Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch (君主), died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, on Sept 8. Her eldest son, Charles, has now become Britain’s new monarch, known as King Charles III, reported the BBC. The UK began a 10-day mourning period (哀悼期) on Sept 9. Flags flying from government buildings were half-staff (下半旗). People have been able to see the queen’s coffin (灵枢), first in Edinburgh and London. There it would lie in state for 4 days for people to pay their respects before the state funeral (国葬) on Sept 19, reported the BBC.
“It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Laura Lang, from Georgia, US, seeing the queen’s cortege (送葬队伍) pass her in Edinburgh. “Look, I know the queen is ‘Britain’. But she’s the queen of the world,” Laura told Sky News.
In her 70-year reign (在位), the queen spent her life serving her country and Commonwealth. She supported over 600 charities and had a close link with the public, noted Sky News. In the UK, every Christmas day, people would turn on their TVs to listen to the queen’s Christmas speech. She sent heartfelt messages about important things, like togetherness.
Her death has been felt across the globe. In Washington, the US flag was lowered to half-staff to mark the passing of the queen. In a statement (声明), French President Emmanuel Macron said, “The woman who stood alongside the giants (巨人) of the 20th century on the path of history has left to join them.”
【小题1】How long did Queen Elizabeth II reign?| A．For 96 years. | B．For 10 days. | C．For 70 days. | D．For 70 years. |
| A．Her funeral was set on Sept 9. |
| B．Her eldest son took over her position. |
| C．Flags were half-staff for one day to mourn her. |
| D．She became the UK monarch 96 years ago. |
| A．She doesn’t take the queen as her role model. |
| B．The queen once wanted to rule the whole world. |
| C．All countries should have such a queen. |
| D．People all over the world respect (尊重) the queen. |
| A．The queen liked to do charity. | B．The queen loved giving speeches. |
| C．The queen was close to the public. | D．The queen often showed up on TV. |
