美国学生历史 第18期:新英格兰(5)

 　　55. The New England Confederation, 1643. 55．新英格兰联邦（1643年）

　　In 1640 the Long Parliament met in England, and in 1645 Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans destroyed the royal army in the battle of Naseby. 1640年英格兰的议会冗长未果，而1645年奥利弗·克伦威尔和清教徒在纳斯比战斗中打败了皇家军队，

　　In these troubled times England could do little to protect the New England colonists¹, 在这个艰难时期，英格兰能为保护新英格兰殖民地居民所做的十分有限，

　　and could do nothing to punish them for acting² independently. 甚至无力讨伐独立运动。

　　The New England colonists were surrounded by foreigners. 新英格兰殖民地居民被外国人所包围，

　　There were the French on the north and the east, and the Dutch on the west. 他们的北方和东方是法国人，西方是荷兰人，

　　The Indians, too, were living in their midst and might at any time turn on the whites and kill them. 而印第安人生活在殖民者聚居地，随时可能与白人相遇并杀死白人。

　　Thinking all these things over, the four leading colonies decided³ to join together for protection. 考虑到这些，四个主要的殖民地决定联合在一起自卫。

　　They formed the New England Confederation, and drew up a constitution. 他们组建新英格兰联邦，并制定一部宪法。

　　The colonists living in Rhode Island and in Maine did not belong to the Confederation, 生活在罗得岛和缅因的殖民地居民不属于这个联邦，

　　but they enjoyed many of the benefits flowing from it; 但是，他们从这个联邦获益匪浅，

　　for it was quite certain that the Indians and the French and the Dutch would think twice before attacking any of the New England settlements. 因为，毫无疑问，印第安人、法国人和荷兰人要攻击新英格兰的居住地必须三思而后行。

　　56. Social Conditions. 56．社会条件

　　The New England colonies were all settled on the town system, 新英格兰的殖民地居民都居住在这个城镇网络中，

　　for there were no industries which demanded large plantations—as tobacco-planting. 因为这里没有那些需要大种植园（如烟草种植）的工业，

　　The New Englanders were small farmers, mechanics, ship-builders, and fishermen. 新英格兰人是一些小农、手工业者、造船者和渔夫。

　　There were few servants in New England and almost no negro slaves. 在新英格兰没有雇佣工，也几乎没有黑奴。

　　Most of the laborers⁴ were free men and worked for wages as laborers now do. 多数劳动者是自由人，他们如今天的劳动者一样为工资而劳动。

　　Above all, the New Englanders were very zealous⁵ in the matter of education. Harvard College was founded in 1636. 尤其是新英格兰人非常热衷于教育。1636年，他们创建哈佛大学，

　　A few years later a law was passed compelling every town to provide schools for all the children in the town. 几年后他们通过一个法律强制所有的城镇为镇上的孩子建立学校。

1 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

5 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。