b 约翰·德莱顿：那个时代最负盛名的诗人，著有《押沙龙与亚希多弗》、《石斑鱼与海豹》、《阿努斯健神露》（1666年）以及许多戏剧。
有状况良好的道路上肆意横行。据说许多店老板都要收他们的钱，前提是向他们通风报信，告诉他们哪些旅行的人值得抢劫。
14.那时候的报纸和我们现代的报纸没法儿比。获批的报纸只有《伦敦公报》，版面只有两页，内容非常贫乏，每周发行两次。这一时代社会生活一个重要的特点是《时事通讯》。这是一种书信体文章，通常每周往乡村送一次，讲述的全都是咖啡厅里闲聊的话题和首都轶事。有几户家庭给某位伦敦人付钱，订阅他四处漫游时收集的出行点滴。
15.除了在伦敦以及一些大学之外，英国当时很少有印刷机。唯一的出版社“特伦特以北出版社”在约克市。图书因此非常稀少和珍贵，在条件最好的庄园也几乎见不到。伦敦的书店挤满了读者。在斯图亚特王朝后期，最受人青睐和最流行的学习科目是化学。查理二世在他位于白厅的宫殿里有个实验室。人们很快便发现，化学研究的成果可用于发展农业。人们在不同的土壤里做试验，菜园里长出新品种的水果和蔬菜，连农民也开始觉得：学好科学知识，可能终究有一天会给他们带来好处。
THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK
不伦瑞克王室
127
GEORGE I
乔治一世
1714to 1727A.D.-13years（公元1714~1727年，在位13年）fortunes，riches；wealth.
shares，parts or portions of the profits which the Company sold.
simple，plain.
sole，only.
the Continent，some part of Europe.their value，as much as they were worth.unpopular，not pleasing to the people.
1.George the First was the first King of the House of Brunswick.He was in his fifty-fifth year when he came to the throne.His mother was Sophiaaof Hanover，grand-daughter of James the First.
He had married his cousin，
Sophia of Brunswick，but had treated her very cruelly，having shut her up in a castle of Hanover for forty years，and not allowing her to see her own children.
2.His first act was to call on Parliament to punish those lords who had opposed his being King，and had favoured the Pretender，the son of James thebSecond，whose party took the name of Jacobites.
The Earl of Oxford，who
was their leader，was imprisoned for two years.Others of them fied to the Continent，and their estates were seized by the Crown.
3.A rebellion called “the Fifteen”then broke out in Scotland in favour of the Pretender.It was headed by the Earl of Mar，who raised an army ofc10，000men.His forces were defeated at Sheriffmuir，by the royal troopsunder the Duke of Argyle；and on the same day a rebel army，under the Earldof Derwentwater，was defeated at Preston.
The Earl of Mar fled with the
a Grand-daughter of James the First.-Daughter of Elizabeth （daughter of James the First），and wife ofthe Elector Palatine.
b Jacobites.-From Jacobus，the Latin for James.
c Sheriffmuir.-In the south of Perthshire；8miles north-east of Stirling.
d Preston.-In Lancashire；28miles north-east of Liverpool.The name means “Priest’s town.”
Pretender to France.Derwentwater and many others were executed.Upwards of one thousand persons were banished to America.
4.Perhaps the strangest event of this reign was the famous “South Sea Bubble.”The South Sea Company was started to lend money to the Government，and it was to have the sole right of trading to the South Seas.Stories were then told of great fortunes to be made by buying the shares of the Company，and thousands of people rushed to it with all the money they could bring together，in the hope of growing suddenly rich.
5.But the mighty Bubble soon burst.Shares which had cost ten times their value could not be sold at any price，and thousands of families were ruined.
6.During a visit to his subjects in Hanover，the King fell ill while travelling in his carriage，and died next day.Though King of England for thirteen years，he could neither write nor speak the English language！This made him unpopular；but he was an able ruler：his manners were simple，and he was a lover of peace.
中文阅读
1.乔治一世是不伦瑞克王室的第一任国王。他上台时已经55岁。他的母亲是汉诺威的索菲娅，也是詹姆士一世的外孙女a。他和自己的表妹、不伦瑞克的索菲娅结婚，但对她却非常苛刻，曾经把她关在汉诺威的一座城堡里长达四十年，并且不允许她见自己的孩子。
2.他做的第一件事，就是要求国会惩罚那些曾经反对他当国王的王公贵族，并取悦于“老僭君”即詹姆士二世的儿子（他的党派取名为“雅各比提斯”b）。该党领导人奥克福德公爵被判入狱两年，其他人则逃到欧洲大陆，而他们的财产也被王室查封。
3.一场旨在支持“老僭君”、取名为“第十五”的起义随后在苏格兰爆发。起义由马尔伯爵领导，他征募了1万人的大军。他的部队在谢里夫谬尔c被阿盖尔公爵率领的皇家军队击败，而在同一天，由德文特沃特尔伯爵率领的一支叛军，也在普雷斯顿d被击败。马尔伯爵带着“老僭君”逃到法国。德文特沃特尔和其他许多人则被处决。超过1000人流放到美洲。
4.在这一统治时期最奇怪的事，可能要数著名的“南海泡沫”了。南海公司准备向政府贷款，以换取到南海地区进行贸易的专享权。之后就有流言说，购买该公a 詹姆士一世的外孙女：伊丽莎白的女儿（伊丽莎白是詹姆士一世的女儿）、巴拉丁选帝侯的妻子。
b 雅各比提斯：源于詹姆士的拉丁文“雅各布斯”。
c 谢里夫谬尔：位于佩思郡以南，斯特林东北8英里处。
d 普雷斯顿：位于兰开夏郡，利物浦东北28英里处。该地名的意思是“神父之乡”。
司的股票可以发大财，于是成千上万的人带着所能筹集的全部资金跑到该公司，以期一夜暴富。
5.但是，这个巨大的泡沫很快就破了。以其本身价格10倍的价格购买的股票，却无论如何都卖不出去，从而导致成千上万的家庭破产。
6.一次，在看望汉诺威的臣民期间，这位国王在外出的马车上生了病，第二天就死了。尽管当了十三年的英国国王，他却既不会写英文，也不会说英语！这一点使他没有博到多大名声，但他却是个有能力的统治者：他行为简朴，而且热爱和平。
128
THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE
“南海泡沫”
auction，sale to the highest bidder.
circulated，sent round.collapsed，burst；shrunk.confidence，trust.investing，laying out.mysterious，secret.privileges，exclusive rights.
prospectus，circular.reduction，paying off.represented，was worth.sug-gested，proposed.surprised，startled.triumphed，were the victors.
unintentionally，by accident.
1.When the reign of George the First was nearly over，a memorable debate took place one February day in the House of Commons.The principal speakerawas the Chancellor of the Exchequer，who made a proposal that certain
trading privileges should be given to the South Sea Company，on condition of their undertaking to pay off the National Debt in twenty-six years.The members of the House were so surprised at the proposal，that there was no reply for about a quarter of an hour.
2.At last a cautious man suggested that there should be an open competition among such companies as were willing to attempt the reduction of the debt，so that the best possible bargain might be made for the nation.The Chancellor of the Exchequer，who had already in secret closed the bargain with the South Sea Company，said scornfully that this would be like setting the nation up tobauction.But Walpole，a man of great sagacity and talent，spoke in favour ofreceiving proposals from other companies，and in the end it was agreed to submit the scheme to public competition.