纪录片《凡尔赛宫》 75革命的爆发是个漫长的过程

In August 1788, the treasury¹ was bare.

1788年8月 国库已经耗光

The government was forced to summon an Estates-General.

政府被迫召开一个全阶级会议

It really was a last throw of the dice².

这是最后的孤注一掷

Despite their huge numerical superiority,

尽管有人数上的绝对优势

the votes of the Third Estate only counted the same

第三阶级到场的投票数只等同于

as those of the nobility and the clergy³.

到场贵族和神职人员的投票数

You will always have a situation

情况一直都是这样

where the two votes of the so-called privileged orders,

这两个所谓的特权秩序的投票

that is the nobility and the clergy,

也就是代表着少于50万的人口的

representing maybe less than half a million people,

贵族和神职人员

will always outweigh⁴ the wishes of the 27.5 million people

却总是比第三等级的

of the Third Estate.

275万人民的意愿更重要

So, straight away, you've got a political deadlock⁵

所以 只要三级会议一召开

as soon as the Estates-General meet.

就立刻形成僵局

And getting out of that deadlock

为了打破僵局

will be what happens over the summer of 1789

1789年的夏天就发生了激烈的冲突

that triggers the Revolution.

从而引发了革命

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

2 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

3 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

4 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

5 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。