美国学生人类历史第3期:前言(3)

 　　History he knew well, for it was a living thing with him.

　　他熟悉历史故事，它们对他来说都是活生生的事情。

　　"There," he would say, pointing to a bend of the river, "there, my boy, do you see those trees?

　　“看那儿”他会指着一处河弯对我讲道，“就是在那儿，我的 孩子，你看见那些树了么？

　　That is where the Prince of Orange cut the dikes to drown the land and save Leyden."

　　那是奥兰治亲王挖开河堤，淹没大片田地的地方。为拯救莱顿城，他必须这么做。”

　　Or he would tell me the tale of the old Meuse,

　　他还给我讲老梅兹河源远流长的故事，

　　until the broad river ceased to be a convenient harbour and became a wonderful highroad, carrying the ships of De Ruyter and Tromp upon that famous last voyage, when they gave their lives that the sea might be free to all.

　　讲解这条宽阔 的河流如何由便利的良港变成壮观的大马路的。还有著名的德·鲁伊特与特隆普的船队的最后出航。他俩为探索未知的海域，让人们能自由航行于茫茫大洋之上，而一会不返了。

　　Then there were the little villages, clustering around the protecting church which once, many years ago, had been the home of their Patron Saints.

　　再看过去是一些小村庄，围绕在护佑它们的那座教堂四周。很多年前，这里曾是守护圣徒们居住的家。

　　In the distance we could see the leaning tower of Delft.

　　远处还能望见德尔夫的斜塔。

　　Within sight of its high arches, William the Silent had been murdered and there Grotius had learned to construe¹ his first Latin sentences.

　　它高耸的拱顶曾目睹了沉默者威廉遭暗杀的过程。格罗斯特就是在这里开始了他最初的拉丁文语法分析的。

　　And still further away, the long low body of the church of Gouda,

　　再远些那长而低的建筑就是高达教堂，

　　the early home of the man whose wit had proved mightier² than the armies of many an emperor, the charity boy whom the world came to know as Erasmus.

　　也是一位智慧的威力超过国王军队的伟人早年曾居住在这是。他就是举世闻名的埃拉斯穆斯高达教堂收养的孤儿．

　　Finally the silver line of the endless sea and as a contrast,

　　最后，我们的目光落在了浩瀚海洋的银色边际级上。

　　immediately below us, the patchwork³ of roofs and chimneys and houses and gardens and hospitals and schools and railways, which we called our home.

　　它与近在脚下的大片屋顶、烟囱、花园、学校、铁路等建筑形 成了鲜明的对照。

　　But the tower showed us the old home in a new light.

　　我们把这片拼凑的大杂偿称为自己的“家”但塔楼却赋予了这旧家新的启示。

　　The confused commotion⁴ of the streets and the market-place, of the factories and the workshop, became the well-ordered expression of human energy and purpose.

　　从塔顶上俯瞰下去；那些混乱无章的街道和市场，工厂与作坊，历历 变成了人类能力和目标的井然有序的展示。

　　Best of all, the wide view of the glorious past, which surrounded us on all sides, gave us new courage to face the problems of the future when we had gone back to our daily tasks.

　　更有益的是，纵览围绕在我们四周的人类的辉煌过去，能使我们带着新的勇气，回到日常生活中，直面未来的种种难题。

　　History is the mighty⁵ Tower of Experience, which Time has built amidst the endless fields of bygone ages.

　　历史是一座雄伟壮丽的经验之塔，它是时间在无尽的逝去岁月中苦心搭建起来的。

　　It is no easy task to reach the top of this ancient structure and get the benefit of the full view.

　　要登上这座古老建筑的顶端去一览众山并非易事。

　　There is no elevator, but young feet are strong and it can be done.

　　这里没有电梯，可年轻人有强健有力的双脚，能够完成这一艰苦的攀登。

　　Here I give you the key that will open the door.

　　在这里，我送给你们一把打开世界之门的钥匙。

　　When you return, you too will understand the reason for my enthusiasm.

　　当你们返回时，你们就会理解我为何如此热情了。

1 construe   

v.翻译，解释

参考例句：

• He had tried to construe a passage from Homer.他曾尝试注释荷马著作的一段文字。
• You can construe what he said in a number of different ways.他的话可以有好几种解释。

2 mightier   

adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其

参考例句：

• But it ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier. 但是，这种组织总是重新产生，并且一次比一次更强大，更坚固，更有力。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Do you believe that the pen is mightier than the sword? 你相信笔杆的威力大于武力吗？

3 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

4 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。