7.In the very first battle，at St.Albans，the Lancastrians were defeated，andthe King was made prisoner.He was，however，soon set free，and a peace was patched up.Four years later，the war was renewed；and Henry was again made captive.
8.York then laid claim to the throne.The question was debated in Parliament；and it was arranged that Henry should reign till his death，and that the crown should then pass to York and his heirs.
9.Queen Margaret，who had more spirit than her husband，was very angry at this shutting out of her son from the throne.Having called the Lancastriandlords to her side，she routed the Yorkists at Wakefield Green.
The Duke of
York was slain；and his head，adorned with a paper crown，was stuck on the wall of York city.
10.This loss roused the Yorkists to greater efforts.Edward，the son and heireof the fallen Duke，laid claim to the crown.At Mortimer‘s CrossRoyalist troops before him.
he swept the
He then marched to London，and was declared King，with the title of Edward the Fourth.
11.Henry was put off the throne after a reign of thirty-nine years，and Edward was declared to be the lawful King.Henry was weak-minded and cowardly，and was wholly unfit for the kingly office.With him ended the House of Lancaster.
12.In this reign a riot was raised in Kent by one Jack Cade，who，pretending that he was heir to the crown，defeated the royal army and took possession ofa Beaufort.-Pronounced Bo’-fort.
b Rightful heir.-He was descended，through his mother，from the third son of Edward the Third，while Henry was descended from the fourth son.
c St.Albans.-In Hertfordshire；19miles north-west of London.
d Wakefield -In Yorkshire；26miles south-west of York.
e Mortimer‘s Cross -In the north of Herefordshire.A partial victory gained by Margaret at St.Albans，a few days later，did not save London.
London.He，however，was defeated in turn，and was killed by a gentleman，in whose garden he had hidden himself.
中文阅读
1.亨利六世是五世先王的儿子，在父王驾崩之时，他尚未成年，以他的叔父格洛斯特公爵为首的一个20名顾命大臣组成的内阁代行国政。他的另一位叔父贝德福德公爵则以摄政王的身份前往法国，因为英军刚征服法兰西不久。于是英军又开始围攻奥尔良a，本想着这次也会像以往那样，奥尔良会很快到手，但是这时出现了一个意外，让之前所得全部付之东流。
2.在法国的一个村子里住着一个性格泼辣的女孩，名叫琼·阿尔克b，她从小就认为天将降大任于己，会在英军的铁蹄下拯救法兰西。这个消息后来被人告知了法国国王，当时的国王在英军所向披靡的威势下惶惶不安，于是只要有一线希望都想试试。
3.他立即将琼安置在部队前线。士兵们也对琼的神圣使命深信不疑，在她的指挥下表现出极大英勇，奋力作战。她于1429年来到奥尔良城，在城墙外逼退了英军部队。几场仗打下来，英军皆败绩。法军将法国国王丢失的几个省份全都夺了回来。基于如此显赫的战功，人们都称她为“奥尔良女神”。
4.两年之后，琼·阿尔克被英国人抓获，并在鲁昂城被当作女巫活活烧死。但是自从她出现以后，英国人在法国的统治便开始明显出现颓势，到了1451年，他们丢失了除加来以外的所有法国领地。英国人之前为了占领法国而流的血，算是白流了。
5.但对亨利而言，相比外患，内忧则更胜一筹。因为他在兰开斯特王朝两位最有权势的朋友，格洛斯特公爵与卡迪纳尔·贝尔福德公爵相继去世了。这就让王位的继承多了一个强有力的竞争者，也即约克公爵理查德，他似乎才是最合适的王储c。
6.这样一来，旷日持久的血战“玫瑰战争”开始了，持续整整三十年，将英国的贵族传统彻底毁荡殆尽。战争中，约克公爵一方的人身上戴一朵白玫瑰，而兰开斯特一方的人则戴一朵红玫瑰。
7.在1455年战争刚开始不久，兰开斯特部众在圣阿尔本兹d被打败，国王被俘。但不久国王被释放，于是有了一段短暂的和平时期，可是好景不长，四年之后战争又开始了，亨利再一次成了阶下囚。
a 奥尔良：位于卢瓦尔河畔，地处巴黎西南60英里。
b 琼·阿尔克：也就后来彪炳史册的法国女英雄“圣女贞德”。--译者注c 最合适的王储：理查德由其母亲获得皇族血统，可追溯至亨利三世的第三子，而此时的亨利六世则只可追溯至亨利三世的第四子。
d 圣阿尔本兹：位于赫特福德郡，地处伦敦西北19英里。
8.约克公爵因此要求继承王位，国会里面也为此问题展开了激烈辩论，结论便是亨利可以享有王权直到他离世，但此后应将王位交由约克公爵及他的子嗣继承。
9.当时的王后玛格丽特比她丈夫更有韬略，在她儿子可能被废这件事上极为震怒。她召集了兰开斯特各大头领，在韦克菲尔德a绿地大败约克家族。在此战中，约克公爵被杀，他的头颅被戴上一个纸质王冠，在约克城的城墙上枭首示众。
10.这次惨败让约克家族更加奋发图强立誓雪耻，已死的约克公爵的儿子爱德华此时便继续要求王位继承权。1461年，他在莫提梅路口b将他身后的皇家部队扫荡殆尽之后，便直接挥师伦敦，并宣称自己就是国王，头衔为爱德华四世。
11.亨利享国39年，之后便由爱德华称王。亨利内心孱弱，胆小无主见，完全不适合充当一国之君。其逊位之后，兰开斯特王朝就此终结。
12.在他执政期间，肯特郡发生了叛乱，为首者名叫杰克·凯德。此人宣称他才是继承王位的不二人选，并且战胜了皇家军队之后便占据了伦敦。不过很快他就被国王的军队打败了，他自己被一位官员所杀，并且埋在了这位官员别墅的后花园里。
a 韦克菲尔德：位于约克郡，地处约克城西南26英里。
b 莫提梅路口：位于赫里福德郡北部。当年玛格丽特在圣阿尔本兹胜之不武，几年后伦敦失陷。
74
JOAN OF ARC
圣女贞德
abandoned，gave up.
advanced，forward.
besieged，hemmed in with soldiers.commission，order；authority.consecrated，set apart for a holy office.convinced，made sure；satisfied.declaration，statement.
deliver，set free.
equipped，furnished；arrayed.
fervent，earnest.furious，fierce.inpostor，cheat.inscribed，written over.
intrusted，given in charge.
martyrs，those who die for their religion.
violence，fierceness；roughness.
1.The city of Orleans，standing chiefly on the northern bank of the Loire，was closely besieged by an English army，and was in danger of being taken，when one day a peasant girl appeared before the Governor of a distant town，and said that she had been sent to him by God.She was a pretty girl of seventeen，with black hair and deepset earnest eyes.Brought up in a simple way in heranative village of Domremy，the little shepherdess had been used to spend longsummer days on the hills，dreaming of saints and martyrs，of whom wonderful stories were common.
2.When she grew up，her piety became still more fervent；and oftener thanbonce she heard strange voices，which commanded her to go to the Dauphin’said.Then she beheld a vision of two saints with gleaming wings and jewelled crowns，who stood in the midst of a cloud of light and spoke words sweeter than any earthly music.While carried away by such day-dreams，her spirit was rudely stirred by the violence of some soldiers，who entered the glen and burned the parish church.Loudly then the voices began to call on her to rise and deliver her country.
3.The Governor，to whom she went at first，considered her either a madwoman or a witch.But the towns-people，convinced that she was sincere，a Domremy.-A village 170miles east of Paris.
b Danphin.-The title of the eldest son of the French King，as Prince of Wales is of the heir to the English throne.
were strong and earnest in her cause.At last it was arranged that she should go to the Dauphin and make known to him her mission.