BBC英国史

But what seemed like refinement to Richard,

国王视之为优雅

to the barons was evidence that the king had lost touch with their common interests.

而贵族视之为国王与其在彼此利益上 分道扬镳

Richard's refusal to continue the war with France was an obvious source of irritation for the nobility.

理查拒绝继续同法国打战 这是贵族不满情绪的明显根源

They had positively prospered from foreign campaigns

贵族们就是靠着对外战争发迹的

and built spectacular castles, like this one at Bodiam,to guard against a French invasion.

并修建壮观堡垒 如这座位于波尔蒂姆的 用来防御法国入侵

But it was the king's high-handedness that finally stung them into action.

国王的铁腕手段 最终激起了贵族们的反抗

By issuing royal decrees, Richard could bypass parliament,

通过传达圣谕 理查不受议会牵制

and he went out of his way to lavish favours on friends and advisers,

对他身边的宠臣和顾问官过分慷慨

men like Sir Simon Burley and Robert de Vere,who was absurdly promoted to be Duke of Ireland.

如西蒙·波利和罗伯特·德·维尔 莫名其妙地被封为爱尔兰公爵

The lords retaliated with their only available weapon - parliament.

贵族们仅有的武器只剩下议会了

In February 1388, five of the king's favourites

1388年2月 国王的五位宠臣

were charged with abusing his youth and innocence to promote their own ambitions.

被指控利用国王的年轻和单纯 来实现自己的野心

All were found guilty of treason by what became known as "The Merciless Parliament".

全部被判叛国罪 因此 英国国会被称为"无情国会"

Robert de Vere, the most hated of the king's confidants,

罗伯特·德·维尔 宠臣中最遭人厌恶的

escaped before sentence of execution could be carried out,but Simon Burley was not so lucky.

在判决执行前逃之夭夭 不过西蒙·波利就没这么走运了

Richard's queen pleaded on her knees for Burley's life,but to no avail.

理查的王后乞求饶过波利一命 没有奏效

词汇解析

1、common

常见的;普遍的

His name was Hansen, a common name in Norway.

他的名字叫汉森，在挪威是一个常见的名字。

Oil pollution is the commonest cause of death for seabirds.

石油污染是造成海鸟死亡最常见的原因。

共有的;共同的

Moldavians and Romanians share a common language.

摩尔达维亚人和罗马尼亚人使用同一种语言。

Such behaviour is common to all young people.

这种行为在年轻人中司空见惯。

(礼貌等)通常的，起码的

It is common decency to give your seat to anyone in greater need.

给更有需要的人让座是最起码的礼貌。

He didn't have the common courtesy to ask permission.

他连邀准这种最起码的礼貌都没有。

2、spectacular

引人注目的;惊人的;壮观的

spectacular views of the Sugar Loaf Mountain.

甜面包山的壮观景色

They have revamped the business with spectacular success.

他们成功地调整了业务，成绩斐然。

壮观的表演;盛大的演出

a television spectacular.

一场电视盛宴

one of the world's great sporting spectaculars.

世界上最壮观的体育盛事之一