《外刊精读》乌鸦“王后”失踪，英国到了验证预言的时刻

伦敦塔里住着若干“护国”神鸟，根据一个从17世纪流传至今的预言，它们的数量不能少于六只，否则国家会遭受厄运。去年年底，向来崇尚自由的乌鸦“王后”梅丽娜飞离伦敦塔，从此杳无踪影。一开始乌鸦官认为她就是像往常那样飞出去玩，没料想至今未归，很多人将此视为不详的征兆，他们担心预言中所说的至暗时刻即将到来。关于“护国”神鸟的古老传说有何由来？一起来听今天的讲解。   英文原文  A Raven Queen Vanishes, and Britain Checks a Prophecy  乌鸦“王后”失踪，英国到了验证预言的时刻  By Alan Cowell  One of the resident birds at the Tower of London is feared to have died. Legend says at least six must be kept there, or the nation will fall.  伦敦塔中“常驻”着若干只鸟儿，人们担心其中一只已经死亡。传说塔内必须有至少六只鸟，否则国家就会败落。  They flap and lollop and squawk and scavenge. They hold the future of the realm, some say, in their fearsome beaks. And now one of them — their queen, Merlina — has been reclassified to M.I.A. from AWOL, heralding the feared redemption of a purported prophecy dating from the time of King Charles II in the 17th century: When the ravens leave the Tower of London, the building will crumble and the kingdom with it.  这些鸟儿们有时扑扇翅膀，有时盘旋游荡，它们会发出刺耳的叫声，并以腐肉为食。相传，它们令人生畏的鸟喙里掌握着王国的未来。梅丽娜“王后”是它们中的一员，最初的说法是她“擅离职守”，现在她已被重新归入失踪之列。这预示着传说中可怕预言的应验：当乌鸦飞走，伦敦塔将崩塌，王国也会随之衰败。这一预言自17世纪查理二世时代起流传至今。  The flutterings of concern date from December, when Christopher Skaife, the tower’s Ravenmaster, noticed that Merlina was absent without leave from the rest of the group — Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin and Poppy. Initially, he said, he was not too worried because she was a “free-spirited raven that has been known to leave the tower on many occasions.”  人们的这股担忧始于去年十二月，当时伦敦塔内的“乌鸦官”克里斯·斯凯弗留意到，梅丽娜擅自离开了其它几只乌鸦——朱比利，哈里斯，格里普，洛基，艾琳和波比。最初，他表示并不担心，因为梅丽娜是一只“崇尚自由”的乌鸦，众所周知，她曾多次飞离伦敦塔。  In order to fulfill the omen, the number of ravens must fall below six — the minimum dictated by royal decree. Cannily, RavenmasterSkaife had kept an extra bird. “We now have seven ravens here at the tower, one more than the required six, so we don’t have any immediate plans to fill Merlina’s vacancy,” the tower authorities said.  只有在乌鸦总数少于皇家法令规定的六只时，这种预兆才会应验。“乌鸦官”斯凯弗机智地多养了一只乌鸦。伦敦塔官方表示：“塔内现在有七只乌鸦，比要求的六只多出一只，因此我们没有打算立即填补梅丽娜留下的空缺。”  生词好句  1.flap 英 [flæp] 美 [flæp] When a bird flaps its wings, it moves its wings.  2.lollop 英 [ˈlɒləp] 美 [ˈlɑːləp] If an animal or a person lollops, it moves in an awkward way. 拓展: The dog lolloped across the room.  狗蹒跚地穿过房间。  3.squawk 英 [skwɔːk] 美 [skwɑːk] v. to make a loud sharp sound n. it’s that loud sharp noise that birds make  4.scavenge 英 [ˈskævɪndʒ] 美 [ˈskævɪndʒ] When an animal scavenges, it feeds on the flesh of other dead animals.  5.realm 英 [relm] 美 [relm] realm means a country ruled by a king or queen in this sentence  6.fearsome 英 [ˈfɪəsəm] 美 [ˈfɪrsəm] scary or frightening 拓展: The teacher has a fearsome reputation.  老师有可怕的名声。  7.M.I.A. missing in action 拓展: My mother is always M.I.A.. I can never find her and she never answers her phone.  我妈妈总是玩失踪。我找不到她，她也从来不接电话  8.AWOL 英 [absent without leave] If someone such as a soldier goes AWOL, they leave the place where they are working without permission. 拓展: John has gone AWOL; he hasn't been in the office in a week.  约翰擅离职守了，他已经一个星期没在办公室了。  Two computers have gone AWOL from the office.  办公室丢了两台电脑。  9.purported 英 [pəˈpɔːtɪd] 美 [pəːrˈpɔːrtɪd] If something (like a statement / fact / or idea) is purported … it is said by some people to be real or true, but not proved to be real or true. 拓展: The rare painting is purported to be 1000 years old.  这幅画据说有1000年的历史了。  The judge did not believe the purported evidence.  法官不相信所谓的证据。  10.crumble 英 [ˈkrʌmbəl] 美 [ˈkrʌmbəl] If something crumbles … it breaks slowly into small pieces 拓展: The Empire began to crumble during the 13th century.  该帝国在13世纪开始瓦解。  His careful plan began to crumble.  他的计划失败了。  11.flutter 英 [ˈflʌtə] 美 [ˈflʌtər] If something flutters, it moves up and down or from side to side with a lot of quick, light movements. A flutter (or fluttering) can also be used to describe a short period of activity. 拓展: The publication of her first novel last spring caused a flutter of excitement.  去年春天，她第一部小说的出版引起了一阵兴奋。  a fluttering of concern = a short period of concern (a short period when people are worried about something)  12.free-spirited If a person or an animal is free-spirited, they are independent and they are happy to do things on their own. 拓展: She is a free-spirited artist who loves travelling alone.  她是一位热爱独自旅行的自由艺术家。  13.omen 英 [ˈəʊmən] 美 [ˈoʊmən] An omen is a sign that (people think) shows whether good or bad things will happen in the future. 拓展: He was convinced that losing his ring was a bad omen.  他相信丢失戒指是个不祥的预兆。  She thought the red flower near her window was an omen of good luck.  她认为窗边的那朵红花是好运的预兆。  14.royal decree A royal decree is an order given by a king or queen. We can use the verb decree just to mean to officially decide or order that something must happen. 拓展: The referee decreed that the ball crossed the goal line.  裁判员判定球越过球门线。  The government decreed that all schools must close.  政府下令所有学校必须关闭。  15.cannily 英 [ˈkænəli] 美 [ˈkænəli] If you do something cannily，you do it in a way that shows quick and clever thinking, especially about business or financial matters. 拓展: She built up her fortune by cannily investing in stocks.  她通过精明地投资股票积累了财富。