世界小史 第193期:日耳曼军队

 　　When the emperor refused, Attila set out to punish him with his mighty¹ army, and take by force what had been denied him. 当皇帝拒绝时，阿提拉便率领他的大军出发，去惩罚这位皇帝并夺取他拒不给予的东西。

　　The two sides met in a tremendous battle on the Catalaunian plains in Gaul, in 451. 451年在卡塔劳尼安平原打了一场大战。

　　All the armies of the Roman empire, assisted by Germanic troops, joined forces to repel² the barbarian³ horde⁴. 罗马帝国的全部军队，也包括日耳曼军队，集结在一起，一致抗击阿提拉的野蛮入侵。

　　The outcome being undecided, Attila turned towards Rome. Appalled⁵ and panic-stricken, the Romans could only look on as the Huns approached. 这场大战一直未分胜负，而阿提拉则向罗马进军。

　　Nearer and nearer they came, and no army there to save them. 大家惊恐不已，匈奴人越来越近，军队已经无法抗衡了。

　　It was at this point that one man dared defy Attila and his host:  this was Pope Leo, known as Leo the Great. 这时罗马的基督教教皇率领教士并扛着教会旗帜向他们走去，那是人称大教皇的教皇利奥。

　　With priests and holy banners he went out to meet him. Everybody waited for the Huns to strike them down. 人人都以为，匈奴人会把他们统统杀光了事，

　　But Attila was persuaded to turn back.  可是阿提拉真的接受劝说转回去了。

　　He left Italy, and this time Rome was saved. 他离开了意大利，这一次罗马得救了。

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

3 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

4 horde   

n.群众，一大群

参考例句：

• A horde of children ran over the office building.一大群孩子在办公大楼里到处奔跑。
• Two women were quarrelling on the street,surrounded by horde of people.有两个妇人在街上争吵，被一大群人围住了。

5 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》