世界小史 第67期:波斯国王

 　　They had no wish to be ruled by a Persian king, nor would they pay him tribute.So they rebelled, and threw out the Persian governors.

　　他们既不愿意被波斯国王统治也不愿意向他纳贡，所以他们起来造反并把波斯官员赶走。

　　In this they were supported by the Greeks in the motherland, the original founders¹ of the colonies,

　　当初建立了这些殖民地的本土上的希腊人，

　　and in particular by the Athenians, who sent them ships.

　　特别是雅典人支持他们并给他们派去船只。

　　Never before had the king of Persia, the King of Kings – for that was his title – been so insulted.

　　这位波斯王，这位王中之王——这是他的称号从来没有受到过这样的侮辱。

　　That this insignificant² tribe, these nobodies, should dare to challenge him, the ruler of the world!

　　一个微不足道的小民族竟敢反抗他，反抗世界的主宰！

　　He dealt with the Ionian cities in Asia Minor³ in less than no time. But he wasn't finished yet.

　　他很快就平息了小亚细亚伊安尼尔城市的造反运动。但是他还不满足于此。

　　He was furious with the Athenians for meddling⁴ in his affairs.

　　因为令他最感到怒不可遏的是雅典人，

　　With the aim of destroying Athens and conquering Greece, he equipped a large fleet.

　　这些雅典人干涉了他的事务。为了消灭雅典人并占领希腊，他装备一支庞大的舰队。

　　But his ships were caught in a violent storm, dashed against the cliffs and sunk. At this his anger knew no bounds.

　　但是这支舰队遇到一场风暴，触礁沉没。他自然更加怒不可遏。

1 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

2 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句