(提示:如果您无法正常打开上面的节目,主要原因可能是您没有安装Windows Media Player和Realplayer 。如果您还没有安装,请点击此处下载安装)
听力文稿 ( Transcript )
THE QUEEN - 2007 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Her majesty the Queen sends her Christmas message to her people throughout the Commonwealth.
That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes I am not surprised if many people feel lost and unable to decide what to hold on to and what to discard. How to take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old.
One of the features of growing old is heightened awareness of change. To remember what happened 50 years ago means that it is possible to appreciate what has changed in the meantime. It also makes you aware of what has remained constant.
In my experience, the positive value of a happy family is one of the factors of human existence that has not changed. The immediate family of grandparents, parents and children, together with their extended family, is still the core of a thriving community.
When Prince Philip and I celebrated our Diamond Wedding last month, we were much aware of the affection and support of our own family as they gathered round us for the occasion.
Now today, of course, marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Among other things, it is a reminder that it tells the story of a family; but of a family in very distressed circumstances. Mary and Joseph found no room at the inn, they had to make do in a stable, and the new-born Jesus had to be laid in a manger. This was a family which had been shut out.
Perhaps it was because of this early experience that, throughout his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth reached out and made friends with people whom others ignored or despised. It was in this way that he proclaimed his belief that, in the end, we are all brothers and sisters in one human family.
The Christmas story also draws attention to all those people who are on the edge of society - people who feel cut off and disadvantaged; people who, for one reason or another, are not able to enjoy the full benefits of living in a civilized and law-abiding community.