7.State of the Country.-The country was still to a great extent untilled，and was chiefly marshland and forest.The morals of the people were very bad；-drunkenness was common，and the prisons were always full of criminals.Arts，manufactures，and mining had made but little progress.There were no good roads，and it was difficult to pass from one part of the country to another.When it was made known that the “Flying Coach”would leave Oxford at six in the morning and reach London at seven the same evening，it was thought a dangerous undertaking.A journey from London to York in winter took six days.
中文阅读
1.安妮是詹姆士二世的第二个女儿、已故王后玛丽的妹妹。她丈夫是丹麦的乔治王子，但乔治并未在政府部门任职。
2.在她当政的几乎整个时期，法国和西班牙一直在打仗，而英国在著名的马尔伯勒公爵指挥下，取得了许多作战的胜利。作为对他忠心耿耿的回报，他获赠位于牛津郡的一处地产。一套豪华的房子建于此地，根据马尔伯勒获胜的一次伟大战斗而命名为布伦海姆a。在同一场战争中，英国从西班牙手中抢占了直布罗陀b。此地对于英国具有巨大价值，因为它形成了通往地中海的门户。
3.英格兰和苏格兰如今真正实现了统一：苏格兰将16名上院议员和45名下院议员（如今送了60名）送进英国国会，但却保留了自己的法庭和教堂。此后，苏格兰的贸易开始极大拓展，而苏格兰人民的财富、安逸和幸福程度也随之增长。
4.与法国的战争以签订“乌德勒支协约”c而结束，通过该协约，英国得到了哈德逊湾地区、纽芬兰和新斯科舍，并允许拥有直布罗陀。马尔伯勒公爵却名誉a 布伦海姆：战场（1704年）附近的一个村庄，位于多瑙河畔，离奥格斯堡西北23英里。
b 直布罗陀：西班牙南部的一个多石的要塞。
c 乌德勒支：位于荷兰境内，阿姆斯特丹东南21英里处。
扫地，因为他接受了为军队提供食品和衣物的那些人的贿赂。他的军队指挥权被剥夺，之后退休至欧洲大陆，并在那里一直待到下一个统治时期。那之后，他又回到英国。
5.安妮死于中风，享年49岁。她是斯图亚特王朝最后一个当政的人。凭借清白的一生和对英国国教的慷慨，她博得了“尊贵的安妮女王”的美名。她有19个孩子，但都在童年时期便夭折。
6.斯图亚特王朝时期英国宪法最大的变化，就是通过国会下院明确限制皇室的权力，并增大人民的权力。这都是凭借威廉三世在任时期通过的《权利法案》实现的。7.国家状况--此时的英国在很大程度上尚未开发，主要由沼泽和森林组成。人民的情绪非常低落，酗酒司空见惯，监狱里总是关满了罪犯。艺术、制造业和矿业已经出现，但进展甚微。没有什么像样的道路，从国家的一地到另一地都很困难。当“高速马车”早上6点离开牛津、当晚7点到达伦敦变得众所周知的时候，人们认为这是一件危险的事情。而在冬天，从伦敦到约克跑一趟需要花六天。
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THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH
马尔伯勒公爵
adherence，attachment.ascendency，great influence.barricaded，defended.contracted，made agreements.disfigured，marred；spoiled.endeavoured，tried.
excessive，too great.familiarly，in a friendly way.impression，effect.
in succession，the one after the other.
principally，chiefly.
surrender，yield；submit.
1.During the reigns of Charles the Second，James the Second，and William the Third，a man was rising in fame，who became one of the greatest of military commanders.His name was John Churchill，and he was a very handsome man；but his greatness was disfigured by an excessive love of money，which led him to commit mean actions.
2.It was not，however，until the reign of Queen Anne that he attained his greatest glory as a general.A war began with France，which was carried on principally in the country called Belgium；and there Churchill，who had been made Earl of Marlborough for his adherence to the cause of William the Third，at first exercised his genius in besieging and taking some of the great fortresses which lie on the rivers.Forthese successes，the Queen made him a Duke.
3.But he soon grew tired of that work，and began to act on a grander scale.Marching along the Rhine，and then turning eastward over the mountains into Bavaria，he advanced to a little village on the Danube called Blenheim.
4.It was a Sunday morning
in August when the French
MARLBOROUGH AT BLENHEIM.
and Bavarian army faced the English troops under Marlborough.The first attack was made by the British on the village of Blenheim，which had been barricaded in a hurry with the trunks of trees.The French fired so rapidly through the loop-holes which they had left in their defences that the British were forced to retreat，although many of them climbed the wooden palings andstruck at the French musketeers with the stocks of their guns.
5.The cavalry of the English tried to make some impression on Blenheim，but did not succeed.Cannon alone would do.But Marlborough had in the meantime，with quick eye，noticed a wide space between the two wings of the enemy’s line.Now，in war，as in the game called draughts，to separate the enemy into two bodies is a sure way to victory.
6.Knowing this well，and seeing nothing to oppose him except the French cavalry，Marlborough made a quick movement of nearly all his men，which cut the hostile line of battle.He placed his soldiers between the two broken parts，and then，turning on these，beat them in succession.The brave men who held the village of Blenheim were then obliged to surrender.In England this victory was looked on as a grand triumph；and the joyful nation presented the victorawith a splendid palace and estate.
7.Marlborough also won three great battles in Belgium.They were thebattles of Ramilies，Oudenarde，and Malplaquet.
e
But his political enemies
came into power；and，before the Treaty of Utrechtwas made，he was obligedto resign the command of the army.His influence had been long kept up by the ascendency which his wife held over the mind of Queen Anne.The Duchess and the Queen used to talk to each other familiarly as Mrs.Freeman and Mrs.Morley，and the Duchess made the Queen do just as she pleased.
8.But there came to wait on the Queen a cunning woman，named Masham，who managed to gain the favour of her Majesty，and to deprive the Duchess of all influence in affairs of State.The haughty peeress，not aware how entirely her influence was gone，endeavoured to force the Queen to obey her after the old fashion，and so far lost command of her temper on several occasions as to break out into violent abuse.
9.This kind of conduct completed the disgrace of both Duchess and Duke.The latter was accused in the House of Commons of having taken for his owna Palace and estate.-Blenheim Park，near Woodstock，in Oxfordshire，8miles north-west of Oxford city.
b Ramlies （or Ra-meel‘-ye），1706.-In South Brabant，26miles from Brussels.
cOudenarde，1708.-In East Flanders，14miles from Ghent.
d Malplaquet （Mal-pla-kay’），1709.-In France，about 9miles south of Mons.
e Treaty of Utrecht.-Made in 1713；concluded the war.By it England gained Gibraltar，Minorca，Hudson Bay Territory，Newfoundland，and Nova Scotia.