双语有声阅读：英法战争

The War between Britain and France

 

In the late eighteenth century, battles raged in almost every corner of Europe, as well as in the Middle East,South Africa, the West Indies, and Latin America. In reality, however, there was only one major war during this time,the war between Britain and France. All other battles were ancillary¹ to this larger conflict, and were often at least partially² related to its antagonists³' goals and strategies.France sought total domination of Europe.This goal was obstructed⁴ by British independence and Britain's efforts throughout the continent to thwart⁵ Napoleon; through treaties, Britain built coalitions⁶ (not dissimilar in concept to today's NATO) guaranteeing British participation⁷ in all major European conflicts. These two antagonists were poorly matched, insofar as they had very unequal strengths: France was predominant on land, Britain at sea. The French knew that, short of defeating the British navy, their only hope of victory was to close all the ports of Europe to British ships.

 

Accordingly, France set out to overcome Britain by extending its military domination from Moscow to Lisbon,from Jutland to Calabria.All of this entailed⁸ tremendous risk,because France did not have the military resources to control this much territory and still protect itself and maintain order at home.

 

French strategists calculated that a navy of 150 ships would provide the force necessary to defeat the British navy. Such a force would give France a three-to-two advantage over Britain. This advantage was deemed necessary because of Britain's superior sea skills and technology, and also because Britain would be fighting a defensive⁹ war, allowing it to win with fewer forces. Napoleon never lost sight of his goal,because Britain represented the last substantial impediment to his control of Europe. As his force neared that goal, Napoleon grew increasingly impatient and began planning an immediate¹⁰ attack.

 

英法战争

 

在 18 世纪后期，战争爆发于欧洲大陆的几乎每一个角落，在中东、南非、西印度群岛、拉丁美洲亦都是如此。 然而实际上，在这一时期只有一场主要的战争，那就是英法之间的战争。 所有其他战争都服从于这一更大的争端，至少是与这两个对手的目标和战略有某些关联。 法国力图统治整个欧洲，而英国的自主及其力图在整个欧洲大陆挫败拿破仑的种种努力都是法国实现这一目标的障碍。英国通过条约建立了联盟(和今天北约的概念没有什么不同)以保证英国插手所有欧洲的主要争端。 这两个对头并不是一对好对手，因为他们的力量极不均衡：法兰西在陆地上称王，英格兰则在海上称霸。 法国人明白，如果不能击败英国海军，他们胜利的唯一希望就是让欧洲的所有港口都对英国舰船关闭。 于是，法国将其军事占领从莫斯科延伸到里斯本，从尤特兰延伸到卡拉布里亚，企图以此来制服英国。 所有这些行动包含着巨大的风险，因为法国并不具备足够的军事资源，来控制这么多地盘，同时又能保护自己，维持国内的秩序。法国战略家们的算盘是，其海军若拥有 150 艘军舰，则将足以击跨英国海军。 这样的武力将使法国对英国具有3 比2 的优势。这种优势被认为是必不可少的，因为英国人具有超群的海上技能和技术，并且打的是一场防御战争，使它能以少胜多。 拿破仑从未忘却他的目标，因为英国是他统治全欧的最后一个重大的障碍。 随着他的力量越来越靠近这个目标，拿破仑变得越来越不耐烦起来，开始策划立即攻击。

1 ancillary   

adj.附属的，从属的

参考例句：

• The transport corps is ancillary to the infantry.运输队是步兵的辅助部队。
• This is just an ancillary business.这仅仅是一项辅助业务。

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 antagonists   

对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药

参考例句：

• The cavalier defeated all the antagonists. 那位骑士打败了所有的敌手。
• The result was the entire reconstruction of the navies of both the antagonists. 双方的海军就从这场斗争里获得了根本的改造。

4 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

5 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

6 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 entailed   

使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son. 城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
• The house and estate are entailed on the eldest daughter. 这所房子和地产限定由长女继承。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。