5.Fourteen of the plotters were put to death，Mary was then brought to trial，and was found guilty of having agreed to the plot.She was there-foreadoomed to die，and was beheaded in Fotheringaylast imprisoned.
Castle，where she had been
a Fotheringay.-In Northamptonshire；10miles south-west of Peterborough.The castle was razed to theground by order of James the First，soon after his accession to the throne.
6.Philip of Spain，who had married Mary，Elizabeth‘s sister，now offered his hand to Elizabeth，but was rejected.This made him very angry，and he fitted out a great fleet for the invasion of England.He took this step not only because Elizabeth had refused to marry him，but also with the hope of setting up again the Catholic religion in England.
7.So sure did he feel of success，that he called his fleet the “InvincibleaArmada.”
It consisted of one hundred and thirty-two ships，most of themof great size，and carrying a great many cannons of brass.There were 20，000bsoldiers on board；and there was an army of 40，000on the coast of Flanders，ready to be sent to England on the shortest notice.
8.The Navy of England contained only thirtysix small vessels；but a great effort was made by the whole nation-by Catholics as well as by Protestants-and about one hundred and ninety ships in all were sent out to defend the coasts.Lord Howard，the commander，was himself a Roman Catholic；and under him were the famous sailors Drake and Hawkins.
9.The Armada came full sail up the English Channel，stretching for seven miles across the waters.The English fleet sailed out of Plymouth harbour to meet it.The battle began，and much damage was done to the ships of the enemy；which，however，sailed as far as to Calais，the little English ships chasing them all the way.
10.Off Calais they anchored；and Lord Howard，in the middle of a dark night，sent eight fire-ships right among them，which greatly terrified the Spaniards，and threw their fleet into disorder.The English fleet then attacked them with great bravery，destroyed twelve large ships，and put the rest to flight.Many of their vessels were wrecked on the Orkney Islands，others were lost on the coast ofIreland，and only a very small portion of the great Armada ever returned to Spain.
中文阅读
1.伊丽莎白是亨利八世与安妮·博林的女儿，对于她的继位，英格兰举国欢庆。新教再一次被建立，英格兰的教会也开始逐渐形成如今的形式。当年克兰默主教撰写的《信纲三十九条》也被编入了《祈祷书》。
2.嫁给了法国多芬王子的苏格兰女王玛丽，现在也公然宣称拥有英格兰的王位继承权；然而她丈夫很快去世，留下年仅19岁的她在法国独自守寡，因此也无人理a Armada.-A fleet of armed ships.It was called “Invincible，”because Philip thought it could not bebeaten.
b Flanders.-The southern part of what is now Belgium.
睬她的王位主张。由于她是一位罗马天主教徒，因此苏格兰人也不喜欢她，经过七年起起伏伏的波折，最终她还是被废。
3.她于是逃往英格兰，希望伊丽莎白能仁慈地接纳她。不过在伊丽莎白眼里，玛丽完全是对她王位的极大威胁。她在英格兰的出现成为一个切实的危险，因为很多人都认为她比伊丽莎白更有王位的合法继承权，而且全国的天主教徒对她都非常支持。
4.因此伊丽莎白很果断地将玛丽女王关进了监狱，这一关就是十八年。这期间，她的同党曾数次密谋营救。其中最后一次的实施者为安东尼·巴宾顿，打算刺杀伊丽莎白然后将玛丽扶上王位，但是最终被发现而未能得逞。
5.参与此次密谋的14人被处以死刑，玛丽也被控受审，最终她内疚地承认了是她授意了此次密谋的实施，于是被法庭判处死刑，1587年斩首于福泽林盖a城堡，那里也正是她最后羁押之地。
6.伊丽莎白的姐夫西班牙国王菲利普，如今又向伊丽莎白求婚，被伊丽莎白断然拒绝。这让菲利普极为震怒，立即召集了一支强大的舰队入侵英格兰。他这么做不仅仅是因为伊丽莎白拒绝了他的求婚，也是希望能在英格兰重建天主教。
7.他对此战信心满满，把他的舰队叫做“无敌舰队b”。此舰队由132艘舰船组成，大部分舰船都体积巨大，并且都载有铜质加农炮。整个舰队共搭载20000名士兵，在佛兰德斯c沿岸还有40000士兵待命，准备随时发往英格兰。
8.当时的英国海军不过区区36艘小舰船，但当此危难，举国同心协力，天主教徒和新教徒也放下新仇旧恨一致对外，最终筹集了190艘舰船用于海防。司令官霍华德勋爵本身就是天主教徒，他麾下的两员大将就是著名水手德雷克和霍金斯。
9.西班牙舰队浩浩荡荡穿越英吉利海峡而来，整个队列在海面伸展开来竟长达7英里。英国舰队从普利茅斯港出海迎战，战斗就此打响，敌舰损毁无数。见势不妙，敌军舰队逃向加来，英国的小船队明显占据主动，将敌舰东追西赶。
10.敌舰在加来沿岸抛锚停靠，霍华德勋爵在半夜下令8艘火船出击，向敌舰纵火。这可把船上的西班牙士兵吓坏了，整个舰队顿时乱作一团。于是英国舰队正好趁势发动猛烈攻击，将敌军12艘巨型战舰彻底摧毁，其余的也被点起了熊熊大火。整个过程下来，敌军大部分舰船在奥克尼群岛附近被击沉，剩下的也被遗弃在爱尔兰海岸，只有极少部分船只灰溜溜地回到了西班牙。
a 福泽林盖：位于北安普敦郡，地处彼得伯勒西南10英里。詹姆士一世即位之后，这所城堡立即被他下令夷为平地。
b 无敌舰队：指一系列武装船舰，之所以称其为“无敌”，是因为菲利普认为他根本不可能被打败。
c 佛兰德斯：即如今的比利时南部。
97
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS IN ENGLAND
玛丽女王红颜薄命
accomplice，partner.attendants，servants.canopy，covering；roof.custody，keeping.dungeons，prisons.
encouraged，helped forward.
excited，aroused headsman，executioner.opponent，enemy.
opportunity，chance；occasion.proceedings，doings.quenched，put out；ended.
1.From the fishing village of Maryport，on the coast of Cumberland，where she had landed，Mary Stewart was brought to the castle of Carlisle.She was kept there in safe custody，until it was thought better to remove her to Bolton，in Yorkshire，a strong walled fortress with only one gate.While she lay there，a meeting of Commissioners took place at York，which in fact amounted to her trial for being an accomplice of Bothwell in the murder of Darnley.
2.Her great opponent，the Regent Murray，brought forward in the course of this inquiry a silver box，containing a number of her private letters and little pieces of poetry，with which he tried to prove her guilt.The result was，that the unhappy Queen of Scotland was removed from Bolton Castle to another stronghold at Tutbury on the Dove，in Staffordshire.
3.One of the greatest noblemen in England，the Duke of Norfolk，wished to marry her；and would have done so，in spite of Elizabeth’s opposition，only that the stern woman who wore the English crown first locked him up in the Tower，and then cut off his head.After this gleam of hope，so speedily quenched，the history of the Scottish Queen became merely the record of changing jails and jailers.At last，when eighteen years of Mary‘s life had gone by in English dungeons，withering her beauty and breaking her health，there came a plot，a trial，and an execution，which formed the last three sad scenes in the tragedy of her unhappy life.