美国学生历史 第45期:从邦克山到特伦顿(2)

 　　137. Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. 137．邦克山（1775年6月17日）

　　When the seamen¹ on the British men-of-war waked up on the morning of June 17, the first thing they saw was a redoubt on the top of one of the Charlestown hills. 6月17日早晨，当英国军舰上的海员睡醒的时候，他们第一眼就看到查理斯顿的一座山顶上有一个多面堡，

　　The ships opened fire. But in spite of the balls Colonel Prescott walked on the top of the breastwork while his men went on digging. 军舰朝它开火，但普雷斯科特上校冒着炮火照旧在掩体上来回巡查，他的士兵继续挖工事。

　　Gage² sent three or four thousand men across the Charles River to Charlestown to drive the daring Americans away. 盖奇派出三四千人跨过查理斯河到查理斯顿去赶走这些大胆的美洲人，

　　It took the whole morning to get them to Charlestown, and then they had to eat their dinner. 这些士兵花了一个早晨的时间才赶到查理斯顿，随后又不得不花费时间吃早饭。

　　This delay gave the Americans time to send aid to Prescott. 这个间歇使得美洲人有时间给普雷斯科特送上援助。

　　Especially went Stark³ and his New Hampshire men, who posted themselves behind a breastwork of fence rails and hay. 特别是，斯塔克带领新罕布什尔的人赶了过来，他们用草木做成的掩体保护自己。

　　At last the British soldiers marched to the attack. 终于，英国士兵发起进攻，

　　When they came within good shooting distance, Prescott gave the word to fire. 当他们进入射程时普雷斯科特才下令开枪。

　　The British line stopped, hesitated, broke, and swept back. 英国兵停了下来，踌躇不前，

　　Again the soldiers marched to the attack, and again they were beaten back. 接着，秩序大乱并潮水一般退了回去。

　　More soldiers came from Boston, and a third time a British line marched up the hill. 英国士兵再次发起进攻，再次被打退。英国军队向这座小山发起第三次进攻，

　　This time it could not be stopped, for the Americans had no more powder. 这次没有什么可以阻止他们前进。山上的美洲人已经用尽了弹药。

　　They had to give up the hill and escape as well as they could. 美洲人不得不放弃邦克山拼命逃走。

　　One-half of the British soldiers actually engaged in the assaults were killed or wounded. 最终，投入这场残酷战斗的英国士兵有一半被杀或被伤。

　　The Americans were defeated. 美洲人被打败了，

　　But they were encouraged and were willing to sell Gage as many hills as he wanted at the same price. 但是，他们受到鼓舞。盖奇每获得一座山，都要付出在邦克山一样的代价。

　　138.Washington in Command, July, 1775. 138．华盛顿担任司令（1775年7月）

　　The Continental⁴ Congress was again sitting at Philadelphia. 大陆议会在费城再次召开会议，

　　It took charge of the defense⁵ of the colonies. 大陆会议接管殖民地的防护。

　　John Adams named Washington for commander-in-chief, and he was elected. 约翰·亚当斯提名华盛顿为陆军总司令，结果，华盛顿当选。

　　Washington took command of the army on Cambridge Common, July 3, 1775. 1775年7月3日，华盛顿在坎布里奇担任陆军总司令，

　　He found everything in confusion. 他发现一切处于混乱之中，

　　The soldiers of one colony were jealous of the soldiers of other colonies. 来自不同殖民地的士兵相互猜忌，

　　Officers who had not been promoted were jealous of those who had been promoted. 没有得到提拔的官员嫉妒被提拔的官员。

　　In the winter the army had to be made over. 冬季，陆军不得不接受改造，

　　During all this time the people expected Washington to fight. 在这一阶段人民希望华盛顿去打仗，

　　But he had not powder enough for half a battle. 但他没有足够的弹药去打完半场战斗，

　　At last he got supplies in the following way. 最终他通过下面的方式得到给养：

　　In the spring of 1775 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of the people of western Massachusetts and Connecticut, had captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 1775年春天伊桑·阿伦和他的"青山童子军"在马萨诸塞和康涅狄格西部人民的帮助下夺取了特康德绕格和冕点，

　　These forts were filled with cannon⁶ and stores left from the French campaigns. 在这两个要塞中他们获取了英法战争中留下的大量大炮和军需物资，

　　Some of the cannon were now dragged by oxen over the snow and placed in the forts around Boston. 此时，他们已经用牛将一些大炮拖过雪地，将它们布置在波士顿的周围，

　　Captain Manley, of the Massachusetts navy, captured a British brig loaded with powder. 而且，马萨诸塞海军的曼利船长截获一艘载有火药的英国双桅船。

　　Washington now could attack. 现在，华盛顿可以进攻了，

　　He seized and held Dorchester Heights. 他夺取并占据多尔切斯特高地，

　　The British could no longer stay in Boston. They went on board their ships and sailed away . 英国人再也不能在波士顿待下去了，他们登上他们的船离开波士顿。

　　139.Invasion of Canada, 1775~1776. 139．加拿大入侵（1775~1776年）

　　While the siege of Boston was going on, the Americans undertook the invasion of Canada. 在保卫波士顿的同时，加拿大侵犯美洲。

　　There were very few regular soldiers in Canada in 1775, and the Canadians were not likely to fight very hard for their British masters. 1775年加拿大没有多少正规士兵，加拿大人也不愿意为他们的英国主子卖命打仗，

　　So the leaders in Congress thought that if an American force should suddenly appear before Quebec, the town might surrender. 因此，大陆议会的领导者认为，如果一支美洲军队迅速出现在魁北克，这个城市会迅速投降。

　　Montgomery, with a small army, was sent to capture Montreal and then to march down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. 蒙哥马利接受大陆议会的命令，他要带领一支小部队夺取蒙特利尔，然后沿着圣劳伦斯湾奔袭魁北克。

　　Benedict Arnold led another force through the Maine woods. 本尼迪克·阿诺德则率领另外一支军队穿越缅因森林，

　　After tremendous exertions⁷ and terrible sufferings he reached Quebec. 他们付出艰辛努力，历尽磨难到达魁北克。

　　But the garrison⁸ had been warned of his coming. 但是，守备军已经被告知这支军队的到来，

　　He blockaded the town and waited for Montgomery. 本尼迪克·阿诺德封锁魁北克等待蒙哥马利的到来。

　　The garrison was constantly increased, for Arnold was not strong enough fully⁹ to blockade the town. 守备军在不断增兵，因为阿诺德并没有足够的兵力封锁魁北克。

　　At last Montgomery arrived. At night, amidst a terrible snowstorm, Montgomery and Arnold led their brave followers¹⁰ to the attack. 蒙哥马利终于赶到了，趁着黑夜和可怕的暴风雪，蒙哥马利和阿诺德带领勇士们发起进攻，

　　They were beaten back with cruel loss. 他们被击退并且损失惨重，

　　Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was severely¹¹ wounded. 蒙哥马利战死，阿诺德身受重伤。

　　In the spring of 1776 the survivors¹² of this little band of heroes were rescued-at the cost of the lives of five thousand American soldiers. 1776年春天，这支英雄队伍的幸存者获救，而五千美洲士兵为之付出生命。

1 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 gage   

n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge]

参考例句：

• Can you gage what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gage one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

7 exertions   

n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使

参考例句：

• As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着，是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
• She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气，仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句

8 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者