英女王2013圣诞致辞由女王亲笔撰文，极具个人特色，全文就 we all need to get the balance right between action and reflection 展开。作为是一篇面向全国人民的讲演，文章没有生僻词汇与复杂句式，最重要的是语速缓和，语调中规中矩，非常适合中国人学习英语，可以做精听乃至全文背诵。很多地道表达，作为中国人的我，至少目前是写不出来的。

reflection：倒影，反思，映像。 泰坦尼克号里年老的rose对着镜子说，but the reflection has changed a bit. reflection代指自己的容貌。

以下是致辞全文： 

I once knew someone who spent a year in a plaster cast recovering from an operation on his back. He read a lot and though a lot, and felt miserable. Later he realized this time of forced retreat from the world had helped him to understand the world more clearly. We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock. Be it through contemplation, prayer, or even keeping a diary, many have found the practice of quiet personal reflection surprisingly rewarding, even discovering great spiritual depth to their lives.

plaster cast plaster:n. 石膏；灰泥；膏药 vt. 减轻；粘贴；涂以灰泥；敷以膏药；使平服

cast: vt. 投，抛；计算；浇铸；投射（光、影、视线等）n. 投掷，抛；铸件，[古生] 铸型；演员阵容；脱落物vi. 投，抛垂钓鱼钩；计算，把几个数字加起来

cast在这里可以理解为一个名词既铸件，也可以理解为cast的过去分词充当形容词放在plaster之后。翻译成中文的意思就是“打好的石膏”。这个词与我而言，作为“铸造，制作”这一释义出现的最多。对于一些铜合金造像，如果是实心的就是solid cast，如果是空心的就是hollow cast。拍电影，cast a movie／film a movie。

retreat：我第一次见到这个词是在一本画册里，画的中文名叫山川幽居图。对应的英文翻译就是mountain retreat，这个词本来的意思就是撤退，撤回。从俗世中撤退，自然就是幽居。

Get+名词+形容词 很多中国学生包括我过去写文章都喜欢写make+名词+形容词这样的句式，其实这种搭配真的很low，因为写的人太多了，而且中国学生都特别爱这么写。如果你找不到更好的词来替换make，至少换成get吧。

distraction是distract的名词形式。distract在口语里很常用，比如你正在专心地做一件事，有人来捣乱。你就可以说don’t distract me.不要打扰我，不要干扰我都是这个意思。

contemplation是contemplate的名词形式 contemplate展望，思量

stock这个词做名词是库存和股票的意思。因为股票最早就是积压的白条。至于动词，就是囤积，办年货就可以用这个词。take stock是清查库存的意思，在这里就引申理解为反思，思考，评价。

pause和stop的区别就是pause是暂停，可以继续，stop是停止，如果开始就是从头开始。录音机上的pause和stop就是这个区别，stop相当于要新建一个录音。

Reflection can take many forms. When families and friends come together at Christmas, it’s often a time for happy memories and reminiscing. Our thoughts are with those we have loved who are no longer with us. We also remember those who though doing their duty cannot be at home for Christmas, such as workers in essential or emergency services. And especially at this time of year we think of the men and women serving overseas in our armed forces. We are forever grateful to all those who put themselves at risk to keep us safe. Service and duty are not just the guiding principles of yesteryear; they have an enduring value, which spans the generations.

地道的英语表达很多时侯都是用一个名词做主语，用中文说就是拟人。例如:Reflection can take many forms. 这句话换成我来写，肯定就会写成there are many different forms of relection.中国人的文章里there be出现的频率太高, 所以避免使用there be，尤其在口语中，你看那么多英美电影电视剧，几乎没人用这个句式吧，因为确实太拖沓了。这个句子也可以把take换成has，但是take比has更形象更好，对吧？

reminiscing是reminisce的ing形式,reminisce意思是回忆，追忆。

essential: 和necessary差不多的一个词，但是事实上，外国人用essential的频率比necessay高太多了。essential这个词的释义也比necessary多，所以非常值得记下来，然后拿它替换掉necessary。

forever这个词备受外国人喜爱。比如一件事情需要花费很长时间你就可以说it takes forever to do…… 我的外国同学都特别喜欢用这个词。

enduring是endure的ing形式，endure的意思是持续与忍耐的意思。

span 有一个词叫寿命就叫life span。span的意思是跨度，跨越的意思。spans the generation，一代代传递下去，这个表达至少我写不出来，如果是我写我肯定会写成被动语态。很多可以用主动语态表达的意思，中国人都会写成被动语态，原因就是我们对很多动词的使用方法不熟悉。 

I myself had cause to reflect this year, at Westminster Abbey, on my own pledge of service made in that great church on Coronation day sixty years earlier. The anniversary reminded me of the remarkable changes that have occurred since the Coronation, many of them for the better, and of the things that have remained constant, such as the importance of family, friendship and good neighborliness.

Abbey庄园，比如唐顿庄园 Downton Abbey，也有教堂修道院的意思。westminster abbey，算是固定搭配。

pledeg 发誓 同样的词有swear和vow，但是swear不如pledge和vow庄重, swear有时候有诅咒发毒释的意思，vow和plede在这里完全可以互换。let’s take a lover’s vow and then seal it with a kiss.这是我很喜欢的一句歌词,出自diana krall《the look of love》，非常好听的一首歌。

westminster处于伦敦绝对的市中心，就和北京的xx门一样，旁边就是大本钟和英国国会，不远处就是特拉法加广场。英国君主的加冕，安葬仪式都是在这里举行， 和巴黎圣母院一样都是哥特式教堂。关于教堂有三个常见的词：依据宏伟程度和尺寸从大到小，cathedral，church，chapel。福尔摩斯小说里开膛手杰克就活跃于伦敦的白教堂地区（white chapel）。

coronation：加冕礼

remarkable：值得remark的。。。。mark是标注的意思，remark是评论，注意的意思。说明很重要。。。。。这个词不需要记中文释义了，知道它是一个褒义词就好，伟大的人和事都可以是remarkable，好用又好记的一个词。

occur＝take place＝happen

constant 持续的，不停的 constantly 是副词，很好用的一个词。不停地学习，study constantly or constant study.

But reflection is not just about looking back. I and many others are looking forward to Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year. The baton relay left London in October and is now the other side of the world, on its way across seventy nations and territories before arriving in Scotland next summer. Its journey is a reminder that the Commonwealth can offer us a fresh view of life. My son Charles summed this up at the recent meeting in Sri Lanka. He spoke of the Commonwealth’s family ties that are a source of encouragement to many. Like any family there can be differences of opinion. But however strongly they’re expressed they are held within the common bond of friendship and shared experiences.

我的文档编辑软件把 I and many others给我划了下画线，让我写成many others and I。出于礼貌，确实应该如此，但是本文是女王的致辞，所以女王自然可以把自己搁在many others前面。

commonwealth联邦的意思，个人感觉这个词在和英国关系比较密切的国家用的更多，因为澳大利亚也喜欢用这个词。美国自然是用federal比较多。

baton：接力棒，指挥棒。

relay：传递 当年奥运会的时侯学过一个词叫火炬传递torch relay，我之前只知道torch是火炬火把的意思，结果昨天去老师家过圣诞，晚上我们打着手电去空地上唱圣歌，我才知道torch原来还有手电的意思。

territory：这个词是领土疆域的意思。有意思的是有一次我和同学聊到了和田（khotan）羊脂（nephrite jade），同学说他知道和田在新疆，他问我新疆的意思是不是new territory？ 我说是。

Here at home my own family is a little larger this Christmas. As so many of you will know, the arrival of a baby gives everyone the chance to contemplate the future with renewed happiness and hope. For the new parents, life will never be quite the same again. As with all who are Christened, George was baptized into a joyful faith of Christian duty and service. After the christening, we gathered for the traditional photograph. It was a happy occasion, bringing together four generations. In the year ahead, I hope you will have time to pause for moments of quiet reflection. As the man in the plaster cast discovered, the results can sometimes be surprising.

life will never be quite the same again，其实对所有人都是如此啊。

baptize（baptise）给……施洗礼，也有是……经受考验的意思

In the year ahead.  明年，大多数中国学生都会说the next year, In the year ahead更地道吧。

I hope you will have time to pause for moments of quiet reflection.这句话共勉，reflection很重要，女王和孔子都觉得这很重要，不过孔子要求更高一些，一日三省吾身，哈哈。

For Christians, as for all people of faith, reflection, meditation and prayer help us to renew ourselves in God’s love, as we strive daily to become better people. The Christmas message shows us that this love is for everyone. There is no one beyond its reach. On the first Christmas, in the fields above Bethlehem, as they sat in the cold of night watching their resting sheep, the local shepherds must have had no shortage of time for reflection. Suddenly all this was to change. These humble shepherds were the first to hear and ponder the wondrous news of the birth of Christ the first noel  the joy of which we celebrate today.

Bethlehem 耶稣的诞生地，离耶路撒冷很近

strive=work hard

humble 谦虚的，恭敬顺从的，低下的

shepherd 牧羊人

ponder 相当于上文的contemplate 思索

这一段讲的是圣经故事，耶稣降生，之所以牧羊人会先知道，因为耶稣是好牧者，圣徒都是他的羊，象征意义。

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.