BBC英国史

From its earliest days,Britain was an object of desire.

自远古时代起 不列颠就为人所觊觎

Tacitus declared it "pretium victoriae" worth the conquest,

塔西佗称其为"值得征服的土地"

the best compliment that could occur to a Roman.

在罗马人眼中 这无疑是最高的赞誉

He had never visited these shores but was nonetheless convinced

他从未踏足这片土地 尽管如此他仍坚信

that Britannia was rich in gold.

不列颠尼亚是一个黄金夹道的富庶之地

Silver was abundant too. Apparently so were pearls,

同样取之不尽的还有白银与珍珠

although Tacitus had heard they were grey,

尽管塔西佗听说那里的珍珠

like the overcast, rain-heavy skies,

就像那里常年阴霾笼罩的天空一般灰暗

and the natives only bother to collected them when cast up on the shore.

却盈千累万 当地人都不需费心采撷 等着珍珠冲上岸就好

As far as the Roman historians were concerned,

古罗马历史学家曾认为

Britannia might be well off at the edge of the world,

不列颠尼亚远在世界之端

but it was off the edge of their world,not in a howling barbarian wilderness.

但事实上 她只是在罗马世界的边缘 且并非未开化的蛮夷之地

If the same writers had been able to travel in time as well as space

假使这些作家可以穿越时空

to the northernmost of our islands, the Orcades our modern Orkney

游历至不列颠最北端 如今的奥克尼群岛

they would have seen something much more astonishing than pearls:

令他们瞠目结舌的将不仅是金山银海

The unmistakable signs of a civilisation thousands of years older than Rome.

还有这里无疑早于罗马数千年的文明的遗迹

词汇解析

1、concern

忧虑;担心

The group has expressed concern about reports of political violence in Africa.

该团体对有关非洲政治暴力的报道表示关切。

The move follows growing public concern over the spread of the disease.

针对公众对该疾病的不断蔓延日益担忧，从而出台了这一举措。

使担忧;使心烦

The growing number of people seeking refuge in Thailand is beginning to concern Western aid agencies.

到泰国寻求庇护的人日益增多，这开始引起了西方援助机构的不安。

It concerned her that Bess was developing a crush on Max.

贝丝迷上了马克斯，这让她很担心。

令人担忧的事实(或情况)

His concern was that people would know that he was responsible.

他担心大家会知道是他的责任。

Unemployment was the electorate's main concern.

选民关心的主要是失业问题。

2、conquest

征服;占领

He had led the conquest of southern Poland in 1939.

1939年，他指挥了攻占波兰南部的行动。

After the Norman Conquest the forest became a royal hunting preserve.

诺曼征服之后，这片森林成为了皇家狩猎区。

克服;攻克

The conquest of inflation has been the Government's overriding economic priority for nearly 15 years.

遏制通货膨胀是政府近15年来经济工作方面的头等大事。