8-6 伦敦

London

London is an ancient city whose history greets you at every turn1. To gain a sense of its continuity2, stand on Waterloo Bridge at sunset. To the east, the great globe of St. Paul's Cathedral glows golden in the fading sunlight as it has since the 17th century, still majestic 13 amid the towers of glass and steel that hem 2 it in4. To the west stand the mock-medieval ramparts5 of Westminster, home to the “Mother of Parliaments,” which has met here or hereabouts6 since the 1250s. Past them both snakes the swift, dark Thames, as it flowed past the first Roman settlement here nearly 2,000 years ago.

For much of its history, innumerable epigrams7 have been coined about London by both her enthusiasts8 and detractors9. The great 18th-century writer and wit Samuel Johnson10 said that a man who is tired of London is tired of life. Oliver Wendell Holmes11 said, “No person can be said to know London. The most that anyone can claim is that he knows something of it.” Simply stated, London is one of the most interesting places on earth. There is no other place like it in its agglomeration 412 of architectural sins and sudden intervention 5 of almost rural sights, in its medley 613of styles, in its mixture of the green loveliness of parks and the modern gleam of neon. Thankfully, the old London of Queen Anne and Georgian architecture can still be discovered under the hasty routine of later additions.

Today, that sense of modernity is stronger than ever. Everyone is talking about swinging-again14 London. It is still, as Vanity Fair proclaimed, “the coolest, hottest city in the world.” Millennium 7 fever left its trophies15 -- a panoply 816 of new buildings. The boom economy of the mid-'90s helped the city's art, style, fashion, and dining scenes make headlines around the world. London's chefs have become superstars; its fashion designers have conquered Paris; avant-garde17 artists have made waves18; the city's raging after-hours19 scene is packed; and the theater continues its tradition of radical 9, shocking productions, which barely seem to turn most hairs20. Even Shakespeare embraces cool: the Bard 10's21 own, reborn Globe -- the fabled 11 “wooden O” -- is functioning brilliantly on the bank of the Thames just 200 yards from where it stood in the 16th century; when the troupe 1222 here presented Two Gentlemen of Verona, cast members were costumed in Ray-Ban sun glasses and sneakers.

On the other hand, the bedrock23 of London's character and tradition remains 13 the same. Deep down, Britons have a sense of the continuity of history. Even in the modern metropolis 14, some things rarely change. The British bobby24 is alive and well. The tall, red, double-decker buses still lumber 1525 from stop to stop. And teatime is still a hallowed26 part of the day, with, if you search hard enough, toasted crumpets27 still laced with sweet butter. Then, of course, there is that greatest living link with the past -- the Royal Family. Don't let the tag “typical tourist” stop you from enjoying the pageantry28 of the Windsors, one of the greatest free shows in the world. Line up for the Changing of the Guard and poke 16 into the Royal Mews29 for a look at the Coronation30 Coach, which was polished brilliantly for the queen's Golden Jubilee 1731 state occasions in 2002. Pomp32 reaches its zenith33 in mid-June when the queen celebrates her official birthday with a parade called Trooping the Colour34.

In the end, the London you'll discover will surely include some of our enthusiastic recommendations, but be prepared to be taken by surprise as well. The best that a great city has to offer often comes in unexpected ways. Armed with energy and curiosity, you can be sure of one thing: to quote Dr. Johnson again, you'll be able to find “in London all that life can afford.”

注释：

1. at every turn 每次，事事，处处

2. continuity [7kCnti5nju:Eti] n. 连续(性)，连贯(性)

3. majestic [mE5dVestik] a. 雄伟的，威严的，崇高的

4. hem in  包围

5. rampart [5rAmpB:t] n. (城堡等周围堤状的)防御土墙

6. hereabout(s)  [5hiErE5baut(s)] ad. 在这里附近，在这一带

7. epigram [5epi^rAm] n. 警句，隽语

8. enthusiast 3 [in5Wju:ziAst] n. 热中于……的人

9. detractor [dI5trAktE(r)] n. 诋毁者，贬低者

10. Samuel Johnson 塞缪尔·约翰逊(1709～1784，英国作家、评论家、辞书编纂者，编有《英语辞典》、《莎士比亚集》，作品有长诗《伦敦》、《人类欲望的虚幻》等)

11. Oliver Wendell Holmes 奥利弗·温德尔·霍姆斯(1809～1894，美国医师、幽默作家，以“早餐桌上”系列短文而闻名，曾任哈佛大学医学院院长，发现产褥热的传染性及其病因[1843]，作品有《早餐桌上的霸主》等)

12. agglomeration [E7^lCmE5reiFEn] n. 聚结，结块，大团

13. medley [5medli] n. 杂乱的一团，混合物

14. swinging-again  Gively and modern in style，attitudes，etc once more，swing frequently used in the expression “ the swinging sixties” 又一次新潮、时髦起来

15. trophy 18 [5trEufi] n. 纪念品，用作纪念的物件

16. panoply [5pAnEpli] n. 雄伟的阵势，气派

17. avant-garde [ 7A7vC:N5^B:d ] a.  (属于)先锋派的，激进的

18. make waves [美口] 兴风作浪，引起混乱

19. after-hours [5B:ftE5auEz] a. 在规定的打烊时间以后营业的

20. barely seem to turn most hairs = not turn a hair；to not seem at all surprised or shocked 毫不惊讶，毫不震惊

21. the Bard 诗人莎士比亚

22. troupe [tru:p] n. (尤指巡回演出的演员、歌手等组成的)团、班、队

23. bedrock [5bed5rCk] n. (坚实的)基础，基本事实

24. bobby [5bCbi] n. [英口] 警察

25. lumber [5lQmbE] vi. 隆隆地(费力)行进

26. hallowed [`hAlEJd] a. 奉为神圣的，神圣不可侵犯的

27. crumpet [5krQmpit] n. [英] 烤面饼

28. pageantry [5pAdVEntrI] n. 华丽的展示，盛观，盛大的庆典

29. mews [mju:z] [复 ] n. [用作单或复] (伦敦的)皇家马厩(原皇家鹰棚所在地)

30. coronation [kRrE5neIF(E)n] n. 加冕(典礼)

31. jubilee [5dVubili:] n. (50周年等的)纪念大庆

32. pomp [pCmp] n. (典礼等的)盛况

33. zenith [5zeniW] n. 顶峰，顶点，极盛时期

34. trooping the colour 军旗敬礼分列式(尤指于国君诞辰日举行的)

伦敦

伦敦是座古城，它事事处处都能够让你感受到它悠久的历史。想要获得一个连续感，你可以在日落时站在滑铁卢桥上。向东眺望，始建于17世纪的圣保罗大教堂的巨大圆顶在夕阳的余辉下，金碧辉煌，在玻璃和钢铁建成的高楼群丛围之中，巍然耸立。向西眺望，仿中世纪风格建造的威斯敏斯特宫矗立在那儿。那里是“议会之母”的所在地，自13世纪50年代起，英国议会就一直在这里和附近开会。湍急的深暗色泰晤士河从圣保罗大教堂和威斯敏斯特宫旁蜿蜒而过，它在约两千年前曾流过了第一个罗马人在这里的定居点。

对伦敦的大部分历史，人们褒贬不一，也留下了不计其数的传世警句。18世纪伟大的作家和才子塞缪尔·约翰逊曾经说过，一个对伦敦厌倦的人是一个对生活厌倦的人。奥利弗·温德尔·霍姆斯则说：“没人能称得上了解伦敦，充其量只能说他对伦敦略知一二”。简单地说，伦敦是世界上最富情趣的地方之一。没有其他地方像伦敦那样，在败笔的建筑群中突然加入乡村景致，在绿色可爱的公园里出现时尚的霓虹灯光，各种风格混杂一起。令人欣慰的是，在快速的城市扩建中，还能找到有着安妮女王和乔治国王时期建筑的古老伦敦。

而今，伦敦的现代感比以往更加强烈。人人都在说伦敦的再次新潮。今天伦敦仍是《名利场》中所说的“世上最冷酷而又最热情的城市”。“千年热”给伦敦留下的纪念品就是气派的新建筑，90年代中期繁荣的经济使伦敦的艺术、风格、时装以及饮食文化成为世界重要新闻。伦敦的厨师成了超级明星；伦敦的时装设计师征服了巴黎；超前的艺术家兴风作浪；流行的夜场演出挤满了人；剧院仍保持传统，上演激进的惊世作品，但观众却几乎没有人为之震惊。即使是莎翁也乐意接受这样超酷的创意：重建的莎士比亚“环球剧院”，也就是著名的“WoodenO”坐落在泰晤士河畔，距离其在16世纪的原址仅200码，经营得很好；剧团在这里上演《维洛那二绅士》的时候，演员们戴着“雷朋” 墨镜，穿着旅游鞋。

另一方面，伦敦的基本特征和传统一如往昔。英国人实际上有一种历史的连续感，即便是在现代化大都市里，一些传统几乎没有改变。警察依然在街上巡逻；高高的红色双层巴士依然隆隆地驶过每个站点；喝茶还是一天中神圣不可侵犯的一部分，而且如果你仔细观察，还会发现烤面饼上依然涂抹着香甜的黄油。当然，能和过去最有生命力地联系在一起的还是王室。即使你是那种典型的按照安排好的旅游路线参观的游客，你也绝不应该错过世界上最大的免费演出，以感受温莎王朝的奢华。你可以排队等候观看皇家卫队换岗仪式，也可以到皇家马厩去看一看加冕盛典用的皇家马车。2002年，为了举行庆祝女王加冕五十周年的国家大典，它被擦得光彩照人。每年6月中旬，为庆祝女皇官方生日而举行的行军旗敬礼分列式的游行，是华丽壮观盛典的最高潮。

最后，你所发现的伦敦一定会包括我们热情介绍的一些情况，但你也要准备迎接意外的惊喜。一个伟大都市能提供的最好的东西，往往是出乎意料的。只要精力充沛，满怀好奇，你定能感受到，正如约翰逊博士所言，你能够“在伦敦发现生活所能赐给的一切”。