BBC英国史

Though Shakespeare's tragedy starts years after the Peasants' Revolt,

通过数年后莎翁悲剧作品的描述

it's hard not to believe that in his portrait of a petulant, self-admiring Richard II,

不难相信 他所描述的这位易怒 自恋的查理二世

there is the sense of someone trapped in an adolescent fantasy of indestructibility.

沉浸在青春期 不可毁灭的幻想中

There's no denying that, especially at times of crisis,he was subject to unpredictable mood swings,

无可否认 尤其在紧要关头 他的情绪极易反复无常

between adrenaline-rush feelings of omnipotence and abject fatalism.

忽而认为自己全知全能 忽然陷入悲观的宿命论

But it is easy to exaggerate his unfitness to rule,as though he were somehow suspiciously unsound.

当这种特质越发明显 他便更不适合统治 因为他似乎不能保持理智

He was built the usual Plantagenet way,six foot tall, with long, flowing, blond hair.

他是标准的金雀花王朝的王室后裔 六英尺高 一头飘逸的金色长发

But unlike his grandfather, he failed to keep mistresses and seemed, oddly enough,to want to be faithful to his wife Anne.

但不同于他的祖父 他没有情妇 近乎诡异的 保持对妻子安妮的忠诚

Real Plantagenets tore at their meat and slurped the drippings.

金花雀王朝的历代国王吃相极为不雅

Richard not only insisted on using a spoon,but inflicted it on the rest of the court.

理查不单坚持使用汤匙 要求其它贵族也要使用

Real Plantagenets brought you blood-soaked victories over the ancestral enemies in France and Scotland,

历代国王带来的是充满血腥的 对于法国和英格兰的征服史

Richard brought England the pocket handkerchief.

理查给英国带来的是手帕

Real Plantagenets built fortresses.

历代国王兴建堡垒

Richard instead wanted a great ceremonial space in Westminster Hall with a spectacular hammer beam roof.

理查则想在威斯敏斯特宫建造一处 带有壮观托臂梁屋顶的庆典场所

The rows of angels symbolised the king's divine right to rule.

成排的天使 象征着神圣的皇权

词汇解析

1、trap

设陷阱捕捉

The locals were encouraged to trap and kill the birds.

当地居民过去被鼓励设捕捉器捕杀这种鸟。

圈套;诡计;骗局

He failed to keep a rendezvous after sensing a police trap

他察觉到警方设了圈套以后就没有如约会面。

He was trying to decide whether the question was some sort of a trap.

他试图判断那个问题是不是个套。

诱骗;使上当;使中计

Were you just trying to trap her into making some admission?

你刚才是想诱使她供认吗？

She had trapped him so neatly that he wanted to slap her.

她骗他骗得如此干净利落，他恨不得给她一记耳光。

2、especially

特别;尤其

Millions of wild flowers colour the valleys, especially in April and May.

尤其是在四五月份，不计其数的野花盛开，山谷里一片绚烂色彩。

Re-apply sunscreen every two hours, especially if you have been swimming.

每两个小时重新涂一次防晒油，尤其是在游泳的时候。

格外;特别

Babies lose heat much faster than adults, and are especially vulnerable to the cold in their first month.

婴儿散热比成年人快得多，在出生后的头一个月特别容易感冒。