【跟着英剧练发音】The Queens Palaces E1-21（在线收听）

 文本：

Just to give you an inkling of quite how opulent it was, at one supper for 3,000 guests, there was a single table the entire length of the building, incorporating a stream all the way along it, with live goldfish, imagine.

For years, George had carried out the duties of his ailing father. By the time the King died in 1820, George was nearly 60.

George IV was now the ruler of the rapidly-expanding British Empire, and he wanted a palace to reflect that power. St James's, he thought, was too dingy. 

Carlton House was clearly much more impressive, but it had never been big enough for George. And, thanks to his endless alterations, it was now structurally unsound. So, after all he'd spent on it, with its exquisite interiors, he just pulled it down.

 翻译：

关于宴会的奢华，给你个直观的印象。一次晚宴有3000名宾客，桌子摆满了整栋建筑，像流水宴一样，欢快热闹，难以想象！

几年来，乔治一直代生病的父亲履行国王的职责，1820年国王逝世的时候，乔治已年近60了，乔治四世成了蒸蒸日上的大英帝国的统治者。他需要一座宫殿来展示他的权威。圣詹姆斯宫太脏了，卡尔顿宫倒是够醒目，但对乔治四世来说还不够大。他不断修改宫殿设计，结构上已经变得面目全非，也花费了大量精力进行内部的装修，最后还是推倒了这座宫殿。