2015-11-25 History Channel:西恩宾回顾滑铁卢战役-12

 Coming up next...The battle begins, and I'm rolled up in to join the Waterloo gun group. I'm finding out what it was like to be a soldier at Waterloo 200 years ago. And now I'm heading for one of the key locations on the battle field. -We are going to take a very bad road right in the middle of the field. My guide is George Jacob. He's involved in a charity as restoring historical buildings at H*.

The day before the battle is as dreadful as here.

-Yes, probably similar to the conditions. Quite a day! Imagine they have to drag massive cannons¹ through this slough².

-You see, that's **, appearing dead. So I understand why H* was so important. You need to know the rest of the battle field, too. Napoleon's forces were massed in the south. Wellington's troops faced them from the high grounds of their north. This arrange was a strong defensive³ position. It's allowed Wellington to hide many of his troops, making it hard for the French to target their artillery⁴. And French infantry⁵ and calvary would have to climb a steep slope to reach the enemy. Wellington also controlled the farm and the haystack and buildings of H*, where Matthew S* were stationed there.

1 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 slough   

v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃

参考例句：

• He was not able to slough off the memories of the past.他无法忘记过去。
• A cicada throws its slough.蝉是要蜕皮的。

3 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。