英国女王伊丽莎白二世是执政时间最长的统治者

AS IT IS 2015-09-09 Queen Elizabeth II Poised¹ to Be Britain’s Longest Serving Ruler 英国女王伊丽莎白二世是执政时间最长的统治者

Queen Elizabeth II is set reach an important milestone² this week – becoming Britain’s longest-ruling head of state.

Queen Elizabeth has worked with 12 British prime³ ministers, from Winston Churchill to David Cameron. At age 89, she continues to travel and attend official events.

Elizabeth came to power after the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952. At the time, she was only 25 years old. She officially became queen in June of 1953.

The queen is part of the last generation of Britain’s royal family to be educated at home. The Associated Press reports that she is the first British ruler to have sent an email (1976) or use Twitter, the social networking service (2014).

Royal historian⁴ Hugo Vickers says that during her rule, Queen Elizabeth has remained dutiful to her country. He adds that she is known as the “most invisible⁵ visible⁶ public woman in the world.”

Who held the record before her?

On Wednesday, Elizabeth will beat a record set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Victoria served as queen more than a century ago for 63 years and seven months. Only four other British kings and queens have ruled 50 years or more.

Queen Elizabeth already holds the record as the country’s oldest ruler. The only other world leader with longer service is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. He took power more than 69 years ago.

In history, only a few monarchs⁷ have served even longer. Ngwenyama Sobhuza, later known as Sobhuza II, served as the Swazi King and later King of Swaziland for more than 82 years. He came to power before the age of one after the death of his father. In addition, Louis XIV served as King of France for 72 years. He was also aided by coming to power at a young age.

How will she celebrate?

British officials say Queen Elizabeth wants the record-setting occasion⁸ to be a quiet event and that the day will be “business as usual”. The Queen is expected to leave her private home at Balmoral, Scotland⁹ to open the new Scottish Borders Railway. She will also take a steam train ride on the new railway from Edinburgh with her husband, Prince Philip.     

Words in This Story

milestone – n. a very important event

invisible – adj. someone or something that cannot be seen

visible – adj. possible to be seen

monarchs – n. a person who rules a kingdom or head-of-state

occasion – n. a special time or event

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

4 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

5 invisible   

adj.看不见的，无形的

参考例句：

• The air is full of millions of invisible germs.空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。
• Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。

6 visible   

adj.看得见的，明显的，显然的；n.可见物

参考例句：

• It is a visible star in the sky.这是一颗在天空中可见的星星。
• The warning lights were clearly visible.警示信号灯清晰可见。

7 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

8 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。

9 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。