新奇事件簿 新加坡庆祝独立50周年

Singapore celebrated¹ its fiftieth birthday on Saturday. The tiny nation became an independent country on August 8th, 1965. The climax² of the celebrations was the largest fireworks display ever seen in Singapore. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the streets to celebrate. The country has been counting down to this anniversary since New Year's Eve. There have been hundreds of events to mark the fifty years since independence. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave a special National Day message to the nation. He said that Singapore could look forward to "new peaks" ahead. He added that: "The journey ahead is uncharted. But we must press on, because we aspire³ to do better for ourselves and our children."

周六，新加坡举行了50周年庆典。1965年的8月8日，弹丸之地新加坡独立。庆典的高潮是新加坡有史以来规模最大的一次烟火表演。数万名民众聚集在大街上欢呼雀跃。从除夕开始，新加坡就开始翘首以盼庆典的到来。为了庆祝独立50周年，新加坡举行了上百种活动。新加坡总理李显龙发表了国庆日演讲。他说新加坡将迎来新的高峰。他还称：“前方的道路是不可预知的，但是我们必须向前，为了我们这一代，为了后代，我们需要做得更好。”

Singapore has come a long way in the past fifty years. It became independent from Britain when it was thrown out of the Federation⁴ of Malaysia after social unrest. The country was very poor back then but the leadership of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew⁵ made Singapore wealthy. He died earlier this year but there was an empty seat for him at the parade. He made Singapore into one of the world's wealthiest countries. It is the fourth most important global financial centre and is home to the world's second busiest port. A woman said she felt sad that Mr Lee could not live long enough to be at the anniversary. She said: "We definitely feel that something is missing this year, and I still feel the pain in my heart."

在过去50年里，新加坡经历了许多。社会动乱以后，新加坡脱离英国独立，并摆脱了马来西亚联邦。当时的新加坡贫困潦倒，但是新加坡之父李光耀总理让国家走上了富强的道路。他于今年年初去世，但是庆典上的空位是留给他的。他让新加坡成为了全球最为富有的国家之一。如今，新加坡是全球第四大金融中心，也是全球第二大繁忙港口。有位女士称她感到李光耀总理将不会等到庆典这一天。她称：“我们都觉得今年缺点什么，我现在还悲痛不已。”

1 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。

2 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

3 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。