Queen Victoria and her Soldiers

Queen Victoria was always proud of her brave soldiers. In time of war, she gave orders that news of them was to be sent to her every day, and when the generals returned home, they were commanded to visit her, and to tell her of the bravery of the troops¹.

During the long war with the Russians in the Crimea, the British soldiers suffered greatly from the freezing winds, and rain, and snow, of that cold land. When Queen Victoria heard of this, she and her children worked with their own hands to make warm clothing for them. A great many of the wounded² and sick men were sent home in ships, to be nursed in the English hospitals, and the Queen paid several visits to the poor fellows as they lay there. Moving from one bed to another, she cheered them with hopeful³ words, and listened gladly to their stories of the battles in which they had fought. When she saw that the hospitals were crowded, and not very comfortable, she told Parliament⁴ that better ones ought to be provided⁵, and after a time this was done, and the fine hospital of Netley was built, of which the Queen laid the first stone.

Once, Queen Victoria herself gave medals to some wounded and disabled soldiers who had fought very bravely. Some of these men could not raise their arms to salute⁶ their queen; some could not walk, but had to be wheeled in chairs to her side; but all were proud to receive their medals of honour from her hands.

"Noble⁷ fellows," she wrote of them afterwards, "I feel as if they were my own children."

1 troops   

n.troop(复数)部队,军队

参考例句：

• troops on active service 现役部队
• The troops were ordered back to barracks . 士兵们被命令返回营房。

2 wounded   

adj.受伤的；n.伤员

参考例句：

• The wounded man let out a cry of pain.伤员发出一阵痛苦的叫喊声。
• She attended on the wounded soldier day and night.她日夜护理着负伤的战士。

3 hopeful   

adj.有希望的，怀抱希望的，保持乐观的；n.有希望之人，有前途之人

参考例句：

• This is a hopeful news.这是个鼓舞人心的消息。
• We are hopeful about the future.我们对未来抱乐观态度。

4 Parliament   

n.议会，国会

参考例句：

• She won a seat in Parliament at the election.她在选举中赢得了议会中的席位。
• The drug was banned by an act of parliament.议会的法案明令禁止该药品。

5 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

6 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

7 noble   

n.贵族；adj.高贵的，高尚的，贵族的，辉煌的

参考例句：

• He is a noble man,we all admire him.他是一个道德高尚的人，我们都敬佩他。
• Niagara falls is a noble sight.尼亚加拉瀑布是一壮观的景色。