世界小史 第73期:间谍

 　　Having finally succeeded in persuading the allies not to leave,

　　最终成功劝服同盟者不离开，

　　he secretly sent a messenger to Xerxes saying: "Make haste and attack, or the Athenians allies will escape you!"

　　他便悄悄派一使者去向薛西斯告密：“快进攻吧，否则雅典人的同盟者们就会从你眼皮底下逃脱。”

　　Xerxes, who must have heard from his spies that the allies were set on leaving, fell for it.

　　薛西斯一定从他的间谍那里得知雅典的同盟者正准备离开。

　　The next morning he attacked with his many small and nimble warships¹. And he lost.

　　次日早晨他立刻投入许多小而敏捷的战船进行攻击。他被打败了。

　　The Greek ships were larger and less easy to maneuver², but once again they were fighting desperately³ for their freedom.

　　希腊人的船大一些，不容易调控，但他们再次为自己的自由拼命而战。

　　Not only that, but their victory ten years earlier at Marathon had inspired them with confidence.

　　不仅如此，十年前10年前的马拉松大捷给他们以信心。

　　From a vantage point Xerxes was forced to look on while his smaller, lighter⁴ galleys⁵ were rammed⁶ and sunk by the Greeks' heavy ships.

　　薛西斯不得不看着他的小巧的战船被希腊人笨重的战舰冲撞沉没。

　　Aghast, he ordered the retreat. And so for the second time the Athenians were victorious⁷, and against an even greater army than before.

　　他极度沮丧地下达了撤退的命令。雅典人就这样第二次取得了胜利，打败了一支更强大的波斯帝国的军队。

　　This was in 480 BC.

　　这是发生在公元前480年的事。

　　Shortly afterwards, in 479 BC, the Persian land army was also defeated by the combined forces of the Greeks and their allies, near Plataea.

　　此后不久，在公元前479年，波斯陆军也在普拉提亚附近被希腊和他的联军消灭。

1 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

2 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

5 galleys   

n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房

参考例句：

• Other people had drowned at sea since galleys swarmed with painted sails. 自从布满彩帆的大船下海以来，别的人曾淹死在海里。 来自辞典例句
• He sighed for the galleys, with their infamous costume. 他羡慕那些穿着囚衣的苦工。 来自辞典例句

6 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。