2010/07/29

This Day in History July 29歷史上的今天 7月29日

It was the fairy tale wedding every girl dreamed of. Lady Diana Spencer, a schoolteacher, married Charles Windsor, the Prince of Wales on this date in 1981. The wedding was held at St. Paul’s
Cathedral in London. There were 3,500 invited guests in attendance at the ceremony, while some 750 million people watched the service on TV worldwide. Everyone was excited by Charles and Diana’s romance because she was the first British commoner to marry an heir to the throne in over 300 years. Diana’s over-the-top wedding dress added to the fairy tale feeling. It cost more than $13,000 at the time and had a 25-foot train!

歷史上的今天 7月29日…

這是每個女孩都夢想擁有的童話般婚禮。在1981年的今天,身為學校老師的黛安娜.史賓賽女士嫁給了威爾斯王子查爾斯.溫莎。這場婚禮在倫敦的聖保羅大教堂舉行。共有3千5百位受邀參加的賓客出席這場典禮,而全球有大約7億5千萬民眾在電視前收看婚禮的轉播。因為黛安娜是3百多年來首位嫁給王位繼承人的一般英國百姓,所以她和查爾斯這段佳話特別令世人津津樂道。黛安娜極其奢華的結婚禮服更是增添了童話般的氛圍。這件禮服在當時造價超過1萬3千美元,而且還有長達25英尺的裙襬!

知識大補帖

黛安娜王妃與查爾斯王子的婚禮(圖,資料照片) 雖然不是有史以來耗資最鉅,但受矚目的程度絕對是前所未有,因此常被世人稱為「世紀婚禮」(wedding of the century)。除了上述所列出的賓客及電視觀眾人數,在黛安娜搭禮車前往聖保羅大教堂的路上,就有將近兩百萬人夾道歡迎,爭相目睹黛安娜的丰采。此 外,婚禮上還發生了一段有趣的小插曲,黛安娜在朗讀婚約誓詞(wedding vows)時,誤將查爾斯的全名Charles Philip Arthur George念反,說成查爾斯父王的名字Philip Charles Arthur George,也因此查爾斯隨即開玩笑說:She’s married my father!(她嫁給了我父親!)

單字片語

◎in attendance 出席,參加
例:Over 200 people were in attendance at the protest last Sunday.(上個星期天的抗議活動共有兩百多人到場參加。)
◎service n.(婚禮,葬禮等)儀式;(宗教)禮拜
◎commoner n.平民
◎over-the-top a.過於誇張的
例:Jim Carrey’s over-the-top comedy made him a very popular actor.(金凱瑞極度誇張的喜劇表演使他成為很受歡迎的演員。)
◎add to... 增添……
例:The soft lighting in the restaurant adds to the romantic atmosphere.(那家餐廳柔和的燈光增添了浪漫的氣氛。)

No comments: