2018-10-8

为何英国没有国庆日？

国庆日，顾名思义，是指为国家庆祝的日子，通常是这个国家的独立、宪法的签署，或其他有重大意义的周年纪念日。

然而，并不是每个国家都有国庆日，英国便没有“国庆日”这个概念！而我们所熟知的圣乔治日（英格兰）、圣安德鲁日（苏格兰）、圣戴维日（威尔士）和圣帕特里克日（爱尔兰）并非其国庆日。在英格兰，圣乔治日甚至不如莎士比亚诞辰热闹！

英国没有国庆日，这与其历史息息相关。毕竟，大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国是由四个曾经独立的国家联合而成。而且，英国也从未有所谓的“独立”之说。当然还有其它原因导致英国没有国庆日，让我们一起来听 Mat 老师揭晓吧！

本篇课程首发于2018年10月8日

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Britain has no National Day

① Name something that Denmark and the United Kingdom have in common.

② For starters, both these EU countries refused the Euro as their national currency. A lesser known fact is that these are the only two countries that don't celebrate a national day.

③ All kinds of complications have impeded the idea of a national day in the United Kingdom.

④ It's a country made up of semi-autonomous nations, each of which has at least one national feast day but the only one which really embraces this idea is Northern Ireland. They actually celebrate two national days.

⑤ The Scots and the Welsh don't bother much with their national feast days St Andrew's Day or St David's Day. A glass may be raised but you still go to work or school.

⑥ The English, many embarrassed about the negative implications of nationalism, are as likely to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday on April 23rd as St George's Day.

⑦ The lingering guilt about empire may account for the lack of interest in a United Kingdom national day. 

⑧ We should also remember that the United Kingdom has never had to secure independence from itself.

⑨ A staggering number of national days celebrate the relevant state's disengagement from the British Empire. That is the case with the United States, India, Pakistan and so on.

⑩ However, this unpatriotic nation may be on the turn. Following the UK's vote to leave the EU some Brexiteers have suggested adopting an "independence day" to mark the occasion.

▍生词好句

impede /ɪmˈpiːd/: vt. 妨碍；阻碍

autonomous /ɔːˈtɒnəməs, ɒːˈtɑːnəməs/: adj. 自主的；自治的

lingering /ˈlɪŋɡərɪŋ/: adj. 持续的；长时间的

staggering /ˈstæɡərɪŋ/: adj. 惊人的；令人震惊的

▍词汇拓展

1. have sth. in common: share the same interests, features, or have similar characteristics

I find it difficult to talk to him because we have nothing in common.

我发现和他无话可聊，因为我们没有共同之处。

2. for starters: to say that something is the first thing in a list

— Why did you stay at home today?

— Well, for starters, the weather was terrible. And I was quite tired. I didn't feel like going out.

— 你今天为什么待在家里？

— 首先，今天天气不好。另外，我非常累，不太想出去。

— Why did you take the train?

— Well, for starters, the tickets are much cheaper, and the flight tickets were all sold out.

— 为什么你坐的是火车？

— 首先，火车票更便宜。其次，飞机票卖完了。

3. lesser known: not well known, not popular, not famous

He acted in many lesser known movies before he became famous as James Bond.

在出演詹姆斯·邦德成名之前，他演过许多不太知名的电影。

In her concert, she played many of her famous hits and some of her lesser known songs.

在演唱会上，她唱了许多自己的热门歌曲，也唱了一些不太知名的歌。

She introduced me to some of the lesser known wines of Italy.

她向我介绍了意大利一些不太知名的红酒。

4. impede: vt. If you impede something, you make it more difficult for something to happen or more difficult for someone to do something.

These long meetings and discussions just impede progress for this project.

冗长的会议和讨论阻碍了项目的进程。

The bad weather has impeded progress on the building project.

糟糕的天气阻碍了建设项目的进程。

The company is trying to solve the problem, but financial problems are impeding progress.

公司试着解决这个问题，但是财务问题阻碍了进程。

5. autonomous: adj. free to rule yourself or govern yourself

6. a feast day: a light version, a soft version of a national day

7. bother much with: pay attention to, think about

When I'm cooking, I don't bother much with recipes. I just use my imagination.

我做饭时并不在意菜谱。我用想象力就可以了。

When I travel, I don't bother much with famous tourist spots. I prefer visiting lesser known places.

旅游时，我并不去热门的旅游景点。我宁愿去不太知名的地方。

8. lingering: adj. If something is lingering, it's lasting a long time.

She gave him a long lingering kiss.

她给了他一个长长的吻。

The beautiful music is still lingering in my ears.

美妙的音乐依然回荡在我耳旁。

9. account for: explain the reason for something or the cause of something

The teacher asked me to account for my bad test scores.

老师让我解释为什么考得这么糟糕。

His boss called him to account for missing the deadline.

他的老板叫他解释没赶上截止日期的原因。

10. staggering: adj. very large

Profits have risen by a staggering twenty five percent.

利润上涨了25%，令人惊叹。

The cost was a staggering ten million dollars.

成本需要1000万美元之多。

11. on the turn: starting to change

My luck is definitely on the turn.

我一定开始转运了。

▍责任编辑

陶慧敏、李焕、陈鑫悦、章晓丹

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