英语访谈对话 533 Irish History

 　　Todd: Hey, Eucharia can you give us a brief history of Ireland?

　　Eucharia: Sure well, I think most people know of St Patrick’s day and that it is an Irish festival which celebrates being Irish. Well, St Patrick was brought to Ireland in 460 as a slave from Wales and then he left and went to Italy where he was converted to Christianity and then he went back to Ireland to bring Christianity to the Irish Celtic people. So, skipping ahead a few years. The Celtic people were always quite unique within Europe because we… the Celtic people always believed in equality between men and women and therefore there were women warriors¹ in Ireland which used to frighten many of the potential invaders² away because a lot of men didn’t like to be beaten by women back then and maybe it’s still true today.

　　Then the next biggest thing in history was the colonialisation of Ireland by England, starting in the 16th century until the early 20th century. And it wasn’t taken to readily because of the nature of the Celtic warriors. It was probably the bloodiest³ period in history because the Celtic people did not like to be colonised, so there was a lot of fighting and battles between the English and the Irish even though the English had, to all intents and purposes, colonised, it was not an easy colonisation. But the single most effective tech that the Eng used in the colonisation came in 1822 when the English implemented⁴ a national education system. Before this the Irish people used to go and learn in schools called ‘hedge schools’ ,so they were outside and they were given by people who wanted to teach, so genuine academics and people learned stuff like ancient greek, latin, so most people have this tradition of speaking other languages, mathematics… So when the education system was changed in line with the English colonial system it became illegal to speak Irish in the classroom and it became illegal to speak Irish in many places. Now in my city there’s a lovely trading area called ‘The Old English Market’ and its called ‘The Old English Market’ because there is a sign inside the door: ‘Anyone who will speak… who will speak in Irish and not in English will be sent to jail’. So it was really strictly⁵ enforced and it was a very… I can’t say laudible technique but… it was a very effective way of colonisation. Nowadays in Ireland people spk English and people speak Irish, both, and it’s considered bilingual. All documents, all street names are written in Irish and English.

　　1922 there was what was known as the civil war and that was the beginning of the end for the English so the firstt Irish constitution was written in 1935 and it stated that Ireland is a neutral country so therefore Ireland did not enter World War 2 and it was declared a Republic in 1949.

　　Todd: Thanks. That was a good history!

1 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

2 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

3 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

4 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。