附加阅读 Shakespeare Lives

                                       British Prime Minister David Cameron

It is a moment to celebrate the extraordinary ongoing influence of a man who – to borrow from his own description of Julius Caesar – “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.”

凯歇斯 嘿，老兄，他像一个巨人似的跨越这狭隘的世界;

我们这些渺小的凡人一个个在他粗大的两腿下行走，

四处张望着，替自己寻找不光荣的坟墓。

人们有时可以支配他们自己的命运;

要是我们受制于人，亲爱的勃鲁托斯，那错处并不在我们的命运，而在我们自己。

CASSIUS. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus, and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs and peep about

To find ourselves dishonorable graves.

Men at some time are masters of their fates:

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves that we are underlings.

<>第一幕第二场，Cassius策动Brutus去刺杀Caesar时说的一段话。

Shakespeare’s legacy is without parallel: his works translated into over 100 languages and studied by half the world’s schoolchildren.

parallel [pærəlel]

parallels, parallelling, parallelled

(in AM, use paralleling, paralleled)

1[N-COUNT]If something has a parallel, it is similar to something else, but exists or happens in a different place or at a different time. If it has no parallel or is without parallel, it is not similar to anything else.

Readers familiar with English history will find a vague parallel to the suppression of the monasteries...

It's an ecological disaster with no parallel anywhere else in the world.

//...an achievement without parallel in the modern era.

I remember from my own childhood how many of them are found for the first time in Henry V. Words like dishearten, divest, addiction, motionless, leapfrog– and phrases like “once more unto the breach”, “band of brothers” and “heart of gold” – have all passed into our language today with no need to reference their original context.

dishearten

/dɪsˈhɑ:tn; NAmE -ˈhɑ:rtn​/ verb [VN] to make sb lose hope or confidence 使沮丧；使失去信心；使灰心SYNDISCOURAGE

Don't let this defeat dishearten you.不要因这次失败而气馁。

dis∙heart∙ened adj.

a disheartened team丧失信心的团队

dis∙heart∙en∙ing /-ˈhɑ:tnɪŋ; NAmE -ˈhɑ:rt-​/ adj.

a disheartening experience令人沮丧的经历

divest [daɪvest, AM dɪ-]

divests, divesting, divested

1.[VERB]If you divest yourself of something that you own or are responsible for, you get rid of it or stop being responsible for it.[FORMAL]

[V pron-refl of n]The company divested itself of its oil interests.

2.[VERB]If something or someone is divested of a particular quality, they lose that quality or it is taken away from them.[FORMAL]

[be V-ed of n]//...in the 1960s, when sexual love had been divested of sin...

[V n of n]They have divested rituals of their original meaning...

[V-ed]Divested of the hype surrounding its launch, the show can now emerge as a full-fledged classic.

3.[VERB]If you divest someone of something that they are wearing or carrying, you take it off them or away from them.[OLD-FASHIONED]

[V n of n]//...the formalities of divesting her of her coat.

[V pron-refl of n]//...detectors installed at the entrances to make youngsters divest themselves of guns and knives. [Also V n]

leapfrog

[li:pfrɒg, AM -frɔ:g]

leapfrogs, leapfrogging, leapfrogged

1.[N-UNCOUNT]Leapfrog is a game which children play, in which a child bends over, while others jump over their back.

//...children engaged in activities such as riding, playing leapfrog, or football.

2.[VERB]If one group of people leapfrogs into a particular position or leapfrogs someone else, they use the achievements of another person or group in order to make advances of their own.

[V prep]It is already obvious that all four American systems have leapfrogged over the European versions...

[V n]American researchers have now leapfrogged the Japanese and are going to produce a digital system within a year or two.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

Meaning:Let us try again one more time.

Origin:'Once more unto the breach' - is from the 'Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!' speech of Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598.

once more unto the breachThe most celebrated rendition of the speech comes from Laurence Olivier's performance in the 1944 film The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France, better known to the world just as Henry V.

The breach in question is the gap in the wall of the city of Harfleur, which the English army held under siege. Henry was encouraging his troops to attack the city again, even if they have to 'close the wall with English dead'.

KING HENRY V:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

Or close the wall up with our English dead.

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man

As modest stillness and humility:

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,

Then imitate the action of the tiger;

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,

Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;

Let pry through the portage of the head

Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it

As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,

Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,

Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit

To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.

Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!

Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,

Have in these parts from morn till even fought

And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:

Dishonour not your mothers; now attest

That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.

Be copy now to men of grosser blood,

And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,

Whose limbs were made in England, show us here

The mettle of your pasture; let us swear

That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;

For there is none of you so mean and base,

That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge

Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Shakespeare also pioneered innovative use of grammatical form and structure – including verse without rhymes, superlatives and the connecting of existing words to make new words, like bloodstained – while the pre-eminence of his plays also did much to standardise spelling and grammar.

Superlative [su:pɜ:(r)lətɪv]

superlatives

1.[ADJ]If you describe something as superlative, you mean that it is extremely good.

Some superlative wines are made in this region...

The Regent hotel has a superlative view of Hong Kong island.

Derived word:superlatively

[ADV]The Philharmonia played this staggeringly difficult music superlatively well.

2.[N-COUNT: usu pl]If someone uses superlatives to describe something, they use adjectives and expressions which indicate that it is extremely good.

//...a spectacle which has critics world-wide reaching for superlatives.

3.[ADJ: ADJ n]In grammar, the superlative form of an adjective or adverb is the form that indicates that something has more of a quality than anything else in a group. For example, `biggest' is the superlative form of `big'. Compare comparative.

[N-COUNT]Superlative is also a noun.

//...his tendency towards superlatives and exaggeration.

eminence

/ˈɛmənəns; ˈemɪnəns/ N

1.[U] the quality of being famous and important杰出，卓越：

of great/such etc eminence

a scientist of great eminence出类拔萃的科学家

2.Your/His Eminence a title used when talking to or about a CARDINAL (=priest of high rank in the Roman Catholic Church)阁下，大人〔对天主教红衣主教的尊称〕

3.[C] literary a hill or area of high ground【文】山丘；高地

Shakespeare’s influence is everywhere, from Dickens and Goethe to Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Brahms; from West Side Story to the Hamlet-inspired title of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” – the longest-running theatre production in London’s West End today.

The Mousetrap捕鼠器

The Mousetrap is a murder mysteryplay by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. The longest running West End show, it has by far the longest initial run of any play in history, with its 25,000th performance taking place on 18 November 2012.The play is known for its twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre.

The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is an area of Central and West London in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including West End theatres, are concentrated.

West End of London

Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross. The West End covers much of the boroughs of Westminster and Camden.

While the City of London, or the Square Mile, is the main business and financial district in London, the West End is the main commercial and entertainment centre of the city. It is the largest central business district in the United Kingdom, comparable to Midtown Manhattan in New York City, the Gangnam District in Seoul, Shibuya in Tokyo, Sol in Madrid or the 8th arrondissement in Paris and EUR in Rome. It is one of the most expensive locations in the world in which to rent office space, just behind Silicon Valley's Sand Hill Road.

As we see from the outreach work of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe and the impact of pioneering British charities like the Shakespeare Schools Festival, studying and performing Shakespeare can help improve literacy, confidence and wider educational attainment.

Outreach [ɑʊtri:tʃ]

[N-UNCOUNT: usu N n]Outreach programmes and schemes try to find people who need help or advice rather than waiting for those people to come and ask for help.

Their brief is to undertake outreach work essentially aimed at the young African Caribbeans on the South Acton Estate.

Attainment[əteɪnmənt]

attainments

1.[N-UNCOUNT]The attainment of an aim is the achieving of it.[FORMAL]

//...the attainment of independence.

Syn:achievement

2.[N-COUNT]An attainment is a skill you have learned or something you have achieved.[FORMAL]

//...their educational attainments.

�You can share your favourite moment of Shakespeare on social media, watch never-before-seen performances on stage, film and online, visit exhibitions, take part in workshops and debates, and access new Shakespearean educational resources to get togrips with the English language.

Get to grips with

If you get to grips with a problem or if you come to grips with it, you consider it seriously, and start taking action to deal with it.

The government's first task is to get to grips with the economy.