Lesson 9 Royal espionage
First listen and then answer the following question.What important thing did King Alfred learn when he penetrated the Danish camp of Guthrum?Alfred the Great acted his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel. In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere. They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport. Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth, and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring.
While Alfred's little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders. There had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went. He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions. There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft.
Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney. The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde. But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids.
So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy. He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him. His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army. Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes -- and within a month the Danes had surrendered. The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!
BERNARD NEWMAN Spies in Britain New words and expressions生词和短语
Alfred ['ælfrɪd] 公元871-899 年间任英国国王Denmark [ˈdenmɑːrk] n.丹麦(北欧国家,首都哥本哈根)
Danish[ˈdeɪnɪʃ] adj. 丹麦的,丹麦人的,丹麦语的Athelney ['æθəlni] n. 阿塞尔纳(英国一个小岛)Chippenham ['tʃipənhæm] n. 切本哈姆(英国一个城市)espionage [ˈespiənɑːʒ] n. 间谍活动Some of the commercial activities were a cover for espionage.minstrel [ˈmɪnstrəl] n. 中世纪的吟游歌手英语单词minstrel常用来表示“吟游诗人”,然而,从词源上看,它原本指的是国王或贵族家中的歌手。单词minstrel源自拉丁语ministralis,与minister(大臣、部长)、ministry(部门)同源,含有“家臣、奴仆”之意,指的是宫廷里或王公贵族家中的歌手,他们并非科班出身,只是由于有一定的文艺才能而被主人看中,专门负责唱歌吟诗,为主人及客人提供娱乐,地位与弄臣相仿。后来,越来越多科班出身的音乐人开始得到王公贵族的青睐,那些半路出家的minstrel在宫廷里越来越不吃香,只好流落至民间,靠街头卖艺为生,变成了流浪歌手或吟游诗人。
在英语中,minstrel一词在16世纪之前指的都是宫廷里或贵族家中负责娱乐的歌手、说书人、杂耍艺人、小丑等。直到18世纪该词的词义才开始缩小,专指中世纪的吟游诗人或流浪歌手。The minstrel had been to many places before he came here.
wandering [ˈwɑːndərɪŋ] adj. 漫游的Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life . 在这种心态中徘徊时,你将为你的人生打开一个新维度。She concentrated on the good parts of her trip instead of harping on about the bad. 她着重说了自己旅途中遇到的开心事,并没有唠叨那些不愉快的事。Some of the instrumentation is exquisite, particularly for harp and flute. 有些器乐段落谱写得非常优美,尤其是竖琴和长笛的部分。ball 舞 + ad 名词后缀 → 伴随〔民间〕舞蹈的歌谣 → 民歌a medieval ballad about a knight and a ladyacrobatic [ˌækrəˈbætɪk] adj. 杂技的acrobat [ˈækrəbæt] n.杂技演员acro 顶点,高点 + bat 打 → 在高处表演打斗 → 杂技演员
He performed a sensational acrobatic feat.conjuring[ˈkʌndʒərɪŋ] n. 魔术conjure [ˈkʌndʒər] v.变魔术;变戏法;使…变戏法般地出现(或消失)con 共同 + jur 发誓;法律 + e → 一起发誓 → 恳求〔别人〕Conjure up means the same as conjure .
Every day a different chef will be conjuring up delicious dishes in the restaurant...每天,饭店里会有一位不同的大厨像变戏法似的奉上可口的菜肴。(especially literary) 各处;四处
in many different directionsHe's been very slack in his work lately.conqueror [ˈkɑːŋkərər] n. 征服者conquer [ˈkɑːŋkər] vt.占领;攻克;征服;(尤指比赛、赛跑等中)击败,战胜;(成功地)对付,克服,控制con 加强 + quer 寻求;获得 → 获得 → 征服The conquerors crossed the country, plundering as they went. casual [ˈkæʒuəl] adj. 马虎的,随便的cas 落下;降临 + u + al 形容词后缀 →〔没有准备〕降临的 → 偶然的It's obvious even to the casual observer.precaution [prɪˈkɔːʃn] n. 预防,警惕pre 前;预先 + caution 小心 → 预先小心 → 预防You must take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself and your family.proceeds [proʊˈsiːdz] n. 所得proceed [proʊˈsiːd] vi.继续;接着做;行进;前往pro 向前 + ceed 行走,前进 → 继续进行,前进The marchers proceeded slowly along the street.She sold her car and bought a piano with the proceeds.assemble [əˈsembl] v. 集合
as 加强 + sembl 相类似,一样 + e → 不断集合类似的东西 → 集合
The manager has assembled a world-class team.tri 三 + v 道路 + i + al 形容词后缀 → 三条路 → 分支太多 → 琐碎的I know it sounds trivial , but I'm worried about it.prolonged [prəˈlɔːŋd] adj. 持久的pro 向前,在前 + long 长 → 向前拉长 → 延长He did not want his life to be prolonged by artificial means. commissariat[ˌkɑːmɪˈseriət] n. 军粮供应commissar [ˌkɑːmɪˈsɑːr] n.(尤指旧时苏联的)政治委员,政委commissary [ˈkɑːmɪseri] n.(军事基地、监狱等处出售食品等的)杂货商店;(大型机构,尤指电影制片厂的)员工餐厅commissary in charge of studies [ˈkɑːmɪseri ɪn tʃɑːrdʒ əv ˈstʌdiz] 学习委员commissary in charge of publicity [ˈkɑːmɪseri ɪn tʃɑːrdʒ əv pʌbˈlɪsəti] 宣传委员;宣传委This part mainly introduces the related concept and basic theory of the grain safety and commissariat reserve. 这一部分主要介绍了粮食安全和粮食储备的相关概念和基本理论。episode[ˈepɪsoʊd] n. 一个事件,片断古希腊悲剧来源于奉献给酒神的颂歌,原本以歌唱为主,后来逐渐添加表演、对白等内容。因为这部分内容是后来增添的,不是酒神颂歌的主体,所以在希腊语中将两次合唱之间的表演、对白等内容称为epeisodion(插入的内容),是epeisodios(插入)的名词形式。epeisodios由epi(额外的)+eisodos(进入)构成。这就是英语单词episode(插曲)的来源。现在,episode一般表示电视剧中的“一集”(片头片尾都有音乐),或故事或经历中的一段插曲。I'd like to try and forget the whole episode.the creative genius of Greek epicShe has been harried by the press all week.as 加强 + sail〔= sal〕跳 → 跳来跳去打你 → 攻击He was assailed with fierce blows to the head.skirmish [ˈskɜːrmɪʃ] n. 小规模战斗There are reports of skirmishing along the border.参考译文
阿尔弗雷德大帝曾亲自充当间谍。他扮作吟游歌手到丹麦军队的营地里侦察。当时,浪迹天涯的吟游歌手到处受欢迎,他们不是作战人员,竖琴就是他们的通行证。阿尔弗德年轻时学过许多民歌,并能穿插演一些杂技和小魔术使自己的节目多样化。
阿尔弗雷德人数不多的军队开始在阿塞尔纳慢慢集结时,他亲自潜入丹麦入侵司令官古瑟罗姆的营地。丹麦军已在切本哈姆扎下营准备过冬,阿尔弗雷便来到此地。他马上发现丹麦军纪律松弛,他们以征服者自居,安全措施马马虎虎。他们靠掠夺附近的地区的财物过着舒适的生活。他们不仅搜刮吃的喝的,而且抢掠妇女,安逸的生活已使丹麦军队变得软弱无力。
阿尔弗雷德在敌营呆了一个星期后,回到了阿塞尔纳。他集结在那里的军队和丹麦大军相比是微不足道的,然而,阿尔弗雷德断定,丹麦人已不再适应持久的战争,他们的军需供应处于无组织状态,只是靠临时抢夺来维持。
因此,面对丹麦人的进攻,阿尔弗雷德没有贸然同敌人作战,而是采用骚扰敌人的战术。他的部队不停地移动,牵着敌人的鼻子,让他们跟着跑。他派出巡逻队阻止敌人抢劫,因而饥饿威胁着丹麦军队。这时,阿尔弗雷德发起一连串小规模的进攻,结果不出一个月,丹麦人就投降了。这一幕历史可以说是王室谍报活动中最精彩的篇章。
Journey to the West(西游记)全108集
往期回顾
《新概念英语》第一册全集
《新概念英语》第二册全集
Lesson 1 Finding fossil man
Lesson 2 Spare that spider
Lesson 3 Matterhorn man
Lesson 4 Seeing hands
Lesson 5 Youth
Lesson 7 Bats
Lesson 8 Trading standards