4.“宵禁制度”就是每个教区在每天晚上8点统一敲钟,以此作为信号让所有家庭都灭灯熄火。“新森林公园”围绕着整个汉普郡,从温彻斯特一直延伸到海边。为此威廉强拆了当地六十多个村庄,驱逐了所有居民,仅仅是为了把这里变成一个他游玩嬉戏,捕猎梅花鹿的场所!
5.这位征服者有四个儿子,罗伯特、理查德、威廉二世、亨利。罗伯特在法国起兵叛乱,与他父亲作对。在一次围攻城堡的战斗中,父子二人居然狭路相逢,大打出手,原因是二人都穿着盔甲,互相没有认出来。罗伯特最后把他父亲从马上击落,就在要动手取其性命之时,才看见他的脸,他大吃一惊,从马上跌落下来,请求他父王原谅。
6.过了些年,威廉国王在法国的一次战斗中被包围。正在突围时,他的战马突然踩到了滚烫的火灰,惊跳起来。他当时身体已发肥胖,因此被马鞍严重擦伤,这伤导致了他的死亡。威廉把英格兰的王位传给了健在的第二个儿子,即威廉二世,诺曼底王位则给了罗伯特。
7.总的说来,威廉是一位勇武之君,也是一位很有才干的统治者;不过缺点是有时过于残忍,为达目的常常不择手段。
a《英国土地志》:即《末日审判书》,阿尔弗雷德大帝曾汇集过一些判决法令,成为后来法律的一部分。
b 宵禁制度:原词Curfew来自法语,意为“熄火”。英国人认为此项法令的实施是一种社会生活的倒退。
30
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
征服者威廉
circling,all round.
diamonds,emeralds,rubies,precious stones.
host,army.
legions,numbers;hosts.martial,warlike.minted,coined.peasant‘s,poor man’s.
realm,kingdom.
slumbers,sound sleep.squadrons,divisions of the army.stain,blame;spot.
sward,grass.tranquil,quiet.turret,small tower.untold,uncounted.
1.Great King William spread before him All his stores of wealth untold-Diamonds,emeralds,and rubies,Heaps on heaps of minted gold.Mournfully he gazed upon itAs it glittered in the sun,Sighing to himself,“O treasure!
Held in care,by sorrow won;Millions think me rich and happy,But,alas!before me piled,I would give thee ten times over For the slumbers of a child.”
2.Great King William from his turret Heard the martial trumpets blow,Saw the crimson banners floating Of a countless host below;Saw their weapons flash in sunlight,As the squadrons trod the sward;And he sighed,“O mighty army!
Hear thy miserable lord:
At my word thy legions gather-At my nod thy captains bend;But,with all thy power and splendour,I would give thee for a friend.”
THE ROUND TOWER,WINDSOR-ON SITE OF NORMAN KEEP.
3.Great King William stood on Windsor,Looking from its castled heightO‘er his wide-spread realm of England,Glittering in the morning light;Looking on the tranquil river And the forest waving free;And he sighed,“O land of beauty!
Fondled by the circling sea,
Mine thou art,but I would yield thee And be happy,could I gain,In exchange,a peasant’s garden,And a conscience free from stain.”
-CHARLES MACKAY
a Windsor.-The chief royal residence in England-on the Thames,23miles west of London.The castle stands on a height,and the view from the terrace-a broad walk beside the castle walls-is one of the finest in England.The first castle there was built by the Conqueror,who reigned from 1066till 1087;but that long ago disappeared The present castle was founded by Edward III.
b River.The Thames.
中文阅读
1.威廉大帝将他的无数珍宝铺陈于前,钻石、蓝宝石、红宝石,还有无数金条堆在旁边。他悲戚地看着如许财宝,阳光下,它们是那样的耀眼。许久他发出一声浩叹:“我的财物啊!皆是多年苦心经营,辛勤积攒;万众以为我富有而快乐,呜呼,夫复何言!眼前的一切,我都可以不要,我甚至可以将此十倍的财富馈赠于你,哪怕就为了睡梦中的孩子,那张安详的脸。”
2.威廉大帝登临塔楼,听闻战斗的号角从下面传来,红色的旗帜迎风飞舞,军队的方阵已映入他的眼帘。他们的队伍行过草地,武器在阳光下金光闪闪。许久他发出一声浩叹:“英勇之军啊!听听你们悲苦国王的肺腑之言,我一发话能让尔等集合,我一点头能让尔等首领折腰;但是尔等所有的显赫荣耀,我也可以馈赠于友。”
3.威廉大帝站在温莎a王城,于城堡之上凭栏眺望,英格兰无边美景,在清晨的阳光里更加婀娜旖旎,a 温莎:英格兰皇家所在地,位于泰晤士河畔,伦敦以西23英里。其城堡位于一个高地之上,从城堡的观景台望去,风光尽收眼底,是英格兰胜景之一。城堡最初由威廉大帝在公元1066~1087年在位期间修建,但后来毁于战乱,现存的修建于爱德华三世时期。
河流a悄无声息,树林绿波荡漾;
许久他发出一声浩叹:“美丽的土地啊!四周有大海轻柔环绕,你属于我,而我也会屈服于你,我会由衷高兴,只要我能得到一间草庐,以及一颗无愧的心。”
(查尔斯·麦凯b)
a 河流:指泰晤士河。
b 查尔斯·麦凯(1812~1889):苏格兰诗人、作家、记者。有著作《大众的迷茫与狂热》一书,书中有言:“群众一旦开始集中疯狂,那么只有在付出巨大代价之后才会找回自觉。”--译者注31HEREWARD THE ENGLISHMAN赫里沃德
bewildered,puzzled.
ceremony,the service or form of making a knight.
contest,struggle.
hardihood,firm boldness.
intruder,one who enters without leave.
outlaw,one beyond the protection of the law.
practice,custom.
valour,bravery.
1.An East Anglian chief called Leofric had a son named Hereward.Theapeople of East Angliawere famous for the rough hardihood to which theyreared their children.A common practice was to take a boy by neck and heels and heave him up on the sloping thatch of a cottage-to try his strength.If he managed to cling with hands and knees in that position,he was thought to be worth keeping:if he fell,he was obliged to go and seek his fortune beyond the bounds of East Anglia.
2.There is little wonder that young Hereward,trained in such a way,grew up fearless and daring;and in these qualities he so outstripped his companions that he gained the victory in all sports.If in wrestling he was tripped and thrown,he would spring up sword in hand,and change a friendly contest into a bloody duel!
3.Such conduct turned many against him,and he got into so many quarrels with the neighbours,that his father was forced to ask Edward the Confessor to make the troublesome boy an outlaw.So Hereward left his home,and lived the life of a wanderer.
4.His valour was so remarkable,even in an age of great fighting men,that songs were made in his honour,and his praise was sung by minstrels when they struck their harps in the castle-halls after supper.When the news reached his native place,that the high-spirited boy,who had been driven away,had become a great hero of war,there was much joy.
a East Anglia.-Now Norfolk and Suffolk.
5.Some time after the Norman Conquest,Hereward returned home.Finding a French knight in possession of his dead father‘s lands,he lost no time in raising a band to drive out the intruder.But the Frenchman was aided by all the force of the Conqueror,so that Hereward was obliged to form what wasacalled the Camp of Refuge in the Isle of Ely,as to be secure from almost any attack.
a place so surrounded with fens