世界小史 第112期:国家在战斗

 　　As is usually the case with wars, not only Athens but the whole country was exhausted¹ by the conflict, and the victors were no exception.

　　正如战争中常会发生的那样，不仅是雅典，整个国家在战斗中耗尽了精力，胜利者也是这样。

　　To add to it all, a small tribe near Delphi, provoked by the priests of the Oracle², invaded and plundered³ the sanctuary⁴ of Apollo.

　　更有甚者，在德尔菲附近的一个小部落，受到了那儿的神谕祭司们的引诱，占领并掠夺了阿波罗神谕圣地。

　　Utter confusion followed.

　　产生一片极大的混乱。

　　A foreign tribe – though not so very foreign – took advantage of this confusion to interfere⁵.

　　一个陌生的民族——但不是一个很陌生的民族——介入这场混乱之中。

　　These were the Macedonians, a people who lived in the mountains to the north of Greece.

　　他们是居住在希腊以北山区的并叫马其顿人的民族。

　　The Macedonians were related to the Greeks, but they were barbarous and warlike.

　　马其顿人和希腊人是同族，但马其顿人野蛮且好战。

　　Their king, Philip, was a man of great cunning.

　　他们有一位很聪明的国王菲利普。

　　He spoke⁶ excellent Greek and was familiar with Greek customs and culture, and his aim was to be king of all Greece.

　　他讲一口流利的希腊语，熟悉希腊习俗和文化，他的目标是当整个希腊的国王。

　　Since the invasion of the sanctuary at Delphi concerned all tribes loyal to the Greek religion, he had a good excuse to intervene.

　　既然在争夺希腊圣地德尔菲的战斗中涉及各部落对信仰希腊宗教的忠诚，他有一个好的借口加以干涉。

　　There was a politician in Athens, however, who was suspicious of Philip of Macedon.

　　虽然在雅典有一位政治家，他怀疑马其顿的菲利普王。

 

1 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

2 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

3 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

4 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。