美文欣赏-When Love Was The Adventure

12 WHEN LOVE WAS THE ADVENTURE

On a cold January morning in 1936, George V was given a king’s burial. Following his coffin 1 was his eldest 2 son, the handsome, much loved, Prince of Wales. He was about to be proclaimed the next king of England. He was that 1)exceptional thing: a model 2)royal. He was at ease in every company. Everyone expected him to shake the 3)stuffiness out of the 4)monarchy. But as time passed, as he span between the royal duties, people began to 5)remark that the prince was approaching 40 and still unmarried. Only a privileged few knew that he’d been 6)stepping out with the mysterious American, a woman who was cheating on her husband with the future king of England. This was the lady known as Wallis Simpson, whom he was determined 3 to marry.

So now he was king, but no one could persuade him to give up Wallis. Not even Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin who spoke 4 for the nation when he said Britain did not want an American divorcee for a queen. Ministerial car shuttled between Westminster and Buckingham Palace but the king could not be 7)budged. He was forced to 8)abdicate and all over the country flags flew at 9)half-mast.

In the summer of 1937 there was a quiet wedding in France. The couple looked a bit nervous, especially the groom 5, but only a year before he’d been a king. Now he and his wife would be called the 10)Duke and 11)Duchess of Windsor.

So now the man who’d given up a kingdom and a woman who’d given up two husbands 12)embarked on their endless round of fun and 13)gaiety. In the war years they’d been trapped in the Bahamas, but emerged every now and then to attend the great cultural festivals where they startled the locals with the brilliance 6 of their 14)attire. But the man who’d been a king found he was now only a 15)celebrity. There were even rumors 7 that he and the duchess were breaking up so they had to parade their 16)devotion for the cameras.

Four years later it was the nation’s turn to mourn the Duke and to reflect on one man’s decision to trade the crown of England for the love of Wallis and the price they had both had to pay.

1、exceptional a. 特殊的，罕见的

2、royal n. 王室成员

3、stuffiness n. 憋闷，不透气

4、monarchy n. 君主，元首

5、remark v. （正式，旧）注意到，觉察

6、step out 出去赴约会，从事娱乐活动

7、budge v. 稍微移动，改变态度

8、abdicate v.（国王）退位

9、mast n. 杆，柱

10、Duke n. （英）公爵

11、Duchess n. （英）公爵夫人

12、embark on 从事，着手，开始

13、gaiety n. 欢乐，愉快

14、attire n. 服装，衣饰

15、celebrity n. 名望，著名人士

16、devotion n. 献身，忠实，热爱

12 爱德华与辛普森夫人-爱的艰程

1936年1月一天寒冷的早晨，英国王室为乔治五世举行国葬。跟在他灵柩之后的是他的长子--英俊而深受爱戴的威尔士王子。他将被宣布成为英国的新国王。他是个模范的皇室成员，卓尔不群又平易近人。人人都期望着他会一改王室拘谨沉闷的形象。但时之以日，在他履行王室职责的同时，人们开始注意到王子已年近四十却仍然形只影单。只有少数几人有幸得知他一直在和一位神秘的美国女子约会，她瞒着丈夫和未来的英国国王来往。这位女士就是沃丽斯•辛普森，是王子决意要娶的人。

等他成为国王后，没人能说服他放弃沃丽斯。连首相斯坦利•巴尔德温也不行--他代表国家说英国不想让一个离过婚的美国人成为王后。大臣们的汽车在威斯敏斯特教堂和白金汉宫之间穿梭往返，但国王丝毫不为所动。他被迫让位，为此举国降下半旗。

1937年夏天，他们静静地在法国举行了一个婚礼。两人看起来有点紧张，尤其是新郎，一年之前他还是个国王。现在他和妻子被称为温莎公爵伉俪。

放弃了江山的他和曾经两度离婚的她开始去尽情地享乐。战争时代他们被困在巴哈马群岛，但偶尔会出席一些盛大的文化节庆，他们的华衣美服让当地人惊叹不已。不过曾为国君的他发现自己现在只是个名人。甚至有传言说他和公爵夫人将要离异，于是他们不得不在镜头前表现恩爱一面。

四年后，全国哀悼公爵的逝世并深思他的决择--他为了对沃丽斯的爱情放弃了英国王位，他们两人都为此付出了代价。