纪念莎士比亚诞辰450周年

 　　Today marks 450th anniversary of the birth of British bard¹ William Shakespeare.

　　To commemorate² the anniversary, the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing will be hosting an array of Shakespearean plays to honor the English playwright³.

　　CRI's Sam Duckett has more.

　　This year, to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, The Grand National Theatre of Performing Arts in Beijing will be hosting a production of Dunsinane, a contemporary play that tells the tale of events just after the original Macbeth story, with a couple of twists thrown in.

　　Dunsinane is a co-production of the Royal Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play is set just after the death of Macbeth. An English army has swept through the landscape, killed the tyrant⁴ and taken the seat of power. Attempting to restore peace and put in place a new ruler, Siward, the commanding officer, is beset⁵ by a brutal⁶ guerrilla uprising. Increasingly isolated⁷ from his own men and Scottish allies alike, his efforts to restore order appear futile⁸ as the situation spins out of control.

　　Professional Chinese actor Yu Eentai is the official promoter for the production.

　　"Hello Everyone I am Yu Wentai, I am very happy to be promoting the 450th Shakespeare birthday celebration performances. TV and Movies sometimes leave me feeling distance from the theatre stage, but I think every actor has a passion for live theater. My understanding of the stage comes from Shakespeare. The style of this performance is totally original. Shakespeare represents eternal spirit and I hope everyone has a chance to come down and check out the performance."

　　Project director of the China Grand National Theatre of Performing Arts, Wen Tianyi talked with me about the production that will be taking place on Shakespeare's birthday.

　　Shakespeare's birthday has been an annual celebration in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon since the 1650s. To celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday their will be a full weekend of entertainment, in his home city, which is sure to be unforgettable.

　　China also enjoys paying tribute to the classic Elizabethan writer during his birthday. The Grand National Theatre of Performing Arts has a profound respect for Shakespeare and has celebrated⁹ his birthday without fail for the past six years.

　　Wen Tianyi discussed with me some of the past birthday celebrations thrown in William Shakespeare's honor.

　　"During the 6 year history of the Grand National theatre we have host special productions every year for Shakespeare. During 2011, Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey led an all English production of Richard IIIX. During 2012 we also had an English production of Henry the XV and the winter story. The name of the troupe¹⁰ that performed these two pieces was called propeller¹¹, they were an all male performance troupe. They gave a completely new perspective on both of these plays that left a strong impression on the audience. "

　　Shakespeare has had a huge impact on China, his works has allowed for foreign performance troupes¹² from all over the world to travel to China and perform. His plays have also not only been performed by domestic Chinese troupes in mandarin¹³, certain performing arts companies have also performed his work in Ethnic¹⁴ dialects.

　　That is CRI's Sam Duckett reporting

1 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

2 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

3 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

11 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

12 troupes   

n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出

参考例句：

• There are six Kunqu opera troupes left in the country. 整个国家现在只剩下六个昆剧剧团。
• Note: Art performance troupes include within and outside of the system. 注：艺术表演团体统计口径调整为含系统内、系统外两部分。

13 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。