Imagining What Might Have Been

 　　The late British Princess Diana would have turned 50 on July 1, a milestone¹ that has generated a raft of speculation² on what she might have looked like today and what her life would be like.

　　She was killed nearly 14 years ago in a Paris car crash but her life, loves, beauty and social activism still attract admirers and a fascinated public. Some marked the day by gathering³ outside London's Kensington Palace, where she once lived, and left cards, a cake, a collage⁴ and other mementos⁵ at the gates.

　　She was known as the "People's Princess," but her death at 36 came at a time of personal turmoil⁶. Divorced from Prince Charles, Princess Diana had just ended a romance with a heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan, and a new relationship with wealthy playboy Dodi Fayed was less than two months old. He was killed in the accident with her as paparazzi chased their car in a Paris highway tunnel.

　　U.S. magazine, Newsweek, provoked a storm among her admirers this week by altering a photograph of a much older-looking Diana strolling alongside Kate Middleton, the daughter-in-law she never met who recently married her older son, William. The magazine's editor, Tina Brown, a friend of Diana's who wrote a biography of her, speculated that the late princess might have married twice more, probably on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　Such guessing about Diana's life has also proved popular this week in the British press as well.  One columnist⁷ speculated that Diana would have married into "old American money," perhaps someone with a power-base in New York, but also a horse-racing stable in the state of Kentucky.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 collage   

n.拼贴画；v.拼贴；把……创作成拼贴画

参考例句：

• A collage of coloured paper covers a table top.一副彩纸拼贴画盖在桌面上。
• He has used a mixture of mosaic,collage and felt-tip pen.他混合使用了马赛克、拼贴画和毡头笔。

5 mementos   

纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The museum houses a collection of mementos, materials and documents. 博物馆保存着很多回忆录以及文献资料。
• This meant, however, that no one was able to retrieve irreplaceable family mementos. 然而，这也意味着谁也没能把无可替代的家庭纪念品从火中救出来。

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。