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(单词翻译)
Lesson 27
The 'Vasa'
“瓦萨”号
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
What happened to the 'Vasa' almost immediately after she was launched?
From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden, the story of a galleon1 that sank at the start of her maiden2 voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea. For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956. This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.
King Gustavus Adolphus, 'The Northern Hurricane', then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War, had dictated3 her measurements and armament. Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon4. She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.
As she was prepared of her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment5. From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind. They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art; she was more richly carved and ornamented6 than any previous ship. The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods, demons7, knights8, kings, warriors9, mermaids10, cherubs11; and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze12 with rea and gold and blue, symbols of courage, power, and cruelty, were portrayed13 to stir the imaginations of the superstitious14 sailors of the day.
Then the cannons15 of the anchored warships16 thundered a salute17 to which the Vasa fired in reply. As the emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam18 beneath her bow, her flags colour, she presented a more majestic19 spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before. All gun-ports were open and the muzzles20 peeped wickedly from them.
As the wind freshened there came a sudden squall and the ship made a strange movement, listing to port. The Ordnance21 Officer ordered all the port cannon to be heaved to starboard to counteract22 the list, but the steepening angle of the decks increased. Then the sound of rumbling23 thunder reached the watchers on the shore, as cargo24, ballast, ammunition25 and 400 people went sliding and crashing down to the port side of the steeply listing ship. The lower gun-ports were now below water and the inrush sealed the ship's fate. In that first glorious hour, the mighty26 Vasa, which was intended to rule the Baltic, sank with all flags flying-in the harbour of her birth.
ROY SAUNGERS The Raising of the 'Vasa' from The Listener
New words and expressions 生词和短语
galleon
n. 大型帆船
Stockholm
n. 斯德哥尔摩
flagship
n. 旗舰
imperial
adj. 帝国的
hurricane
n. 飓风
armament
n. 军械
triple
adj. 三层的
mount
v. 架有
bronze
n. 青铜
cannon
n. 加农炮
参考译文
1628年,一艘大帆船在处女航时就沉没了,这个从容不迫7世纪瑞典帝国流传至今的故事无疑是航海史上最离奇的事件之一。这艘大船在斯德哥尔摩港口的海底躺了将近几年来个世纪之后,直到1956年才被发现。这就是“瓦萨”号,帝国大舰的皇家旗舰。
当时号称“北方飓风”的国王古斯夫斯.阿道尔弗正处在“三十年战争”的军事鼎盛阶段,他亲自规定了这艘船的规模和武器配备。3层的火炮甲板上装着眼点4门青铜加农炮,目的就是要在不断增长的瑞典势力中起主导作用。
1628年8月10日,“瓦萨”号准备首航时,斯德哥尔摩一片欢腾。人们从斯开波斯布朗和周围的岛屿前来观着这艘美丽的战船扬帆起航,乘风前进。瑞典人辛辛苦苦干了3年才建成这件水上艺术品,它比以往任何船只雕刻得都更加精美,装饰得都更加华丽。高耸的船楼上雕刻了令人眼花缭乱的神仙、妖魔、骑士、国王、武士、美人鱼和小天使,还有用红色、金黄色、蓝色绘制的光彩夺目的兽形图案,象征着勇敢、力量和残暴,以激起汉时崇尚迷信的水手们的想像。
这时,停泊在港口的其他战船向“瓦萨”号鸣炮致礼,“瓦萨”号也鸣炮回礼。当“瓦萨”号从弥漫的礼炮烟云中出现时,船头下浪花加溅,舰旗迎风招展,三角旗随风飘动,微风鼓起风帆,金碧辉煌的船楼闪耀着灿烂的色彩。“瓦萨”号展现的壮观景象是斯德哥尔摩人从未见过的。船上的炮眼开着,炮口虎视眈眈地向外窥视着。
当风力增强时,突然刮来一阵大风,“瓦萨”号奇怪地摇晃了一下,便向左舷倾斜。炮长命令把左舷上所有大炮搬到右舷上来以抵消船的倾斜,但甲板的倾斜度仍在增加。当物口、压舱物、弹药和400个人轰地一声滑向陡斜的左舷时,岸上的观众听到了雷鸣般的轰响。下层炮眼已淹没在水里,涌进船舱的水给“瓦萨”号带来了难以逃脱的厄运。就这样,想要统治波罗的海的大型战舰“瓦萨”号,在它壮丽的起航时刻,带着全身飘扬的彩旗,沉没在了它诞生的港口。
1 galleon | |
n.大帆船 | |
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2 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
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3 dictated | |
v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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4 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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5 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
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6 ornamented | |
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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8 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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9 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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10 mermaids | |
n.(传说中的)美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 ) | |
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11 cherubs | |
小天使,胖娃娃( cherub的名词复数 ) | |
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12 ablaze | |
adj.着火的,燃烧的;闪耀的,灯火辉煌的 | |
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13 portrayed | |
v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画 | |
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14 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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15 cannons | |
n.加农炮,大炮,火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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16 warships | |
军舰,战舰( warship的名词复数 ); 舰只 | |
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17 salute | |
vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮 | |
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18 foam | |
v./n.泡沫,起泡沫 | |
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19 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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20 muzzles | |
枪口( muzzle的名词复数 ); (防止动物咬人的)口套; (四足动物的)鼻口部; (狗)等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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21 ordnance | |
n.大炮,军械 | |
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22 counteract | |
vt.对…起反作用,对抗,抵消 | |
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23 rumbling | |
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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24 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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25 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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26 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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