1-19

 

19.

I didn’t think it could get worse. What a grievous mistake it is for a member of the Royal Family,when considering the media, to imagine that things can’t get worse. Weeks later the samenewspaper put me on the front page again.

HARRY’S HAD AN ACCIDENT.

I’d broken a bone in my thumb playing rugby, no big deal, but the paper decided¹ to make outthat I was on life support. Bad taste, under any circumstances, but a little more than a year afterMummy’s alleged² accident?

C’mon, fellas.

I’d dealt with the British press all my life, but they’d never before singled me out. In fact,since Mummy’s death an unspoken agreement had governed press treatment of both her sons, andthe agreement went like this: Lay off.

Let them have their education in peace.

Apparently³ that agreement had now expired, because there I was, splattered across the frontpage, made out to seem a delicate flower. Or an ass⁴. Or both.

And knocking on death’s door.

I read the article several times. Despite the somber⁵ subtext—something’s very wrong withPrince Harry—I marveled at its tone: larky⁶. My existence was just fun and games to these people.

I wasn’t a human being to them. I wasn’t a fourteen-year-old boy hanging on by his fingernails. Iwas a cartoon character, a glove puppet to be manipulated and mocked for fun. So what if theirfun made my already difficult days more difficult, made me a laughingstock before myschoolmates, not to mention the wider world? So what if they were torturing a child? All wasjustified because I was royal, and in their minds royal was synonymous with non-person. Centuriesago royal men and women were considered divine; now they were insects. What fun, to plucktheir wings.

Pa’s office lodged⁷ a formal complaint, publicly demanded an apology, accused the paper ofbullying his younger son.

The newspaper told Pa’s office to sod off.

Before trying to move on with my life I took one last look at the article. Of all the things thatsurprised me about it, the truly flabbergasting thing was the absolutely shitty writing. I was a poorstudent, a dreadful writer, and yet I had enough education to recognize that this right here was amaster class in illiteracy⁸.

To take one example: After explaining that I’d been grievously injured, that I was nearly atdeath’s door, the article went on to caution breathlessly that the exact nature of my injury couldn’tbe revealed because the Royal Family had forbidden the editors to do so. (As if my family had anycontrol over these ghouls.) “To reassure⁹ you, we can say that Harry’s injuries are NOT serious.

But the accident was considered grave enough for him to be taken to hospital. But we believe youare entitled to know if an heir to the throne is involved in any accident, however small, if it resultsin injury.”

The two “buts” in a row, the smug self-regard, the lack of coherence¹⁰ and absence of any realpoint, the hysterical¹¹ nothingness of it all. This dog’s dinner of a paragraph was said to be edited—or, more likely, written—by a young journalist whose name I scanned and then quickly forgot.

I didn’t think I’d ever run across it, or him, again. The way he wrote? I couldn’t imagine he’dbe a working journalist much longer.

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

6 larky   

adj.爱闹玩的

参考例句：

• The filmmakers replace characterization with larky pop-culture and associations(David Denby) . 制片人们用愚蠢的大众文化范畴来替代影片的人物创造（戴维·登比）。 来自互联网
• The filmmakers replace characterization with larky pop-culture references and associations(David Denby) 制片人们用愚蠢的大众文化范畴来替代影片的人物创造（戴维登比） 来自互联网

7 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

9 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

10 coherence   

n.紧凑；连贯；一致性

参考例句：

• There was no coherence between the first and the second half of the film.这部电影的前半部和后半部没有连贯性。
• Environmental education is intended to give these topics more coherence.环境教育的目的是使这些课题更加息息相关。

11 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。