The English We Speak是英國BBC電臺為英語學(xué)習(xí)者量身打造的一檔英語學(xué)習(xí)節(jié)目。

今天，兩位主持人要討論一種“特殊的關(guān)系”，那么，它是誰與誰之間的關(guān)系？關(guān)系有用多特殊呢？讓我們跟隨錄音去了解一下。

William: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, I'm William Kremer.

Yang Li: And I'm Yang Li.

William: Let me play you something, Li.

British national anthem.

Yang Li: Oh, God Save the Queen; the British national anthem. Are you in a patriotic mood, William?

William: Ah, but wait...

USA national anthem.

Yang Li: Eh? The Star Spangled Banner - The American National Anthem. But this is the BBC, William!! British Broadcasting Corporation!

William: Yeah, I know, Li. But a very special visitor is coming to Britain today. Barack Obama is visiting the UK on a three-day state visit.

Yang Li: Ah, that's right. But tell me something, William, be honest. Do the Brits and Americans like each other?

William: Well, that's a very difficult question to answer in ninety seconds, Li. But it's fair to say that our two countries have a lot in common. Not only do we share the same language but economically and politically Britain and the USA have a close connection. And this connection is often called the special relationship.

Yang Li: The special relationship.

William: Here are a few examples of this phrase being used, which I found on the BBC website:

Examples

例子1：
Britain's former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, talks to Katty Kay about recent remarks in which he described the 'special relationship' between America and Britain as a fiction that should be dropped.

例2：

Isabel Hilton and guests discuss the past, present and future of what people on this side of the Atlantic like to call 'the special relationship' between Britain and America. But is it really that special?

例3：

Files newly released by the Wikileaks website highlight what is described as the UK's 'paranoia' about its so-called special relationship with the US.

Yang Li: It sounds like people are starting to question how special the special relationship is!

William: Well, that might be true, and you can see that this is an issue that is easier to talk about because there is a special phrase for it.

Yang Li: So does the UK have a special relationship with other countries too?

William: Yeah, of course. And occasionally you might read about 'a special relationship with Australia' or 'a special relationship with India', for example. But the phrase 'the special relationship' by itself usually refers to the USA and Britain.

Yang Li: We have a special relationship, don't we William?

William: Yeah, of course we do, Yang Li! And do you think our special relationship is like the special relationship?

Yang Li: Well, that depends, who is who in this relationship? Am I the USA or am I the UK?!

William: Hmm. Well, that's an interesting question but also quite a strange one! So let's end today's programme there. Bye-bye!

Yang Li: Can I be America? I can take you for a ride in my Cadillac!

賞析：

英國與美國有一個“特殊的關(guān)系”，美國的文化起源于英國，他們擁有共同的語言，經(jīng)濟、政治上也有著千絲萬縷的聯(lián)系。比如三個月前的英國的Royal Wedding（“皇室婚禮”），也在美國引起了相當(dāng)大的關(guān)注，前幾天兩位新人還造訪了美國，美國人民也表示了熱情的歡迎。兩位主持人今天講的詞組是“The special relationship”, 不單單指“特殊的關(guān)系”，而且特指英美之間的這種特殊的關(guān)系。

當(dāng)然，這種關(guān)系也已經(jīng)開始有人質(zhì)疑是不是真的有那么特殊了，例3中的“維基解密”網(wǎng)站甚至還說這種英美之間的“特殊關(guān)系”是英國的“妄想”。

The special relationship僅特指“英美關(guān)系”，如果要表示其他國家的關(guān)系，應(yīng)當(dāng)加上with+國家。

其他語言點：

Patriotic：愛國的

it's fair to say... ：可以這么說......

on this side of the Atlantic: 大西洋的這一岸，指在英國或者在美國，如果至英美兩國，則可用“on both sides of the Atlantic”

highlight：強調(diào)

paranoia：妄想癥