　　agrarian：农业的

　　sub-continent：次大陆

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

3 psyche   

n.精神；灵魂

参考例句：

• His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。

4 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。

5 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

6 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

7 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 agrarian   

adj.土地的，农村的，农业的

参考例句：

• People are leaving an agrarian way of life to go to the city.人们正在放弃农业生活方式而转向城市。
• This was a feature of agrarian development in Britain.这是大不列颠土地所有制发展的一个特征。

10 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

11 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。