美国学生人类历史第24期:埃及的兴衰(3)

 　　It regained¹ a semblance² of independence when one of Alexander's generals set himself up as king of a new Egyptian state

　　亚历山太死后，他的一位将军自立为新埃及之王，建都亚历山大城，

　　and founded the dynasty of the Ptolemies, who resided in the newly built city of Alexandria.

　　开创了托勒密王朝。 埃及又一次获得了名义上的独立。

　　Finally, in the year 89 B.C., the Romans came.

　　公元前39年，罗马人来了。

　　The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save the country.

　　最后一代埃及君主，艳后克娄帕特拉竭尽全力挽救自己的国家。

　　Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps³.

　　她的美貌和领力倾倒了罗马的将军们，其威力甚于数个埃及军团。

　　Twice she was successful in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors⁴.

　　她先后使罗马征服者悄撒大帝及安东尼将军拜倒在她脚下，靠美色维持着自己的统治。

　　But in the year 30 B.C., Augustus, the nephew and heir of Clsar, landed in Alexandria.

　　可在公元前30年，恺撒的侄子兼继承人奥古斯都大帝在亚历山大城登陆。

　　He did not share his late uncle's admiration⁵ for the lovely princess.

　　他不是像自己过世的叔叔一样拜倒在这位妖艳女王的裙下，

　　He destroyed her armies, but spared her life that he might make her march in his triumph as part of the spoils of war.

　　而是毫不犹豫地歼灭了埃及军队。他饶过克娄帕特拉一命，打算把她作为战利品之一，在返回罗马城 的凯旋仪式上游街，去供罗马市民欣赏。

　　When Cleopatra heard of this plan, she killed herself by taking poison. And Egypt became a Roman province.

　　克娄帕特拉知悉这一计划后，便服毒自杀了。埃及从此变成了罗马的一个省。

1 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

2 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 conquerors   

征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信，而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
• The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心，于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。

5 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。