VOA标准英语2009年-Exiled Egyptian Princess Mourned in Ca

Princess Ferial, the daughter of Egypt's last ruling king, died Sunday in Switzerland after a long battle with cancer and laid to rest at Cairo's al Rifa'i mosque¹

Elizabeth Arrott | Egypt 02 December 2009

Mourner paying respects to exiled King Fouad II of Egyp (l) at the funeral of his sister Princess Ferial, Cairo, 01 Dec 2009

The body of the late Princess Ferial, the daughter of Egypt's last ruling king, has been returned home and laid to rest at Cairo's al Rifa'i mosque. Ferial, aged² 71, died Sunday in Switzerland, after a long battle with cancer.   

The muezzin recited verses of the Koran as members of Egypt's exiled royal family gathered around the princess' coffin³.  Ferial's body was flown back from Switzerland late Tuesday, and carried in a dusty station wagon⁴ to the mosque.
 
But the late hour of the rites⁵ and the simplicity⁶ of the service belied⁷ the grandeur⁸ into which the late princess was born.

The first child of the dashing, young King Farouk, Ferial's arrival in 1938 was celebrated⁹ across the country.  It was a happy time, before another world war and before the loss of Palestinian lands to Israel, before the disappointment of two more girls in the royal family, before her father left her mother to marry the woman who would bear him a son.

Safia el-Nokrashi, daughter of the then-prime minister and a childhood friend of Princess Ferial, was among the mourners in al-Rifai, remembering her long-ago visits to the royal palace.

"I was invited for tea and a friendship started," she said.  "I started going regularly until 1952, when they left Egypt."

Their leaving marked the end of 150 years of the family dynasty, swept away by the socialist¹⁰ revolution of Gamal Abdul Nassar. Friends said Farouk never recovered from the blow.  The once handsome monarch¹¹ grew staggeringly fat, his life of excess ending in 1965 in a restaurant in Rome.  

In 1973, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat allowed the king's children to come home.  Safia el-Nokrashi remembers Ferial's first return from what her friends describe as her humbly¹² genteel exile in Switzerland.

The first visit was hard for her because she went and looked for all the old servants or nannies who used to work in the palace.  She went and looked for them, and it was hard for her.

In so many ways, the country and the world had changed.

After the reading of the prayer, Ferial's coffin was placed in the burial chamber¹³ of al-Rifai - echoing with some of the last gasps¹⁴ of 20th century monarchies¹⁵.  Among the tombs is that of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iran's last shah.

Some things remained the same.  The father of Ferial's childhood friend, Prime Minister  Mahmoud Fahmi Nokrashi, tried  during the monarchy¹⁶ to ban the Muslim Brotherhood¹⁷, the Islamic fundamentalist force that continues to bedevil Egypt's leaders to this day. 

And social hierarchy¹⁸ continues, only now it is the relatives of Gamal Abdel Nasser and more recent leaders one runs into in the elite¹⁹ clubs of Cairo.

There appears no overwhelming nostalgia²⁰ for royal rule.  The region still has monarchies - in Jordan and Saudi Arabia - but they provide little in terms of role models for most Egyptians. 

But there does seem to be respect for the nation's one-time rulers.  At al-Rifa'i, late into the night, Ferial's brother, the exiled King Fouad II, led the family in  greeting the crowds of mourners, royalty²¹ and citizens alike, who came out to bid the princess farewell.

 

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 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。

4 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

5 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

6 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

7 belied   

v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His bluff exterior belied a connoisseur of antiques. 他作风粗放，令人看不出他是古董鉴赏家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her smile belied her true feelings. 她的微笑掩饰了她的真实感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

11 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。

12 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

14 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 monarchies   

n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治

参考例句：

• It cleared away a number of monarchies. 它清除了好几个君主政体。
• Nowadays, there are few monarchies left in the world. 现在世界上君主制的国家已经很少了。

16 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。

17 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

18 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

19 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

20 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

21 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。