纪录片《凡尔赛宫》 55法国最显赫家族的挑战

For over a century, the Palace of Versailles

一个世纪以来 凡尔赛宫中

was home to the most powerful family in Europe.

都住着法国最为显赫的家族

A place of artistic¹ brilliance²,

其间充盈着华彩艺术

lavish³ entertainment,

奢靡享乐

passion of love affairs,

风流韵事

and outrageous⁴ scandals.

以及惊天丑闻

But while a lucky few danced,

但当少数幸运者在舞蹈

feasted and flirted⁵ their days away,

盛宴和调情中醉生梦死时

the state was on the brink⁶ of collapse⁷.

国家却处在分崩离析的边缘

Outside these gilded⁸ gates,

在这些镀金大门之外

millions of ordinary people were taxed to the hilt,

民众承担着苛捐杂税

while rich nobles paid virtually nothing.

而富有的贵族坐享其成

A new king, Louis XVI,

新王路易十六

and his beautiful young queen, Marie Antoinette,

和年轻貌美的王后玛丽·安托瓦内特

faced the biggest challenge

面临着辉煌的家族史上

in the history of their illustrious family.

最大的挑战

Bring fairness to the system and hope to their subjects

是公正治国 造福人民

or face losing their palace, their crowns

还是失去他们的宫殿 王冠

and their heads.

以及性命

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

3 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

4 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

5 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

8 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡