Medieval siege 中世纪攻城战-8

Even with 12 timber framers pulling, the firing pin won't budge¹.

It is quite normal that I mean the trigger first is stiff, we found that at home. It takes a lot of efforts which is as well as in some ways.

Despite used predictions that a trebuchet on wheels will shake itself to pieces,the reverse is true, wheels dampen the recoil². Everying appears to be working as Wayne predicted, except the range.

The ball only travelled about 117 yards, falling shorter of the wall.
Where are we? 30 yards short about...
5 feet low,I thought it was flat,which means you got . . . I think shorter sling³ will release sooner and goes higher we could get it to the wall.

Just like his medieval counterpart, Wayne uses a process of trial and error to alter the trebuchet's range by adjusting the length of the sling.
With the first throw, a long sling resulted in a late release and a low trajectory⁴.

By shortening the sling, Wayne believes the ball will be released earlier, resulting in a higher path.

Wayne's adjustments have the desired effect. The second throw has perfect range, just missing the target to the right by two feet.

Oh,real.
I think we take the King's zeal⁵ off.
The sling is right.
Good job,Wayne.
Well we'll get in there.
So it needs a slight adjustment and then It'll be a direct hit.
Tomorrow ,tomorrow is another day.
Oh hey.

What will be the last day for Wayne and his team dawns with the wall still intact but clearly under threat.

Meanwhile, Renaud's trebuchet is still not finished.This morning they rushed to complete the counterweight box that is hinged to the throwing arm.

We got the one trebu built,the other one is but 99% on the way there, we flung two stuns⁶ last night with the Wayne's trebu. But we really don't wanna let Renaud down,and we don't wanna let ourselves down, we really wanna see this thing fly before we go.

Still,with time so short, it is unclear that Renaud will get a chance to fire his trebuchet at all.

words and phrases to chew:
1/budge:让步

2/dampen: weaken 减弱

3/recoil:bounce back回撤，反作用弹回
The ships recoiled⁷ at the collision.
The enemy troops recoiled under the heavy blows.
recoil electrons

1 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

2 recoil   

vi.退却，退缩，畏缩

参考例句：

• Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。
• Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

3 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

4 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

5 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

6 stuns   

v.击晕( stun的第三人称单数 )；使大吃一惊；给（某人）以深刻印象；使深深感动

参考例句：

• But sometimes, a moment stuns us as it happens. 但总有那么一个瞬间让我们惊喜。 来自互联网
• Shield Stun: Stuns the top of the aggro chart, 3s stun. 盾牌昏迷：最大眩晕，3秒钟晕眩。 来自互联网

7 recoiled   

v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回

参考例句：

• She recoiled from his touch. 她躲开他的触摸。
• Howard recoiled a little at the sharpness in my voice. 听到我的尖声，霍华德往后缩了一下。 来自《简明英汉词典》