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It started in a swamp.
凡尔赛宫的建造始于一片沼泽
It was here, in a stretch of mosquito-infested marshland,
就在这片蚊虫滋生的泽地里
that Louis, the 27-year-old King of France,
27岁的法王路易
decided to construct his new palace,
决心建造他的新殿
near a small and unremarkable country town called Versailles.
比邻平凡的乡下小镇凡尔赛
His courtiers were far from impressed.
他的幕僚们大为惊讶
It was almost as though Louis,
路易似乎
had deliberately picked the worst possible site for his magnificent palace,
故意为自己宏伟的宫殿 定下了最糟糕的选址
in order to prove to the world that his will was greater than nature.
以此向世界展现他的意志超越自然

Louis had a sentimental reason for choosing Versailles.
路易选择凡尔赛亦有感性因素
It was the site of his father's old hunting lodge,
这里是他父亲旧日的狩猎行宫
and as a boy, he'd played and hunted here.
孩童时期 路易曾在此玩耍狩猎
The original chateau of Louis' father was on top of a hill.
路易父王曾经的行宫坐落在山头
The problem, if you wanted to turn it,
若要把它改造成规模巨大的宫殿
into a whacking great palace,
即将面临的问题就是
was that you weren't going to be building on flat land.
无法将宫殿建造在平坦地面上
Louis was told, this is not a great place,
幕僚纷纷建言 此地并非
for a big expansion of your father's chateau.
扩建父王行宫的最佳选址
As a monarch with absolute power,
作为绝对专权的君主
Louis wasn't used to being told what to do.
路易既不习惯于听命于他人
And he didn't much like it.
也不屑于此
From the outset, Louis was thinking big.
从一开始 路易便心怀宏图伟业
He started by hiring the greatest architect of the age,
他开始雇佣当代最伟大的建筑师
Louis Le Vau, to transform the hunting lodge,
路易斯·勒沃 要求他
into the palace of his dreams.
将狩猎行宫变为梦幻殿宇

重点讲解

一...construct his new palace...
construct：vt. 建造，构筑，编造 n. 构想
【词义辨析】
build, construct, found, erect, establish, set up,
build: 普通用词，含义广泛，可指一切具体或抽象的建造或建立。
construct: 较正式用词，强调根据一定计划进行的规模较大，结构较复杂，要求较高技术的建造。
found: 侧重打下基础或创办，具体或抽象事物均可用。
erect: 侧重指对高而垂直物的建造。使用不如build广泛。
establish: 着重稳固地建成，可具体指国家、政府、学校或商店等的建立，也可指信仰、信用、名誉、法律、制度、规则等的建立。
set up: 作建立用时，侧重于开始。可指具体或抽象的建立。
【例句用法】
1.Mindful of the need to maintain efficient communication, the board of directors decided to construct a new communication network.
董事会注意到维持有效通讯的需要，因此决定建立一个新的通信网。
2.Designed or constructed to operate smoothly and without vibration.
自动定的为运行平稳、无振动而设计或建造的
3.A matrix used in constructing a symbol or character image on a display screen.
用来在显示屏幕上构造出一个符号或字符图象的一种点阵。
4.A dam constructed across a stream to raise the water level so that the overflow will have sufficient power to turn a mill wheel.
磨坊水坝横跨溪流建造的堤坝，以提高水位使溢满的水有足够的动力转动磨坊的水轮
5.This factory was constructed by our company.
这家工厂是由我们公司建设的。
二.His courtiers were far from impressed.
impress:n. 印记，印象，特征 v. 使 ... 有印象，影响，印刻，传送
【词义辨析】
affect, influence, impress,
affect: 作主语通常是物而不是人，指一物对另一物产生的消极影响。
influence: 侧重在思想、性格、行为等方面所产生的潜移默化的影响，也可指自然力的影响。
impress: 强调影响既深刻又持久。
【例句用法】
1.I had a chance to impress her with my efficiency and I muffed it up.
我本来有机会使她对我的办事效率有印象，但是我错过了这个机会。
2.My father impressed me with the importance of hard work.
我父亲使我明白了努力工作的重要性。
3.She impressed me as a scholar.
她给我留下了学者的印象。
三...he'd played and hunted here.
hunt：v. 狩猎，打猎，搜索 n. 狩猎，追捕，搜寻
【词义辨析】
pursue, follow, chase, hunt, trace, track, trail,
pursue: 指坚持不懈、毫不动摇地紧跟、追赶某人、某物或某个事业。
follow: 普遍用词，含义最广，多指跟随起引导作用的人或物，跟随的动机可以是善意的，也可能是恶意的。
chase: 指快速追赶或决心追踪，褒义贬义均可用。
hunt: 原义为追猎、猎取，现用于指追捕或搜寻逃犯等。
trace: 指根据线索或足迹进行跟踪。用于抽象意义时指找到某事物的根源。
track: 指沿着人或动物留下的印迹或行迹追踪。
trail: 一般指跟踪追击。
【例句用法】
1.Wolves hunt in packs.
狼总是成群猎食。
2.The huntsman and I hunt the animals out of the garden.
猎人和我把动物赶出花园。
3.Winter is the best time for hunting in mountain areas.
冬季是山区狩猎的最佳时间。