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2023年华慧考博英语：外刊精读 双语解析(3)
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they die in their sleep.” But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. So, does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days? Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyles?由西班牙胡安•卡洛斯国王退位事件(前两句对比)引出对欧洲君主制的担忧(接连两个问句)。
【单词短语积累】
Abdicate 退位
Eat one's word 食言
Stand down 退出，下台
The writing is on the wall 某事物将不复存在的不祥预兆
Magnificent 华丽的，高贵的
Majestic 雄伟的，壮丽的
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity as heads of state. And so, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
This apparent transcendence指代上段中rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity，这也是君主制在欧洲盛行的原因。
【单词短语积累】
Polarized 极端化的
Transcendence 超越，卓越
-Infested 大批出没的
Absolutist 专制主义者，专制政治论者
Counterpart 对应的人或物
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today—embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.
The most successful monarchies strive to abandon or hide their old aristocratic ways. Princes and princesses have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not horses (or helicopters). Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.
欧洲王室走下坡路的原因——特权及不平等。
【单词短语积累】
Downside 缺点，不利方面
Be symbolic of 是……的象征
Outdated 过时的
Indefensible 站不住脚的
Bizarre 奇异的
Intrusiveness 侵扰，干涉
While Europe’s monarchies will no doubt be smart enough to survive for some time to come, it is the British royals who have most to fear from the Spanish example.
It is only the Queen who has preserved the monarchy’s reputation with her rather ordinary (if well-heeled) granny style. The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world. He has failed to understand that monarchies have largely survived because they provide a service——as non-controversial and non-political heads of state. Charles ought to know that as English history shows, it is kings, not republicans,who are the monarchy’s worst enemies.
欧洲王室担心重蹈覆辙，以英国王室为例，将女王与查尔斯对比，说明君主制最大的敌人是国王而非共和党人。
【单词短语积累】
Fail to do 未能做某事
【段落大意】
第一段：西班牙胡安•卡洛斯国王退位。
第二段：西班牙的例子引发了支持和反对君主政体的争论。
第三段：君主作为国家元首备受欢迎的原因。
第四段：君主制的不足之处。
第五段：面对这种状况欧洲君主的应对策略。
第六段：欧洲王室害怕重蹈覆辙，争取了一些时间。
第七段：君主制最大的敌人是国王而不是共和党人。
【长难句解析】
1.When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
【结构剖析】句子的主干为：monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity;when引导时间状语从句when public opinion is particularly polarized;as it was为方式状语，省略了polarized;following the end of the Franco regime作时间状语。
【句意】当公众舆论严重两极分化时，正如佛朗哥执政末期那样，君主们就能超越单纯的政治概念，转而变成国家统一精神的代表。
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