Five British prime ministers ago – and six French ones – when Emmanuel Macron first confirmed that France would return the Bayeux tapestry to Britain after 1,000 years, he told an audience at Sandhurst and Theresa May – the No 10 seat-warmer of the day – that when it came to France and Britain there were “two things that nothing can change, be it a vote or a political decision: our history and our geography”.(五任英国首相和六任法国总统之前，马克龙首次确认归还挂毯时，对听众和梅说，法英关系中有两件事不可改变：历史和地理。)
五任英国首相和六任法国总统之前，当埃马纽埃尔·马克龙首次确认法国将在1000年后将贝叶挂毯归还英国时，他在桑赫斯特对听众和时任唐宁街10号临时主人特蕾莎·梅说，就法英两国而言，“有两件事是任何投票或政治决定都无法改变的：我们的历史和我们的地理”。
It was January 2018, 18 months after the UK had voted to leave the EU, and relations between the near neighbours were not good. The French political establishment(当权派，权势集团) had been shocked and angered by Brexit; personal relations were frazzled(疲惫不堪的，紧张的), and cross-Channel government contacts measurably dwindling. This was not a rupture that a piece of embroidered medieval linen, however perfectly it represented that tangled history, was going to solve on its own.(这不是一块绣花的中世纪亚麻布能自行解决的裂痕，无论它多么完美地代表了那段纠结的历史。)
那是2018年1月，英国公投脱欧18个月后，这对近邻之间的关系并不好。法国政界对英国脱欧感到震惊和愤怒；个人关系紧张，跨海峡的政府接触明显减少。这不是一块绣花的中世纪亚麻布能自行解决的裂痕，无论它多么完美地代表了那段纠结的历史。
It took only eight and a half years and many, many changes in personnel, but this week Macron finally made good on that pledge with the unveiling of the tapestry at the British Museum in London, in scenes of such amitié that one could almost forget the bilateral chill that had gone before.(仅八年半，人事几经更迭，本周马克龙终于兑现承诺，挂毯在大英博物馆揭幕，气氛友好得几乎让人忘记此前的冷淡。)
仅仅过了八年半，人事几经更迭，本周马克龙终于兑现了这一承诺，贝叶挂毯在伦敦大英博物馆揭幕，现场气氛如此友好，几乎让人忘记此前两国关系的冷淡。