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William Shakespeare
莎士比亚
Of all the famous English writers,probably the best known is William Shakespeare.
在所有举世闻名的英文作家中，最著名的的也许要数莎士比亚了。
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 on April the 23rd.
莎士比亚于1564年4月23日出生在埃文河畔的斯特拉特福德镇。
His father was an important man in town so Shakespeare had a good upbringing.
其父亲在该镇是个重要人物，所以他接受过良好的教育。
Shakespeare probably went to school(although no records survive to prove this) but not university.
莎士比亚很可能上过学，尽管没有记录能考证这点，但没有上过大学。
He got married when he was 18 to Anne Hathaway and the couple had 3 children.
他18岁时和安妮?海瑟薇结婚，婚后育有3个孩子。
Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.
莎士比亚写了38部戏剧和154首十四行诗。
He began working in his home town of Stratford but by 1592 was writing in London.
他在自己的家乡斯特拉特福德镇开始工作，但到1592年他去了伦敦开始写作。
He became rich enough to buy a house in the capital and one in Stratford.
他富裕起来后就在首都和斯特拉特福德买了房子。
He wrote sad stories called tragedies,like Romeo and Juliet,funny stories or comedies, romantic stories and stories about historical figures such as Julius Caesar.
莎士比亚写的悲惨故事，被称为悲剧，如《罗密欧与朱丽叶》，他还写有趣的故事或喜剧，浪漫的故事以及有关历史人物的历史剧，如《尤里乌斯·恺撒》。
Shakespeare died on his birthday in 1616,almost 400 years ago.
莎士比亚死于400年前，也就是1616年他生日那天。
But why is his work still popular today?
但为何他的作品如今仍受欢迎呢？
His work looked at common human themes,such as betrayal, murder, lust, power, ambition and love.
莎翁的作品着眼于大众主题，诸如背叛，谋杀，性欲，权力，野心以及爱情。
These themes are as much a part of human nature today as they were all those years ago and are the themes we see in modern soap operas and Hollywood films.
这些主题从古到今都是人性的一部分，而且它们还经常贯穿于现代的肥皂剧和好莱坞电影当中。
Even though his theatre, The Globe, burned down in 1613 it was rebuilt in London in 1997 and you can still see his plays performed there today.
尽管他的环球剧院在1613年被烧毁，但于1997年在伦敦得到重建，如今你仍然可以在那里欣赏他创作的戏剧。
Shakespeare's influence on the English language can still be felt today.
时至今日，我们仍然能感受到莎士比亚在英文语言中的影响力。
We talk about "fair play", meaning honest behaviour but this phrase was first used by Shakespeare.
我们说公平竞争，那意味着正当的行为举止，而最先使用这个词的却是莎士比亚。
He coined the phrase "you can have too much of a good thing".
他用短语杜撰了这样的表达—你能够从一个好的事物中得到许多好的东西（启示或启迪）。
And it was Shakespeare who came up with the expression to disappear "into thin air"which we still use today when we lose something.
当我们丢失某样东西时，我们现在仍然在用莎士比亚创造的短语:消失的无影无踪。
Shakespeare's work has been translated into every major language in the world.
莎士比亚的作品被翻译为世界上各种主要的语言。
And perhaps we'll still be as fascinated by his work 400 years from now as we've been for almost the last 400.
或许在往后的400年里也跟过去这400年来一样，莎翁的作品仍会让世人为之倾倒。
