英语听力：自然百科 消失的西藏王朝古格(21)

As the siege tower rose, it claimed lives of many Guge slaves.

随着高塔越建越高,许多战俘也因此牺牲生命。

Ancient stories tell how the slaves were beaten so mercilessly, through their organ show to their flesh.

传说这些战俘,因受到残忍的拷打,而使器官破裂露出体外。

But building a 100-meter structure of this kind would have been a near impossible engineering feat¹ for its time.

但要兴建一百公尺的高塔,在当时几乎是不可能的工程。

Instead, experts believe the Ladahki siege tower was a psychological rather a physical gambit.

学者相信这座拉达克高塔打的是心理战。

How long could King Khri bKra shis Grags pa lde bear to watch the daily torture and suffering of his captured subjects?

赤扎西扎巴德国王可以忍受多久,眼睁睁看着他的人民日夜受到折磨?

As legend has it, the last king, Khri bKra shis Grags pa lde, seeing the great suffering that his people were enduring building this wall without food and as a, died and succumbed² to the pressures of construction.

传说当中提到那位末代君王赤扎西扎巴德眼睁睁看着他的人民历经挨饿死于建墙的庞大压力之下。

He saw the great suffering that his people were undergoing.

亲眼目睹他的子民蒙受巨大的痛苦。

And he had a great pity, the king of Guge, and he decided³, it must have been a difficult decision, but he decided, in the end, to surrender.

这让他心如刀割，这位古格国王最后做出了决定，在当时一定是个相当为难的打算，但他还是决定以投降结束这一切。

According to legend, in the final hour of Guge, King Khri Kra shis Grags pa lde and his retinue⁴ made their poignant⁵ descent from summit to base, even bearing gifts of gold and silver to appease⁶ the invaders⁷.

传说赤扎西扎巴德及他的大臣悲痛从山顶步向山下，甚至带着金银财宝讨好入侵者。

But the reception they received from the Ladahkis is surrounded in controversy⁸.

但拉达克人却将他们团团围住。

In one fell swoop⁹, the 700-year-old kingdom of Guge had been conquered.

七百年之久的古格王朝终于被征服。

But what happened after the king surrender is still shrouded¹⁰ in mystery.

但国王投降后发生什么仍笼罩着谜团。

1 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

2 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 retinue   

n.侍从；随员

参考例句：

• The duchess arrived,surrounded by her retinue of servants.公爵夫人在大批随从人马的簇拥下到达了。
• The king's retinue accompanied him on the journey.国王的侍从在旅途上陪伴着他。

5 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

6 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

7 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 swoop   

n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击

参考例句：

• The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
• We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。

10 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》