听播客学英语 214 黑斯廷斯战役

 　　Last weekend was a famous anniversary. No, not my birthday. Not the anniversary of the last time England won the World Cup. It was the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, which took place 940 years ago at a place called (appropriately) Battle, which is near Hastings on the south coast of England. In 1066, the army of Duke William of Normandy defeated the army of the Saxon King Harold of England. Following the battle, England was ruled by Norman kings, who imposed their own system of government on the land.

　　The English language almost disappeared. The ordinary people still spoke¹ English of course, but the king, the royal court, the courts of law and the nobility all spoke Norman French. And when, two or three hundred years later, English re-emerged as the main language of the country, it had changed. For example, in the old English language, the plurals³ of nouns were all irregular – like “mouse – mice” in modern English. In the new English, people made the plural² of nearly all nouns by adding the letter “s” to the end, because that is how plurals are made in French. And English people started using French words alongside the old English words. Ever since then, it has been natural for English people to import words from other languages whenever they want.

　　But to return to the battle. Every few years, there is a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings, on the site of the original battle. People dress up in Saxon and Norman armour⁴, and ride around on horses, and fight using replica⁵ swords, axes and arrows. Kevin took part in the re-enactment this year. He was a Saxon soldier and his job was to die heroically in the final Norman onslaught. After the battle, it is normal for both armies to retire to a nearby pub, to drink beer and tell stories about the heroic deeds of the day. The battle has of course got its own website and flickr photo-stream. You always knew the English were mad. You were right.

1 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。

2 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

3 plurals   

n.复数，复数形式( plural的名词复数 )

参考例句：

4 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

5 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。