VOA标准英语2011--A Royal Obsession, Do Americans Care?

A Royal Obsession¹, Do Americans Care?

The U.S. media have made sure Americans don't miss out on a single detail about the upcoming wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton. But what do Americans in Washington really think of the royal wedding mania²?
American TV morning shows and 24-hour news channels make it seem as though Americans can't get enough of the royal affair. But Americans in the capital, Washington, seem to have mixed feelings.
"I haven't really paid attention to it. There's other things going on that seem to be more important than that," one woman said.
M.C. Corson, a tourist visiting Washington D.C., disagrees. "I do like to follow it when I can. And I especially like sorta following sorta how Kate's become a real fashion icon," she said.
Tourist John McKee Heyniger isn't interested. "It just doesn't have any concern to me. It's his business. It's, you know, an English wedding and I am American," he said.
But American media outlets³ will give them a front row seat, anyway. Leading American television anchors from networks, like ABC and CNN, will be in London to catch the first glimpse of Kate Middleton's dress. Even The Weather Channel will deliver special royal wedding forecasts, and the American cable network, Lifetime, has made a William & Kate movie.
Media studies professor Andrea Press says American enthusiasm for this month's royal wedding is not unique. Thirty years ago, 750 million people tuned⁵ in for the wedding of Prince William's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Press says Americans are mesmerized⁶ by the fact that Kate, born a commoner, could become the Queen of England.
"The obsessive⁷ focus on everyday detail in our coverage⁸ of celebrity⁹ helps us to imagine ourselves in their position or helps us to deconstruct the mystique of these famous people, and imagine they are ordinary people just like you and me," Press explained.
Americans are not the only ones talking about the royal occasion. The Irish have searched the term "Kate Middleton" on Google more than the British. And people in Canada, New Zealand and the Philippines have searched the future princess's name more than Americans.
Royal expert and blogger Cheryl Anderson Brown says Queen Elizabeth II's leadership of the Commonwealth¹⁰ of Nations gives the monarchy¹² global popularity.
"There are so many nations formerly¹³ part of the empire British empire that are now still part of the Commonwealth that consider the queen to be their monarch¹¹. So, it is really the royal family of so many nations around the world," Brown said.
Whatever the reason may be, an estimated two billion people are expected to tune⁴ in for the April 29 wedding. And many will be Americans, who will have to wake up extra early, 6:00 am Washington D.C. time, to watch the wedding live.

1 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

2 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

3 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

7 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

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 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。

13 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。