Prince William Grows Up!

Prince William Grows Up!

At Eton, William 1)breezed through his 2)A-level year. He shined at sport and he was elected by his schoolmates to "POP," the college's elite 1 3)prefect's club, made up from the eleven most popular boys of his year. And although, like many Windsors, he was not academic, he took three A-levels. He left Eton in the summer of 2000.

Following in his father's footsteps, William had developed a particular love for polo, the sport of kings and millionaires. The next summer, William made his public debut 2 for the Highgrove team, with his brother and father at the 4)Cirencester Polo Club.

    At first, William wanted to play polo in Argentina before going to university. But Charles thought that that would be a mistake, and that he would be a mistake, and that he should do something more worthwhile. So William joined up with 5)Raleigh International, an organization his father had helped set up. William raised money to go on an expedition in Chile, South America.Once in Chile, William travelled with a small group of Raleigh venturers to Tortel, where he carried out volunteer work for the poor rural community.

    As well as helping 3 in less developed countries, Raleigh gives privileged school leaders, like Prince William, the chance to work alongside young people from different backgrounds in the UK. This wasn't an excuse for an exotic holiday. It was hard work, and William took his turn to "6)muck in" with the team building walkways.

    William: I don't know I've been treated any different at all than I... special treated at all... which is why I just... I think I get along with these guys so well as well. They all treat me the same. The locals treatme the same, and I just, I love being... having no restrictions 4, you know?

    William lived with his new companions in an old nursery they nicknameed "Hotel Tortel." Boys and girls camped together at very close quarters.

Companion: We had to set up our sleeping bags around the slides and the climbing frames. And at the back, the base, there was Will. I think he set... he set up his underneath 5 the slide, right next to the toilet. So there's no luxury from day one.

All 7)trappings of royalty 6 dropped away as William got stuck in with the other young volunteers.

During his gap year, Prince William had found great freedom and happiness out of the public eye, living as an ordinary person. The reality of his royal background and destiny was something he always wished to escape.

In September, 2001, William showed his independent-mindedness by breaking with royal tradition to study History of Art at St. Andrew's University. He decided 7 not to go to "Freshers' Week" because, he said, "I thought I'd probably end up in a gutter 8, completely wrecked 9." Although his family are his closest 8)confidants, William does have firm friends, who have proved they can be relied upon. It’s only when he’s with his group of trustworthy friends that he can let his guard slip. 

Now in his second year at St. Andrew’s, William has moved into a student flat with friends, which has made him happier. He takes early morning jogs, plays golf, and goes to the local Indian takeaway. 

William has been linked to a number of girls, many from the polo set. His first girlfriend was, allegedly, Arabella Musgrave. They were seen drinking in the local pubs, but it ended when William went up to university. Not surprisingly, William is always determined 10 to keep the identity of the girls he’s dating a secret, as much for their sakes as his. 

Camilla Long (Writer): There’s a very complicated sort of ritual. If he’s meeting a girl that he likes, he will go to a party and she will turn up to the same party, and the host won’t know who she is. Only he and her will know that there’s some kind of liaison 11 going on. So it’s very shrouded 12 in mystery. It’s very controlled. 

After he finishes university, it is likely William will 9)pursue a career in the army, in order to lead as normal a life as he can for as long as possible. Typically, he’s rejected any idea of public celebrations for his 21st birthday, opting 13, instead, for a private party with friends. William’s reluctance 14 to accept his future destiny, means that some wonder whether he will reject his royal role altogether. But Prince William’s 10)level-headedness and courage mean that he will, probably, 11)knuckle down and accept his fate. 

威廉王子长大了

在伊顿公学，威廉轻松地读完了最后的预科阶段。他非但在运动场上出类拔萃，还被校友们推选加入POP。POP是伊顿的班级长社团，由当年11位最受欢迎的学生精英组成。尽管同其他温莎王室成员一样，他不是一个学者型的人才，但仍然修读了三门大学预科课程。2000年的夏天他从伊顿公学毕业。

同他父亲一样，威廉渐渐对马球--所谓王宫贵族和百万富翁的运动--产生了特别的爱好。次年的夏天，威廉和弟弟及父亲一起，代表海哥夫队在西兰斯特马球俱乐部首次公开亮相。

威廉起初想在上大学之前去阿根廷打马球，但查尔斯王储认为那是一个错误的决定，他应当去做一些更有意义的事情。于是威廉参加了一个由他父亲帮助设立的慈善机构--雷利国际组织的志愿行动，并筹足经费远赴南美的智利进行考察。在智利时，威廉和一小队雷利成员来到了特尔泰村，从事扶助贫困村民的志愿工作。

雷利国际组织不仅在欠发达国家从事援助工作，还给像威廉王子这样有特权的学生领袖提供了与来自英国不同社会阶层的年轻人一起工作的机会。这可不是享受异域风情假日的借口，而是实实在在的辛苦工作，威廉甚至还“屈尊”和队友们一起铺设了村内小路。

威廉：我没有一丁点儿感觉到被区别对待......根本没有特殊待遇可言......因此我......我想我才与队友们相处得这么好......他们全都对我一视同仁。村民们也样对待我，恩......我就是喜欢......无拘无束，知道吧。

威廉与他的新伙伴们住在一所古旧的幼儿园里，他们把这里戏称为“特尔泰大酒店”。男孩女孩都挤在一起宿营。

女同伴：我们不得不把睡袋铺在，恩，滑梯和攀爬架周围，而阿威就睡在后面的地上。我想他是把......把睡袋铺在了滑梯下面，就在厕所边上，所以说从一开始就没有奢华享受可言。

当威廉与其他年青的志愿者们一起满腔热情地投身到工作当中时，一点也看不出他贵为王子的身份。

从伊顿毕业后的这一年休学时间里，威廉体会到了远离公众视线，以普通人的方式生活所带来的充分自由和快乐。皇室的出身和命运一直是他想要逃避的现实。

2001年9月，威廉打破了皇室传统，开始在圣安德鲁大学学习艺术史，显示出他特立独行的性格。他并没有去参加“新生周”，因为他开玩笑说“我想我可能会喝得烂醉如泥，不知生死的”。尽管家人是他最亲密的知己，威廉也确实有非常要好而且值得信赖的朋友。只有当他与这些朋友呆在一起的时候，才会无所顾忌。

    威廉如今在圣安德鲁大学就读二年级，并与几个朋友一起搬进了一座学生公寓，这让他更为开心。他通常会晨跑，打高尔夫，然后上当地的印度餐馆买外卖。

    威廉被传与许多女孩子有过绯闻，她们中许多都来自马球俱乐部。他的第一个女朋友据说叫阿拉贝拉·姆斯格雷，有人看见他们在当地的几个酒吧里喝过酒，但在威廉上大学以后两人的关系便告结束。毫不奇怪，威廉总是对他约会过的女孩子的身份严格保密，这既是出于保护自己，也是为了保护对方。

    卡米拉·朗（作家）：如果他要和一个钟情的女孩子见面，通常会有一个非常复杂的程序：他会去参加一个聚会，而那个女孩子也会出现在那里，而主人往往并不认识她，只有他俩明白双方之间非同一般的关系。这个过程秘而不宣，控制得相当好。

    大学毕业后，威廉可能会去军队服役，以便尽可能延续他努力维持的普通人生活。不出所料，他拒绝了所有为他21周岁生日搞公开庆祝活动的提议，而要和朋友们搞一个私人聚会。威廉对皇室宿命的抵制，使得有些人揣测他最终会拒绝接受在皇室家族里扮演的角色，但是威廉王子冷静的头脑和无畏的精神意味着他也许会最终接受自己的命运并为之努力奋斗。

注释:

1) breeze [bri:z] v. 轻而易举地取得

2) A-level 大学预科

3) prefect [5pri:fekt] n. 英国公学中的级长，班长

4) Cirencester Polo Club 西兰斯特马球俱乐部。成立于1894年，是英国历史最长的马球俱乐部。

5) Raleigh International 雷利国际。这是一个慈善机构，成立于1984年，旨在让年轻人通过在世界各地的环保和社区项目进行义务劳动，提高自己的自信力，学会与他人合作。

6) muck in 浑身是泥，这里指威廉王子与其他人融成一体。

7) trappings [5trApiNz] n. 外部标志

8) confidant [7kCnfi5dAnt] n. 密友，知己

9) pursue [pE5sju:] v. 追求

10) level-headedness 头脑冷静，稳健

11) knuckle down 开始认真工作