【跟着英剧练发音】A Histry Of Britain - 6

The grandest of these tombs had openings cut in the wall, to create side chambers² where the most important bodies could be laid out in aristocratic spaciousness³ like family vaults⁴ in a country church. Unlike medieval knights⁵, though, these grandees⁶ were buried with eagles and dogs, or even treasure. The kind of thing that the Vikings who broke into these tombs thousands of years later were quick to filch⁷. In return, though, these early tomb raiders left their own legacy⁸. These wonderful graffiti. These runes were carved by the most skilled rune carver in the western ocean. I bedded thorny⁹ here. Ingegirth is one horny bitch. As for the Orcadian hoi polloi, well, they ranked space in a common chamber¹, on a floor carpeted with the bones of hundreds of their predecessors¹⁰. A crowded waiting room to their afterworld.

 For centuries, life at Skara Brae must have continued in much the same way. But around 2,500 BC, the island climate seems to have got colder and wetter. The red bream disappeared, and so did the stable environment the Orcadians had enjoyed for countless¹¹ generations. Fields were abandoned, the farmers and fishers migrated, leaving their stone buildings and tombs to be covered by layers of peat, drifting sand and finally grass.

 

 

译文：

 

最豪华墓穴的墙壁上开凿了凹槽，以便让最重要的尸体，能够安息在奢华宽敞的空间内，就像教堂中的家族墓穴。与中世纪的骑士们不同，这些贵族将鹰、狗甚至珍宝作为陪葬品。这些陪葬品让数千年后维京海盗的盗取，易如探囊取物。然而作为回馈，这些早期盗墓者也留下了他们的遗产，这些珍贵的涂鸦，这些如尼文（如尼文:一种已灭绝的文字。特别在斯堪的纳维亚半岛与不列颠岛屿通用），由大西洋最娴熟的雕刻师，书刻在墙上。我在此如卧针毡，茵妮格斯是个浪荡的贱人。而作为奥克尼的平民，只能葬于一间公共墓穴之内，葬于由无数祖先的尸骨铺就的地板之上，一个熙熙攘攘、通向来世的等候室。几个世纪以来，斯卡拉布雷人的生活几乎毫无变化，然而在公元前2500年前后，岛上气候开始变得寒冷潮湿。红鲷鱼灭绝了，让奥克尼人世代安居乐业的气候，也不再规律与稳定。土地变得贫瘠，农民与渔夫开始迁徙，留下了他们的石室、墓穴，任由其被层层泥炭、流沙，与最后的茵茵绿草所覆盖。

 

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

3 spaciousness   

n.宽敞

参考例句：

• A high ceiling gives a feeling of airness and spaciousness. 天花板高给人一种通风和宽敞的感觉。
• The tremendous spaciousness of it was glowing with rich gold. 苍茫辽阔的景色染上了一片瑰丽浓艳的金黄色。

4 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

6 grandees   

n.贵族，大公，显贵者( grandee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The highest-ranking members of the Spanish aristocracy are the grandees. 西班牙贵族中爵位最高的成员乃是大公。 来自辞典例句
• Several grandees of the town are present at the party. 城里的几位要人出席了晚会。 来自互联网

7 filch   

v.偷窃

参考例句：

• The theif filched some notes from his wallet.小偷从他的钱包里偷了几张钞票。
• Sure you didn't filch that crown?那个银币真的不是你偷来的？

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

10 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。