新西兰英语 17 Thanksgiving Service

　　When Sir Edmund Hillary died in January, some New Zealanders were upset because the Royal family did not attend the funeral in Auckland. However, the Queen promised to celebrate Sir Edmund’s life with a special service in England. That service was held yesterday in St George’s chapel¹ at Windsor castle. It was called a Thanksgiving service because it was to give thanks for Sir Edmund’s life. Although St George’s is called a chapel, it is really a large and beautiful church, with room for 650 people.
The Queen and Princess Anne attended along with the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and members of the Hillary family. Sir Edmund’s son and daughter spoke² about their father. The Prime Minister also spoke. The choir³ of St George’s chapel sang a hymn⁴ written by a New Zealander, Richard Madden, who lives in Dunedin. His son, Nicholas, who is living in England at the moment, sang a solo part. Another New Zealander, Jonathon Lemalu, also sang. Many of the guests in the chapel were New Zealanders living in the UK.
In 1995, Sir Edmund became a Knight⁵ of the Garter in a ceremony in this same chapel. This is a special honour, given by the Queen to only 24 famous people. The banners of these people look a bit like flags. They hang from the ceiling in St George’s chapel. Sir Edmund’s banner has a picture of 3 mountains on it and 4 Buddhist⁶ prayer wheels to show his love of the people in Nepal. Hanging above the banner was a large kiwi holding an ice axe⁷. Yesterday, the banner was taken down and during the service, a Maori woman chanted a karanga, a welcome call, then the banner was carried around the chapel and put on the altar. Later it will be given to Lady Hillary to keep.
The service ended with the singing of “God Save the Queen”. The Dean of Windsor walked down the aisle⁸ with the Queen and Princess Anne, followed by Lady Hillary. The Prime Minister and the Hillary family then attended lunch with the Queen. Lady Hillary gave back the garter which is a kind of belt, the collar and badge that Sir Edmund wore as a Knight of the Garter.

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

4 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

5 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

6 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

7 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

8 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。