BBC英国史

It was as a politician that John was most obviously a wretched failure.

作为政治家来说 再也没有 比约翰更加一败涂地的了

Under his father, the empire had been sustained by a shrewd combination of charisma and feudal loyalty.

其父在位时 这个国家维系于 君主的号召力和对封建制度的忠诚 两者间的巧妙结合

John's problem was his difficulty in believing that anyone would ever be more than a fair-weather friend.

约翰的问题在于不信任别人 总是认为别人不过是酒肉之交

So he relied on blackmail and extortion,threats to the barons rather than promises.

对待贵族 他只崇尚敲诈勒索和胁迫 宁我负天下人 莫让天下人负我

Assuming disloyalty, he ended up guaranteeing it.

结果却事与愿违

So when John needed the barons most,when Normandy was threatened by the French king,they weren't there for him.

当诺曼底受到法王威胁 约翰最需要他们的紧要关头 贵族们却没有伸出援手

The result was a catastrophic defeat.

最终导致了灾难性的失败

The loss of Normandy ripped the heart out of Angevin power.

痛失诺曼底令安茹王朝元气大伤

Whether or not there was a secret meeting at Bury st Edmunds,

无论英格兰的所有大贵族是否在

with all the major nobles in England sworn to force John to accept reform,it's certainly true that from defeat sprang rebellion.

柏立艾蒙秘密会谈 立誓要逼迫约翰接受改革 可以肯定的是 失败催生了叛变

At some point, the barons drafted a document that went well beyond forcing John to stop being vindictive,

在这个时候 贵族们起草了一份文件 不仅禁止国王实施报复

proposing, instead, a catalogue of things the king would not be allowed to do.It was called Magna Carta.

同时还列出了一连串 国王不得越过的雷池 这就是《大宪章》

词汇解析

1、sustain

使持续;保持

But he has sustained his fierce social conscience from young adulthood through old age.

而他从青年时期一直到老年都始终保持着强烈的社会良知。

The parameters within which life can be sustained on Earth are extraordinarily narrow.

地球上生命可以存活下来的地域范围是非常狭小的。

经受;遭受;蒙受

Every aircraft in there has sustained some damage.

那里的每架飞机都受到了一些损坏。

A seventeen-year-old tourist died late last night of injuries sustained in yesterday's bomb blast.

一位 17 岁的游客在昨天的炸弹爆炸中受伤并于当天深夜身亡。

支持;支援;救济

The cash dividends they get from the cash crop would sustain them during the lean season.

从经济作物中获得的收益能帮助他们度过不景气的时期。

I am sustained by letters of support and what people say to me in ordinary daily life.

这些支持的信件和人们每天对我的鼓励一直支撑着我。

2、guarantee

确保；使必然发生

Surplus resources alone do not guarantee growth.

仅有富余的资源并不能确保发展。

a man whose fame guarantees that his calls will nearly always be returned.

其名望能确保他的呼吁几乎总能得到回应的人

保证…必定发生；承诺做；答应提供

Most states guarantee the right to free and adequate education.

大多数州都保障人们免费享受充分教育的权利。

All students are guaranteed campus accommodation for their first year.

保证安排所有的学生第一年在校内住宿。