英语听力：探索发现 2012-08-31 爱尔兰的故事 Story Of Ireland—21

 For over 40 years, the Vikings raided Ireland’s coastal¹ villages and monasteries², carrying off plunder³ and slaves in their long boats. They struck suddenly and caught the Irish unawares. So the Vikings became bolder and began to sail down the rivers of Ireland. The raiders were to become settlers. These coasts of Ireland were strategically well placed for trading with an expanding Viking world. 

 

In the winter of 842, a substantial Viking fleet rounded the headland of Howth and sailed up the river Liffey. Here at the black pool in Irish, Dubh Linn, the Vikings hauled their long boats ashore⁴. And just a few yards away from the banks of the river Liffey, they began to construct the first defensive⁵ stockade⁶. From these small beginnings, Ireland’s greatest city would emerge. 

 

Over the next century, Dublin would become a boom town with the largest slave market in Europe.

 

The Vikings had a huge trading network which spread all the way down the Russian river systems to the middle east, Constantinople, all the way across the North Atlantic, and Dublin was quite centrally placed within these long-distance routes. 

 

What kind of things would people have been buying at these markets?

 

Amber⁷ from Baltic, silk from Byzantium, gold, silver, looted goods from Irish monasteries, all would have been traded through the port of Dublin.  It would have been a very noisy place, bustling⁸, crammed⁹, houses next to each other, narrow streets, lots of people milling around, shopping, exchanging things, gossiping, kids, pigs, everything. 

 

And you’d probably have been seeing people from right across Europe in Dublin at this point?

 

It would have been a really cosmopolitan¹⁰ place with traders from all across Europe, and this is followed by a series of royal intermarriages and a lot of cultural interchange. So by the 10th century you’ve got a whole new culture emerging which is a kind of hybrid¹¹ of Scandinavian and Irish. And it’s very distinctive¹². You can see it in art styles and the culture of these 2 peoples.

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

3 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 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。

6 stockade   

n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护

参考例句：

• I had not gone a hundred yards when I reached the stockade.我跑了不到一百码，就到了栅栏前。
• A heavy stockade around the cabin protected the pioneer from attack.小屋周围的厚厚的栅栏保护拓荒者免受攻击。

7 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

8 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

9 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

10 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

11 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

12 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。