Take Away English-The Queen At Eighty 女王八十寿辰

Queen Elizabeth II

April the 21st marks the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. She is one of the most famous women in the world but how much do you know about the British monarch¹?

Did you know, for example, that the Queen is the 15th richest woman in the UK with an estimated fortune of £270 million? So, if you don’t know much about the head of the British Royal Family, here are some more interesting facts and figures.

Queen Elizabeth II is the fortieth monarch since William the Conqueror² won the crown in 1066.

During her 54-year reign³, she has made over 250 official visits to 129 different countries, including China in 1986. She has also hosted more than 90 state banquets for foreign dignitaries. On such official occasions the Queen often receives presents from foreign leaders. Amongst the more unusual presents she has been given are jaguars⁴ and sloths⁵ from Brazil, and black beavers⁶ from Canada.

Other noteworthy visitors to Buckingham Palace include Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, as well as the American astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong.

The Queen is a great animal lover and is known for her love of corgis. She is also a keen horsewoman and horse breeder whose horses have won major races. However, her relationship with Britain’s animals goes far beyond dogs and horses.

According to an ancient statute⁷, all sturgeons, whales and dolphins found in British waters belong to her, as do all swans in Britain’s rivers. In fact, the Queen is the only person in the UK who is legally permitted to eat a swan!

The Queen traditionally sends a telegram of congratulations to centenarians on their hundredth birthday. Perhaps she will be sending herself one in twenty years time. Her family has a great history of longevity⁸ with the Queen’s own mother dying in 2002 at the age of 101.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
monarch 皇室 crown 皇冠， 皇位 hosted 主办 foreign dignitaries 高级外国使团 sloths 三趾树獭 noteworthy 显著的 astronaut 太空宇航员 horse breeder 马的饲养人 sturgeons 口鱼 centenarians 百岁老人	estimated fortune 估计的财富 reign 统治 state banquets 国宴 jaguars 美洲虎 beavers 海狸 cosmonaut 苏联太空人 corgis 来自威尔士的短腿小狗 ancient statute 古老的法典 swans 天鹅 longevity 长寿

 

1 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。

2 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

3 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

4 jaguars   

n.（中、南美洲的）美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jaguars are largely nocturnal creatures. 美洲虎基本上是夜行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from southern South America to theUnited States. 美洲虎曾经分布在北美洲南部和美洲南部。 来自互联网

5 sloths   

懒散( sloth的名词复数 )； 懒惰； 树獭； （经济）停滞。

参考例句：

• Mummies of pleistocene ground sloths, with original skin, hair, tendons and claws have been found. 还发现了保存原有皮肤，毛发，腱和爪的更新世时期地面树懒的木乃伊。
• He was inspired by fossils of armadillos and sloths. 犰狳和树懒化石让他获得了灵感。

6 beavers   

海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人

参考例句：

• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
• Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的，蜜蜂是这样做的，人也是这样做的。

7 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

8 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。