纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 040银色霍克森胡椒瓶(1)

For thousands of years western Europeans have been entranced by the spices of the east. Long before curry¹ became the British national dish, we dreamed of transforming our dull island food with exotic flavours from India. For the poet George Herbert, the phrase "the land of spices" evoked² a metaphorical³ perfection at once unimaginably remote and infinitely⁴ desirable. So it's perhaps not surprising that spice has, through the centuries, always been not just high poetry but big business. The spice trade between the Far East and Europe funded the Portuguese⁵ and Dutch empires and provoked many bloody⁶ wars. Already at the beginning of the fifth century, it was a trade that embraced the whole of the Roman Empire. When in 408 barbarian⁷ Visigoths attacked the city of Rome, they were induced to leave only on the payment of a huge ransom⁸ that included gold, silver, large quantities of silk and one further luxury, a ton of pepper. This precious spice had made its lucrative⁹ way all over the Roman Empire, from India to East Anglia. And that's where this programme's object was found.

数千年前，东方的香料便已传入西欧。在咖喱成为一道英国国菜之前，不列颠人老早就盼望着来自印度的异域风味能对这个岛国闻沉闷的食物有所调剂。对诗人乔治·赫伯特来说，“香料国度”是一个完美的比喻，唤起了人们对远方的无尽想象与无尽渴望。因此，千百年来，香料既是诗歌的主题，也是贸易的主角。远东与欧洲之间的香料贸易让葡萄牙荷兰大获其利，同时也引发了无数场血腥战争。公元5世纪初，香料买卖已遍布罗马全境。公元408年，西哥特人进军罗马，退兵的条件是巨额赔款，包括黄金，白银，大量的丝绸以及一吨胡椒。这种珍贵的香料在整个罗马帝国闻境内都大有市场，从印度一直到本节物品的发现地东安格利亚。

1 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

2 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

3 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

4 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

5 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 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。

8 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。