Lesson 9 Royal espionage王室谍报活动

Royal espionage

Royal ^{王室；皇家的}

• The ceremony took place at the royal palace^王宫.
• He joined the Royal Air Force^{英国皇家空军}.
• She was dressed in a royal^高贵的 blue gown.

Alfred the Great acted as his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel.

Alfred the Great ^{阿尔弗雷德大帝（历史人物）}

• Alfred the Great^{阿尔弗雷德大帝} is the only ruler to resist Danish invaders successfully.
• Peter the Great^彼得大帝 modernized Russia in the 17th century.
• Richard the Lion-hearted^{狮心王理查德} was a famous English king.

act as ^{（临时）担任某工作；当做...来用}

• My brother speaks French—he can act as interpreter^{他可以担任口译员}.
• This piece of cloth can act as a temporary sail^{这块布可以当做临时的船帆来用}.

serve as / function as ^{当做...来用}

• Not all sounds made by animals serve as language^{并非所有动物发出的声音都可作为语言}, …

disguise A as B ^{把...装扮成...}

• The king disguised himself as a peasant^{国王将自己装扮成一个农民}.
• He escaped across the border disguised as a priest^{他装扮成牧师逃离了边境}.

In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere.

these days / today / nowadays ^{当今，现如今}

• These days^现如今, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices.
• Nowadays^现如今, online learning is becoming more popular.
• Today^如今, environmental protection is a global concern.

in those days ^{想当初；在那个年代}

• In those days^想当初, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money.
• In those days^{在那个年代} wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere.

They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport.

passport ^{护照，通行证；手段}

• Do you have a valid British passport^护照?
• A good education can be a passport^{通行证/手段} to success.
• Patience and hard work are the passport^手段 to mastery.

暗喻 Metaphor ^{喻体直陈式}

• College is a comma^{大学是逗号} of a sentence of life.
• She was an angel^她是天使 of a wife.
• Their harp was their passport^{他们的竖琴是通行证}.

Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring.

in one’s youth ^{在某人年轻的时候}

• The heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth^{在她的年轻时}, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
• I live in that solitude which is painful in youth^在年轻时, but delicious in the years of maturity.
• He was a very good football player in his youth^{在他年轻的时候}.

vary ^{改变；使多样化}

• To obtain the nutrients you need, vary the foods^{使食物多样化} you eat.
• The costs vary^{费用有所不同} depending on the location.
• The doctor advised her to vary her diet^{使她的饮食多样化}.

While Alfred's little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders.

little ^{微不足道的}

• She complained about every little^{微不足道的} problem.
• The error was so little^{微不足道的} that it was ignored.
• He paid little^{微不足道的} attention to the warning.

gather ^{聚集；收集；集合}

• A large crowd began to gather^聚集 in the square.
• She was trying to gather^收集 information for her report.
• The whole family gathered^集合 for Christmas.

set out to do ^{开始做...；有意做某事}

• Dimitri at once set out to find^{立即开始寻找} the thief.
• The journalist immediately set out to obtain^{立即开始获取} these important facts, but he took a long time to send them.
• True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw^{从未故意打算吸引} attention to themselves.

penetrate (into / through) ^{进入、穿过（尤其表示费力、有抵抗力的情况下）}

• Our troops have penetrated (into) enemy territory^{我们的部队已进入敌方领土}.

Guthrum ^{丹麦人的国王古特仑（历史人物）}

• Guthrum^古特仑 was the commander of the Danish invaders.
• Alfred defeated Guthrum^{阿尔弗雷德击败了古特仑} and forced him to accept baptism.
• The Treaty of Wedmore established boundaries between Alfred's kingdom and Guthrum's^古特仑的 territory.

These had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went.

settle down ^{定居下来、安顿下来；安静下来}

• They’d like to see their daughter settle down^安顿下来, get married and have kids.
• After a long journey, we finally settled down^安顿下来 in our new apartment.
• The children settled down^安静下来 to watch the film.

He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual.

Discipline is slack / loose / lax ^纪律松懈

• The manager warned that discipline was slack^纪律松懈 in the department.
• The school enforced stricter rules because the discipline was loose^纪律松懈.
• Lax discipline^{松懈的纪律} led to many mistakes.

precautions ^防范措施

casual ^{松懈的；马虎的；不经意的}

• His manner was very casual^{他的态度非常松懈} about the important meeting.
• The students were casual^马虎的 about their deadlines.
• The security checks were surprisingly casual^{安保检查出人意料地松懈}.

They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions.

live by doing ^{靠某种职业为生}

• He lives by writing^{他靠写作谋生}.
• He lives by sewing^{他靠缝纫为生}.
• The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing^{靠狩猎和捕鱼为生} during the last Ice Age...

live on sth. ^{靠某种食物或生活来源为生（指人）}

proceeds ^{做某事或卖某事的收益}

• The proceeds of the concert^{音乐会的收益} will go to charity.
• They lived well, on the proceeds of raids^{抢劫的收益} on neighbouring regions.
• The family received the proceeds from the sale^{出售的收益} of the house.

raid on ^{对...的抢劫/突袭}

• The police carried out a raid on the jeweler's shop^{对珠宝店的抢劫}.
• They launched an air raid on the military base^{对军事基地的空袭}.
• The soldiers conducted a surprise raid on the camp^{对营地的突袭}.

neighboring ^临近的

• The two countries are neighboring^{这两个国家是临近的} states.
• They often visit the neighboring regions^临近地区.
• She borrowed a cup of sugar from her neighboring^临近的 flat.

There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft.

as well as... ^{除了...之外还... （强调前者）}

• She speaks French as well as^{除了...之外还} Spanish.

soft ^软弱可欺

• If you appear to be soft^{如果你显得软弱可欺}, people will take advantage of you.
• The army had become soft^{军队已经变得软弱} after years of peace.
• Don't go soft^{不要变软弱} on them; they deserve the punishment.

Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney.

before 的译法 ^{然后；才；就}

The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde.

assembled / gathered / massed ^{聚集的（作后置定语）}

• The force there assembled^{聚集的军队} was trivial...
• The information gathered^{收集到的信息} was crucial to the investigation.
• The crowd massed^{聚集的人群} outside the building was enormous.

compared to / with... ^与...相比

• The force there assembled was trivial compared with^与...相比 the Danish horde.

But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids.

be fit for... / to do... ^{适合做某事（达到好的标准）}

• The food is fit for human consumption^{食物适合人类食用}.
• Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables^{不适合摆上欧洲餐桌}.
• He is fit for the job^{他适合这份工作}.

no... but... ^{不是...而是...}

• Their commissariat had no organization, but depended on^{没有组织，而是依赖于} irregular raids.
• There was no one in the room but^{房间里除了...之外没有别人} me.
• He is no musician but a composer^{他不是一个演奏者，而是一个作曲家}.

So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy.

be faced with / be confronted with ^面临着

• She is faced with^{她正面临着} a difficult decision.
• The company was suddenly confronted with^{公司突然面临着} a financial crisis.
• We must be prepared to be faced with^{我们必须准备好面临} unexpected challenges.

risk sth. / doing ^{冒着...的风险}

• They risked their lives^{他们冒着生命危险} to save the trapped climbers.
• We couldn't risk being caught in a storm^{冒着被暴风雨困住的风险}.
• You should never risk your health^{你绝不应该冒着损害健康的风险} for money.

He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him.

on the + noun ^{处于某种状态}

on + noun (没有"the") ^{处于某种状态}

His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army.

party ^{一群人；一队人}

• The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers^{一群滑雪者} who go there at Christmas and Easter.
• The mountain rescue team organized a search party^搜寻队.
• A rescue party^救援队 was immediately dispatched to the scene.

无灵主语 ^{高级写作（非人称事物作主语）}

Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes -- and within a month the Danes had surrendered.

series of ^一系列

• Alfred began a long series of skirmishes^{一系列小规模战斗}.
• The company faced a series of setbacks^{一系列挫折} last year.
• The book is part of a series of novels^{一系列小说}.

The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!

reasonably ^{合理地；相当地；适度地}

• The cost is reasonably^{费用相当地} low.
• We must act reasonably^{我们必须合理地行动} in this situation.
• The judge made a reasonably^{法官做出了合理的} fair decision.

be unique to... / be peculiar to... ^{对...来说是独一无二的；是...独有的}