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The court of Versailles could be seen
凡尔赛宫廷犹如
as a cross, perhaps, between
一个十字架 它汇集了
Royal Ascot and the dealing floor of a futures exchange.
皇家提拔与未来奉献
A combination of a very socially elite group
包括了一个
who already know each other
由早已互相熟识 经常交流的
and can interact with each other
精英群体
and at the same time
同时也包括一群
a group of hardened professionals
态度坚定的学者 他们拥有
who have their own language and their own codes,
自己的说话风格与行为准则
who know how to strike deals,
也知道如何打破合约
and to extract the best possible advantages
如何在特定情况下
from a particular situation.
取得最佳利益
Versailles was the original hotbed of scandal.
凡尔赛原是流言滋生的温床
The phrase with which everyone began their conversation
每个人说话
was, "On dit"
都以"据说"开头
"It's being said." "They're saying this, they're saying that."
"人人都这么说" "他们说这他们说那"
All day, these whispers of rumour would travel about the palace
流言整天在宫中传递
and people would send each other little bulletins by sedan chair,
人们坐着轿子传递小告示板
to report on what was going on in the different rooms
互相告知各处的动向
and that of course made it a tremendously claustrophobic place to live.
宫中成了幽闭恐惧的住处
You couldn't do anything without everybody knowing about it.
你无法隐藏自己所行之事
It was this extraordinary networking centre.
这里的关系网络异常复杂
Everyone who was anyone in France, was now at Versailles,
法国的贵族都住进了凡尔赛宫
so to be excluded was disastrous for a French nobleman.
被排斥在外的人则饱受打击
The worst thing that a courtier could hear from the King
幕僚最不愿听到的话就是
was, "He's a man I never see."
国王说"我不认识他"
People would spend literally years
人们会花上很多年
trying to hear one word or have a gesture from the King.
争取得到国王的话语或手势
重点讲解
一.cross：v. 穿过，交叉，杂交，反对，勾掉，碰见，阻挠 n. 十字架，十字形，杂交动植物，苦难 adj. 交叉的，相反的，生气的，杂交的 prep. 穿过
【词义辨析】
across, through, cross,
across: 主要表示从某物的表面“横过”，涉及“面”的概念。
My house is across the harbour，in the vicinity of the Kowloon Park．
我的家在海港的对岸，九龙公园附近。
They live across the Central Plaza.
他们住在中央广场的对面。
Everyone shouts "kill it" when a rat is seen to run across the street．
老鼠过街，人人喊打。
through: 则表示从某个空间“穿过”，涉及“体”的概念。
cross: across和cross在拼写上仅差一字之微，故很易混淆。它们的区别在于词性和使用场合有所不同。across是介词；cross是动词。
He has crossed the border into another territory．
他已越过边界进入别国的领土。
Many steel arch bridges cross the Mississippi in its lower reaches．
在密西西比河的下游许多拱形铁桥横跨河面。
They have crossed over to Japan．
他们已东渡去日本了。
【例句用法】
1.I hope I never cross her path again.
但愿我永远不再遇见她。
2.She doesn't like to be crossed.
她不喜欢有人跟她作对。
3.The chairman and I have crossed swords before over this issue.
我和主席以前曾经对这问题进行过辩论。
4.She wore a small silver cross on a chain round her neck.
她脖子上戴著项链，上面挂着个小的银制十字架。
5.We all have our crosses, I suppose.
我想，我们都有各自的难题。
6.He crossed me in everything.
他事事阻挠我。
7.Be careful when you cross the road.
过马路时要当心。
8.If you can't sign your name, make a cross instead.
你如果不会签名，画一个十字也可以。
二.spend：n. 预算，花销 v. 花费，浪费，度过
【词义辨析】
cost, expend, spend, take, pay,
cost: 指花费时间、金钱、劳力等。其主语是物，而不能由人充当，也不用被动形式。
expend: 较正式用词，通常指为某一专门目的而花费大量金钱、时间或精力。
spend: 普通用词，与cost基本同义，但主语必须是人。
take: 普通用词，指需要占用空间、时间或精力等，其主语可以是人，也可以是一件事情。
pay: “付款、给……报酬”，它可作及物动词也可作不及物动词。pay常用于以下几种句型：①Sb．pay（s）sb．money意为“某人付款给另一个人或某人给另一个人多少报酬”。
He pays me fifty yuan a week．
他每周给我五十元的报酬。
②pay for sth．意为“付……款、给……报酬”。
He has paid for the meal．
他已付了那顿饭的钱。
③pay money for sth．意为“花多少钱买某物”。
My father paid 40 pounds for the desk．
我父亲花了40英磅买了这张书桌。
【例句用法】
1.How do you spend your spare time?
你业余时间怎么打发？
2.We spent many hours in a pleasant conversation.
我们畅谈了好几个小时。
3.Come and spend the weekend with us.
来和我们一起度周末吧。