英国著名首相丘吉尔的挚爱手表将于伦敦拍卖

 　　Despite its name no longer appearing on watch dials, defunct¹ Swiss manufacturer Lemania is experiencing a resurgence² thanks to the inexorable growth in interest in military watches.

　　虽然名字不会再出现在表盘上了，但由于人们对军用手表的兴趣又开始高涨，沉寂已久的瑞士制表商Lemania又有了复苏之势。

　　However, its a civilian³ model that seems primed to break all records for the brand: On April 25, the Lemania watch given to Winston Churchill by the Swiss canton of Vaud is being auctioned⁵ Sotheby's in London.

　　不过，看起来要打破该品牌所有记录的是一块款式平平的表：4月25日，由瑞士沃州送给温斯顿·丘吉尔的Lemania手表将在伦敦的苏富比拍卖行拍卖。

　　The chronograph was presented to Churchill during the summer of 1946 when he stayed in village of Bursinel, Switzerland, in part for a break after the war years, as well as a period for speech-writing.

　　1946年，丘吉尔正在瑞士小镇比尔西内勒进行战后休养，同时准备着他的演讲稿，而就在那时，这块计时码表被当作礼物送给了丘吉尔。

　　英国著名首相丘吉尔的挚爱手表将于伦敦拍卖

　　The gift symbolized⁶ Churchill's "vision of peace and unity⁷ in Europe," Joanne Lewis, head of watches at Sotheby's, told the Press Association.

　　苏富比拍卖行表类负责人乔安妮·刘易斯向记者协会透露，这件礼物象征着丘吉尔对“欧洲和平与团结的展望”。

　　Sotheby's has provided an upper estimate of about $31,000, but considering the usually pessimistic estimates provided by the auction⁴ houses, this conservative figure might be exceeded if either a Lemania or chronograph collector enters a bidding war with a Churchill aficionado⁸.

　　苏富比拍卖行估计这块表最高会拍到3.1万美元，但是考虑到该拍卖行的估计通常比较悲观，所以如果Lemania或计时码表的收藏者们和丘吉尔死忠来一场如火如荼的拍价较量，这一数字就有被超越的可能。

　　Prior to this wristwatch appearing for sale, the most famous of Churchill's watches was a Breguet pocket watch, which was in daily use. (Lemania was absorbed by Breguet and is now part of the Swatch Group.)

　　在这块腕表拍卖之前，丘吉尔用过的最有名的表是一块宝玑怀表，也是他在日常生活中常用的一块表。（Lemania已被宝玑公司收购，如今是斯沃琪集团的一部分）

1 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

2 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 auctioned   

v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉，心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 aficionado   

n.…迷；运动迷

参考例句：

• This is good news for postcard aficionado Drene Brennan.这对明信片迷杰纳•布雷南来说是个好消息。
• I'm a real opera aficionado.我是个真正的歌剧迷。