彭蒙惠英语：Queen Elizabeth I（在线收听）

Queen Elizabeth I

By Melissa Burdick Harmon /

This article was published originally

In Biography Magazine © A&E Television

Networks. All rights reserved.

The woman who ruled England through four decades of danger and glory

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Seldom had the birth of a baby caused a father so much disappointment and rage. On September 7, 1533, when tiny, redheaded Elizabeth was born, the volatile Henry VIII, King of England, wanted no part of her. He had, after all, divorced his first wife, broken relations with the Catholic Church and married Anne Boleyn for the sake of what was supposed to be a male heir.

The much-married Henry VIII

Boleyn, like Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, failed to give him a son. Soon Boleyn was beheaded in the Tower of London and immediately replaced in her husband’s affections by her lady in waiting Jane Seymour. Simultaneously, Henry revoked Elizabeth’s rights to the throne, having already pushed aside her older sister, Mary Tudor.

Seymour managed to produce the requisite son, Edward VI; unfortunately, she died in the process. Elizabeth then had three more stepmothers as Henry continued to remarry. After wife number five met her death on the chopping block, Elizabeth, who doubtless associated marriage with betrayal and danger, announced to her childhood friend Robert Dudley that she would never marry. It was a promise she would keep.

Succession to the throne

Henry’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, convinced the king to restore his daughters to the succession. She then engaged some of the keenest minds in England to tutor the fiercely intelligent young Elizabeth. Henry VIII died in 1547, to be succeeded by his 10-year-old son Edward VI. Elizabeth moved to the home of Catherine Parr, her stepmother and new guardian.

Five years later, young Edward VI died of tuberculosis. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth’s older sister Mary Tudor was crowned Queen Mary I. While Mary was generally popular at first, Protestants in England viewed her with suspicion that turned to unrest when she married the Catholic prince, Philip, heir to the Spanish throne.

Vocabulary Focus

volatile (adj) [5vClEtail] likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly, especially to become violent or angry

for the sake of (idiom) because of; for the purpose or reason of

requisite (adj) [5rekwizit] needed for a particular purpose or result

succession (n) [sEk5seFEn] the act of taking an official position of authority or job after someone else

Specialized Terms

Catholic (adj) 天主教的 relating to a member of the largest Christian religion that is ruled by the Pope in Rome

heir (n) 继承人 a person who will legally receive money, property or a title from another person when that person dies

lady in waiting (n phr) 侍女，宫女 a woman whose job is to help a queen or woman of high social position

chopping block (n phr) 断头板 a thick piece of wood on which heads were cut off as a form of execution

tuberculosis (n) 肺结核 a serious, infectious disease of the lungs

Protestant (n) 新教徒（基督徒） one who belongs to the part of the Christian religion that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s

英国女王伊莉莎白一世

这位女士统治英格兰40年，历经危险与荣耀

许美鸾 译

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很少有一个婴儿的诞生会令父亲如此失望和愤怒。1533年9月7日，当小小的、红发的伊莉莎白出生时，善变的英国国王亨利八世一点都不想要她。毕竟，他当时已和第一任太太离了婚，和天主教教会关系破裂，并且和被认为怀了男继承人的安妮·布尔结了婚。

多婚的亨利八世

和亨利的第一任太太西班牙公主凯瑟琳一样，布尔没能生个男孩。她不久就上了伦敦塔的断头台，并且立即就被丈夫的新欢，也是她的侍女珍·西摩尔所取代。同时，亨利废除了伊莉莎白的王位继承权，之前他已经把她的姐姐玛丽·都铎置于一旁了。

西摩尔勉力生了个必要的男孩，爱德华六世；她不幸死于难产。因为亨利继续再婚，伊莉莎白接着又有了3个继母。当第五位太太被斩首后，伊莉莎白无疑地把婚姻和背叛及危险连在一起，乃向她的儿时玩伴罗伯·杜德雷宣称永不结婚。她遵守了这个诺言。

继承王位  

凯瑟琳·帕尔是亨利的第六任也是最后一任太太。她说服了国王恢复女儿们的继承权。接着，她请了英格兰一些最优秀的导师，来指导年轻且才思敏捷的伊莉莎白。亨利八世死于1547年，由他10岁大的儿子爱德华六世继承王位。伊莉莎白搬到她的继母，同时也成为她的监护人，凯瑟琳·帕尔的家。

5年后，年轻的爱德华六世死于肺结核。不久，伊莉莎白的姐姐玛丽·都铎加冕成为玛丽一世女王。玛丽最初普受欢迎，但当她嫁给了西班牙王位继承人，天主教的菲利浦王子时，英格兰的新教徒对她的疑心演变成了动乱。