2006年VOA标准英语-Thailand Marks King's Diamond Jubilee with Spec

By Scott Bobb
Bangkok
08 June 2006
 
Thailand is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the coronation of its revered¹ King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning² monarch³. Dozens of royal leaders from around the world are attending the celebrations, which include religious ceremonies, royal exhibits and lavish⁴ tributes to the Thai monarch. The most spectacular of these is a procession Monday night of 52 royal barges⁶ down Bangkok's Chao Praya River before the king and his guests. Correspondent Scott Bobb has this report from the Thai capital on the months of preparations that go into the rare performance.

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Royal barges  
  

It is midday at the Thai Royal Navy boatyard on Bangkok's Chao Praya River and Captain Kamphol Rahong is barking instructions as his men prepare for the royal barge⁵ procession.

The 700-year-old ceremony displays the traditional way in which Thai kings travel for important events such as coronations and major religious ceremonies.

 During the procession, four royal barges, each the length of several city buses and about two meters wide, glide⁷ down the river escorted by 48 other barges in a formation of five columns. 

 
Kamphol Rahong
  
Kamphol captains the king's barge, which is the considered the most beautiful. It is called Suphannahongse after a swan-like steed from Thai mythology⁸. Hewn from a single giant tree nearly 100 years ago, it is carved to look like a swan and is ornately decorated in gold and red.

It is powered by 50 oarsmen, and carries two steersmen, nine standard bearers and two officers.

The oarsmen of the four royal barges use a special stroke. They raise their oars⁹ high in the air, emulating¹⁰ a swan spreading its wings, before they dip them into the water.

There have been only 14 royal barge processions since King Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned 60 years ago. The occasion this time is to mark the anniversary of his coronation. The king, the world's longest reigning monarch, is revered by the Thais, because of his many good deeds and his discreet¹¹ intervention¹² during several political crises.

 
Dressed up like ancient Thai warriors¹³, oarsmen row the Narai Song Suban royal barge on the Chaophaya river during rehearsal¹⁴ of Royal Barge procession in Bangkok
  
Kamphol, who trains the 2,000 oarsmen in the procession, says the crews have been practicing for more than seven months.

"First, we practiced on land for 40 working days and then we practiced on the water for 49 days. We held minor¹⁵ rehearsals¹⁶ for two days and four nights, and finally three dress rehearsals," he said.

Two steersmen guide each barge. Standing¹⁷ at the stern, they use long oars to keep the boats in position in one of five columns in the middle of the river.

Chief Petty Officer Viroj Photites is the senior steersman on the king's barge. He says the greatest danger comes from the wind, which can blow the barges into each other. 

Viroj Photites  
  
"The Suphannahongse Royal Barge must stay in the middle of the river," he said.  "If I cannot control it, the other steersman must help until we are out of danger."

The oarsmen synchronize¹⁸ their strokes by chanting. Lieutenant¹⁹ Nattawat Aramklua, the cantor, says all crewmen consider it a great honor to serve the king in this important part of Thai culture.

"It is Thai tradition, Thai culture inherited from the ancestors from a long time ago," he noted²⁰.  "It's a tradition that links us to the king who is respected by every Thai."

During the procession, Nattawat will sing for more than two hours without stopping.

The song, written especially for this occasion, glorifies²¹ the king and praises his kingdom. 

 
Oarsmen of the royal barges 
  
Once the oarsmen are seated in their boats for this rehearsal they pray and then practice their stroke.

The barges are then backed out of their berths²² and into the river channel.

The barges are positioned up the river and about an hour later they sail past the royal palace.

Thousands of spectators line the shores. Many are wearing yellow shirts, with the royal crest²³ on the front, made especially for the occasion. They have been waiting for hours in the heat to watch this rare ancient performance.

As the stately barges glide by, silence descends on the crowd, and only the sound of the drums and the chanting of the oarsmen float across the river

1 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

4 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

5 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

6 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

7 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

8 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

9 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 emulating   

v.与…竞争( emulate的现在分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The possibilities of producing something entirely new by emulating nature's very wide crosses are enticing. 用自然界的非常广泛的杂交方法创造出全新植物种的可能性是诱人的。 来自辞典例句
• The human emulating this archetypal patterning will be quite the accomplished businessperson. 这类原型模式者会是一个很成功的商人。 来自互联网

11 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

12 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

13 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

14 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 synchronize   

v.使同步 [=synchronise]

参考例句：

• The sound on a film must synchronize with the action. 影片中的声音必须与动作配合一致。
• You must synchronize your Inbox before selecting additional folders. 在选择其他文件夹前，您必须同步您的收件箱。

19 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

20 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

21 glorifies   

赞美( glorify的第三人称单数 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣

参考例句：

• He denies that the movie glorifies violence. 他否认这部影片美化暴力。
• This magazine in no way glorifies gangs. 这本杂志绝对没有美化混混们。

22 berths   

n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位

参考例句：

• Berths on steamships can be booked a long while in advance. 轮船上的床位可以提前多日预订。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Have you got your berths on the ship yet? 你们在船上有舱位了吗？ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。