世界小史 第66期:大流士

 It came after the death of Cambyses, during the reign¹ of a great king named Darius.

这是在冈比西斯死之后，在一位名叫大流士的伟大君主的统治期间。

He governed the vast Persian empire – which now stretched from Egypt to the frontiers of India – in such a way that nothing happened anywhere that he himself had not decreed.

他将如今从埃及延伸至印度边境的整个巨大的波斯帝国管理得井井有条——他的政令到处都得以畅通实施。

He built roads so that his orders might be carried without delay to the furthest parts of his kingdom.

他建造道路，使他的命令立刻就能传达到帝国的四面八方，

And even his highest officials, the satraps, were spied on by informers known as 'the king's eyes and ears'.

他也使用自己的那些称为“国王的耳目”的密探监视他的那些称为地方总督的最高级官员。

Darius now began to extend his empire out into Asia Minor², along whose coasts lay the cities of the Ionian Greeks.

这个大流士还把帝国扩展到小亚细亚，那些伊安尼尔人的希腊城市便坐落在小亚细亚的海岸。

Now the Greeks were not used to being part of a great empire,

那时希腊人根本不习惯从属于一个大帝国并听命于一个君主，

with a ruler who sent orders from God knows where in the heart of Asia, expecting instant obedience³.

这个君主在亚洲中心的天知道的什么地方发布命令。

Many of the people who lived in the Greek colonies were rich merchants,

希腊殖民地的居民大都是富有的商人，

used to running their own affairs and making their own decisions about the administration of their cities, jointly⁴ and independently.

他们习惯共同或独立自主地安排和处理他们的市政事务。

1 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

4 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。