美国学生历史 第117期:第二次独立战争(9)

 　　272. The Privateers. 272．武装民船

　　No British fleets could keep the privateers from leaving port. 没有哪支英国舰队可以阻止美国的武装民船出海，

　　They swarmed¹ upon the ocean and captured hundreds of British merchantmen, some of them within sight of the shores of Great Britain. 这些船蜂拥在海上并夺取了数以百计的英国商船，它们当中有一些船只甚至靠近大不列颠的海岸。

　　In all, they captured more than twenty-five hundred British ships. 这些武装民船一共夺取了2500艘英国船

　　They even fought the smaller warships² of the enemy. 它们甚至还与英军的小型军舰作战。

　　273. Treaty of Ghent, 1814. 273．《根特条约》（1814年）

　　The war had hardly begun before commissioners³ to treat for peace were appointed by both the United States and Great Britain. 几乎在战争开始之时英国和美国都任命了处理和平事务的官员，

　　But they did nothing until the failure of the 1814 campaign showed the British government that there was no hope of conquering any portion of the United States. 但是他们没有做任何工作，这种情况一直持续到1814年战役，这场战役让英国政府相信没有征服美国任何一个部分的希望。

　　Then the British were ready enough to make peace, and a treaty was signed at Ghent in December, 1814. 之后，英国已经做好了和平谈判的充分准备，1814年，英美在根特签订条约。

　　This was two weeks before the British disaster at New Orleans occurred, and months before the news of it reached Europe. 条约签订后的第二周，英国在新奥尔良惨败，几个月后这次惨败的消息传到欧洲。

　　None of the things about which the war was fought were even mentioned in the treaty. 但在条约中没有提及引发这些战争的事端，

　　But this did not really make much difference. 而这并无难于理解之处，

　　For the British had repealed⁴ their orders as to American ships before the news of the declaration of war reached London. 因为，在对英国宣战的消息到达伦敦之前，英国已经取消了关于美国船只的命令。

　　As for impressment, the guns of the Constitution had put an end to that. 至于"强制征兵"，"宪法"号的火炮已经将它变成历史。

1 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

2 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

3 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。