世界小史 第191期:汪达尔人

 　　This period is known as the time of the Migrations¹. 成千上万的人是否被打死，这并不重要，而成千上万的人却随后跟上。这个时期叫民族大迁徙时期。

　　It was the storm that swept up the Roman empire and whirled it into extinction². 这就是席卷罗马帝国并将其毁灭的雷雨，

　　For the Germanic tribes didn't stop when they reached Gaul and Spain. 因为这些日耳曼部落也没有留在法国和西班牙。

　　The Vandals, for instance, captured Carthage in 439 and used it as a base from which they launched their pirate ships to loot and burn the coastal³ towns. 汪达尔人就这样穿过意大利雨果西西里向古老的迦太基进发，他们在那里建立了一个海盗国家并乘坐他们的船只驶向各海岸城市，他们占领并劫掠这些城市。

　　They ravaged⁴ Sicily and crossed into Italy. 罗马也遭受他们的大肆掠夺。

　　Today we still talk of 'vandalism', even though the Vandals were really no worse than many others. 人们今天还在说汪达尔人对文化艺术的摧残，其实汪达尔人并不比许多别的部落坏

　　As for the Huns, they were worse. 可是这时匈奴人又来了，他们更坏。

　　They now had a new king: Attila. In 444 he was at the height of his power. 他们有一位新国王阿提拉，他在444年掌权。

　　Can you remember who was in power 444 years before Christ's birth? Pericles, in Athens. 你还知道，公元前444年谁掌权呢？伯利克利在雅典。

　　Those were the best of times. But Attila was in every way his opposite. 这是最美好的时期，阿提拉确实在各方面都同伯利克利完全相反。

　　People said that wherever he trod, the grass ceased to grow. 人们这样说他：他走到哪儿，哪儿便寸草不长。

1 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。