美国学生人类历史 第137期:北欧人(3)

 The Danes had been driven away and now (it was early in the eleventh century) another Saxon king, Edward the Confessor, was on the throne. 丹麦人终于被赶走，一个撒克逊人做了国王，他被叫做忏悔者爱德华。

But Edward was not expected to live long and he had no children. 他身体不好，看起来活不了多长时间，也没有后裔继承王位。

The circumstances favoured the ambitious¹ dukes of Normandy. 这样的情形对野心勃勃的诺曼底大公当然是非常有利，他悄悄积蓄力量，等待发难的时机。

In 1066 Edward died. Immediately William of Normandy crossed the channel, defeated and killed Harold of Wessex 公元 1066年，爱德华去世，继承英格兰王位的是威塞克斯亲王哈洛德。

(who had taken the crown) at the battle of Hastings, and proclaimed² himself king of England. 诺曼底大公率军渡海，开始了征服英格兰的战争。他在黑斯廷战役中击败了哈洛德，自封为英格兰国王。

In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. 你们在上一章已经看见过了，在公元800年时，一个日尔曼酋长摇身一变，成为了伟大的罗马帝国皇帝。

Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate³ was recognised as King of England. 现在到公元1066年，一个北欧海盗的子孙又被承认为英格兰国王。

Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining? 历史上的真人真事如此有趣，远胜过荒诞不经的神话，我们还有什么必要去读神话故事呢？

1 ambitious   

adj.有雄心的，劲头十足的，有野心的

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious.人穷志不穷。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

2 proclaimed   

v.正式宣布( proclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；显示

参考例句：

• The president proclaimed a state of emergency. 总统宣布了紧急状态。
• The ringing bells proclaimed the birth of the prince. 响亮的钟声宣布王子的诞生。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pirate   

n.海盗，每盗船

参考例句：

• The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
• The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。