考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》：女王的短裤

　　The queen's knickers

　　女王的短裤

　　Victoria’s secret

　　维多利亚的秘密

　　What do you buy the monarchist who has everything? One auction bidder has the answer: knickers that belonged to Queen Victoria. The buyer paid 6,200 ($9,900) for them on October 12th at an auction in Kent. At her death in 1901, Victoria bequeathed several dozen pairs of bloomers to her servants (“for loyal service”) but only one other complete pair has been found and sold. These drawers are interesting because the 52-inch (132cm) waist shows how well Her Majesty ate in later years. The sale is part of a growing market for the underwear of famous dead people: recent auctions have tried to sell the smalls of Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith and Elvis Presley. Someone wanted 7,000 for the King’s briefs in 2012 but they didn’t sell. Only Victoria’s have sat on an actual throne.

　　你要从拥有一切的君主那里买什么?有一位拍卖者知道答案：曾属于维多利亚女王的短裤。10 月12 号，这位买家在肯特举行的一场拍卖会上以6，200 英镑(9，900 美元)的价格拍下了这条短裤。维多利亚女王在1901 年弥留之际，将好几十条灯笼裤赠给仆人(因为他们“忠诚的服务”)。但除了刚刚提到的那条之外，迄今只发现另一条完整的短裤，它已经卖出去了。这些衬裤很有意思，因为那52 英寸(132cm)的腰围显示出尊贵的女王陛下在晚年伙食相当不错。这次交易是已故名人内衣裤拍卖这个蓬勃发展的市场的一部分:近期的拍卖会已经尝试拍卖了迈克尔·杰克逊、安娜·妮可·史密斯和猫王的内衣裤。2012 年，有人曾希望以7，000 英镑的价格买下国王的内裤，但这是非卖品。只有维多利亚女王的短裤才曾坐在真正的王位上，(惟有维多利亚女王的短裤才真正雄踞价位榜首)。

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