ESL Podcast 533 – Making Funeral and Burial Arrangements

Reiko: When I die, I want a big funeral. The more mourners the better!

Lucas: Not me. I’m just the opposite. I don’t want any kind of funeral or wake. I just want to be cremated¹ and have my ashes scattered².

Reiko: What? You don’t want to be buried in a beautiful casket with a big headstone? Better yet, how about being interred³ in a mausoleum?

Lucas: You’ve got to be kidding me! Why would I all want all of that hoopla? I’m dead. What difference would it make to me?

Reiko: It’s not for you. It’s for the mourners. Having a ceremony and a burial will help them grieve.

Lucas: Not my friends and family. The less fuss the better for them. Most of my family is buried in simple gravesites in non-denominational cemeteries⁴.

Reiko: What’s the fun in that?

Lucas: I think you’re forgetting one thing: we’re talking about death. It’s not supposed to be fun and games!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 interred   

v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The body was interred at the cemetery. 遗体埋葬在公墓里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句