英国举行日德兰海战100周年纪念活动

 

The Battle of Jutland was the biggest naval¹ confrontation² in World War One. The German fleet wanted access to the Atlantic. The English Channel is too narrow and too well defended, so they went to north towards Scotland. In their way was the Royal Navy which dominated the seas. The British Grand Fleet was based here at Scapa Flow in Orkney.

“This place was perfect as a base for the Royal Navy. They can get access to the Atlantic in one direction, and then out to the North Sea in the other direction. The waters were relatively³ calm as well because Scapa Flow is surrounded by lots of small, little islands. They gave the British fleet a degree of protection.”

250 ships and 100,000 men confronted each other in the North Sea. The commander of the British fleet was Admiral John Jellicoe

“The British wanted to defend their supremacy⁴ and control of the sea. The Germans wanted to take it way. Well, if that was the mission, they didn’t succeed, but as I say, they inflicted⁵ a very, very heavy pain on the Royal Navy. For both navies, this was a cataclysmic and very, very sad day. The loss of 6,500 lives was enormous, that’s 10% roughly of the British sailors at sea. And it wasn’t just stokers and ratings. Senior officers and admirals were also fighting side by side.”

The old means have been getting ready for the centenary of a battle that was a big part of the history. A royal naval frigate⁶ HMS Kent has been joined by a German warship⁷ of the Island of Hoy. And there’ll be a service at the cathedral in Kirkwall tomorrow morning. But the Duke of Edinburgh who was due to attend the events has been told by the doctor not to travel for health reasons. Buckingham Palace says that he is not seriously ill and he hasn’t gone to hospital. But prince Philippe who will be 95 in just a few weeks time and of course he’s a former officer of the Royal Navy himself will be disappointed to miss this event. 

“He is very frustrated⁸ and disappointed that he can't be here and we're all very sad that he won't be with us.”

“And how is his health?”

"He's fine. He just has a minor⁹ ailment¹⁰ and I think at his age it would be unwise to go and stand in a windswept cemetery¹¹ for a long period at that stage."  

In the one day of fighting, 14 British ships and 9 German’s were sunk, 8,500 men drowned. It’s probably going too far to say that this was the decisive battle of the entire war. But the British sea blockade of Germany remained in place, and the Germany Navy never set to sail again in quite the same way.

Alistair Bunkall, Sky News, the Orkney Islands.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

7 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

11 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。