Genghis Khan 成吉思汗 - 5

Jamuqa(扎木和) split the tribe. Two years would pass before they would hear from him. High on the plateau of central Mongolia is a place known as Dalan Balzhut. It was here that Borte's(孛儿帖) prophecy would be fulfilled. Jamuqa ambushed¹ Temujin's(铁木真) tribe. Temujin, the man who would be Genghis Khan, led an army that was unprepared, outnumbered, and outwitted. It'd been a catastrophic defeat. But there was worse to follow. Jamuqa took the generals he had captured and subjected them to the cruelest of punishments. He boiled them alive.

When Temujin learnt of the atrocity², he made this vow³: "By the power of Heaven, I swore to gain my vengeance⁴. Never again would I be defeated, nor my loyal warriors⁵ so dishonored."

It was now that Temujin started a revolution.

"They say that the Mongols were descended⁶ from the wolf. Like the wolf, we were famous for our ferocity and courage. But to win a battle, we have to fight fiercely, not as individual warriors, but as parts of a whole."

Temujin formed an elite⁷ officer training corps⁸, the Keshik(蒙古骑射手). He was building a professional fighting machine, from top to bottom. The Mongol's universal instrument of battle was the bow. Made from wood and animal bone, it had a shooting range of 500 meters. Training in archery and horsemanship was made compulsory⁹ for all, even children. They learnt to release their arrows at the exact moment the horses' hoofs¹⁰ were off the ground for maximum accuracy. Temujin had thrown out the old tribal¹¹ divisions. This was a meritocracy. This was a modern army. Now he was ready.

outwit: gain an advantage through cleverness, outsmart

vengeance: infliction¹² of a punishment as a payback for an injury or a wrong, retribution, retaliation

corps: specialized¹³ military unit

meritocracy: government by people selected according to merit.

1 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。

3 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

4 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

5 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

10 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 infliction   

n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚

参考例句：

• Don't immerse yourself in the infliction too long.不要长时间沉浸在痛苦经历中。
• Instead of rivets there came an invasion,an infliction,and a visitation.但是铆钉并没有运来，来的却是骚扰、混乱和视察。

13 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。