Blue blood?
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In the news, Japan's new Prime Minister is facing the music for not coming back home in the evening.

"Since taking the helm a month ago," according to AP (Japan PM under fire over pricey nightlife, October 23, 2008), Taro1 Aso has spent all but four nights out on the town at posh bars and eateries."

"Aso's haunts include an upscale hotel bar where coffee is poured out at $15 a cup, and a ritzy restaurant where the plates of grilled2 eel3 start at $175 a serving."

And "the opposition4 has seized on Aso's nights on the town, claiming the 68-year-old political blueblood and scion5 of a wealthy family is out of touch with the people."

This comes, of course, "while much of Japan is grappling with deepening economic turmoil6" as does America, where Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee7, has also been under fire for a handsome $150,000 lavished8 on her by the Republican party to dress her up. Half of the money, or $75,000, is said to have been done away with in one single shopping trip.

Now, the author of these pages is not bothered about Palin's wardrobe. Nor am I concerned about Aso's eel-eating in the company of geisha girls and to the music of Shamisen. And, hand on heart, there's little I can do about the world economy as a whole other than suffer through it with you lot, my dearest. Readers, you know me. I'm not concerned with any of that. What I'm concerned with is – and I have made sure that it is buried deep in text, haven't I? – why Aso, the Japanese leader, is called a blueblood?

All right. Take a look at the back of your palm and see if you canyou're your blood veins9. If your skin is of a lighter10 complexion11, you can spot them, greenish and blue. And that's actually where the term "blue blood", as in "blue blood runs in his veins" comes from. And it originally came from Spain.

From my archive of saved articles, I found this piece from The Hindu, India's national newspaper (February 11, 2003):

"Blue blood" is actually a translation of the Spanish term "sangre azul". At one time, the Moors12 (people of the Arab race) ruled over much of Spain. The Moors were dark complexioned13 and during the seven centuries that they ruled Spain, a lot of interracial marriages took place. But the Spanish aristocrats14 who lived in Castile did not intermarry with the Moors. As a result, they remained extremely fair and began to distinguish themselves from their rulers and fellow aristocrats by calling themselves "sangre azul". What they meant by this was that because of their very fair complexion, the veins in their arms looked blue. It was as if blue blood was running in their veins. How vain can one get!

Anyways, that is that. Blue blood stands for nobility and aristocracy. That's why Japan's opposition accused Aso of "being out of touch with the people." In other words, he is not one of the common folk.

Here are two more media examples of blue blood:

1. Ever since Ronald Reagan the right wing has been looking for a candidate whose conservative values mirror theirs. They thought George W. Bush was that person, but he turned out to be the most profligate15 spender ever in the history of the presidency16, the man who oversaw17 the greatest wealth transference from government to private capital since 1776. Besides, unlike Palin, Bush 43 was to the manor18 born, a true Yale/Harvard blue blood. Palin's story, coming as she does from modest means, more closely parallels Reagan's - Main Street and small town American mythology19 come to life.

- Sarah Palin & the Presidency, HuffingtonPost.com, October 25, 2008.

2. From a standing20 start, Tom Pakenham has built up a minicab firm with 80 vehicles in two years. Green Tomato Cars is a taxi firm with a difference, with its claim to be "London's first and leading environmentally-friendly private hire operator".

The Cambridge graduate, now 31, seemed to be on a very different course when he qualified21 as a solicitor22 and began working with blueblood law firm Slaughter23 and May. But he turned his back on convention, walked out of the rarified world of intellectual property, got himself a job minicabbing and sold his flat in Notting Hill, west London, to raise money for his new venture.

- Inspired leadership stimulates24 taxi firm's organic growth, The Guardian25, October 16, 2008.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 taro TgVzm3     
n.芋,芋头
参考例句:
  • Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
  • You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。
2 grilled grilled     
adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后,警察才放他走。
  • He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问,直到他承认为止。
3 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句:
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆,他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
4 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
5 scion DshyB     
n.嫩芽,子孙
参考例句:
  • A place is cut in the root stock to accept the scion.砧木上切开一个小口,来接受接穗。
  • Nabokov was the scion of an aristocratic family.纳博科夫是一个贵族家庭的阔少。
6 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
7 nominee FHLxv     
n.被提名者;被任命者;被推荐者
参考例句:
  • His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
  • Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。
8 lavished 7f4bc01b9202629a8b4f2f96ba3c61a8     
v.过分给予,滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
  • An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上,我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句
9 veins 65827206226d9e2d78ea2bfe697c6329     
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理
参考例句:
  • The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的,感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
11 complexion IOsz4     
n.肤色;情况,局面;气质,性格
参考例句:
  • Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
  • Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。
12 moors 039ba260de08e875b2b8c34ec321052d     
v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
  • They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 complexioned a05d20b875525b9c62d7b3a8621ffe3e     
脸色…的
参考例句:
  • My aunt Ablewhite is a large, silent, fair-complexioned woman, with one noteworthy point in her character. 艾伯怀特表姨妈是个身材高大,生性沉默的人,为人有个突出的地方。
  • Both were fair complexioned and slenderly made; both possessed faces full of distinction and intelligence. 两人都脸色白皙,身材苗条,两人都相貌非凡、一副聪明的样子。
14 aristocrats 45f57328b4cffd28a78c031f142ec347     
n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台! 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
15 profligate b15zV     
adj.行为不检的;n.放荡的人,浪子,肆意挥霍者
参考例句:
  • This young man had all the inclination to be a profligate of the first water.这个青年完全有可能成为十足的浪子。
  • Similarly Americans have been profligate in the handling of mineral resources.同样的,美国在处理矿产资源方面亦多浪费。
16 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
17 oversaw 1175bee226edb4f0a38466d02f3baa27     
v.监督,监视( oversee的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统,安然引退。 来自互联网
  • Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网
18 manor d2Gy4     
n.庄园,领地
参考例句:
  • The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
  • I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主,而是这儿的女主人。
19 mythology I6zzV     
n.神话,神话学,神话集
参考例句:
  • In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中,宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
  • He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。
20 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
21 qualified DCPyj     
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的
参考例句:
  • He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
  • We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。
22 solicitor vFBzb     
n.初级律师,事务律师
参考例句:
  • The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
  • The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。
23 slaughter 8Tpz1     
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀
参考例句:
  • I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
  • Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。
24 stimulates 7384b1562fa5973e17b0984305c09f3e     
v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 );激励;使兴奋;起兴奋作用,起刺激作用,起促进作用
参考例句:
  • Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
25 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
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