BBC英国史

The founder of the Paston dynasty was Clement.

帕斯顿家族的创建者是克莱门特

Clement's described as a plain husbandman,which is to say a peasant,

据说克莱门特是普通百姓 也就是说他是个农民

but a peasant who took advantage of the Black Death to scramble right up the social ladder of the village.

但这个农民利用黑死病 爬上了村子里的地位之梯

Clement Paston was shrewd enough to send his son William to law school,

克莱门特·帕斯顿有先见之明地 将自己的儿子威廉送进了法学院

clever enough to understand that it was going to be through learning,

他很明智地意识到 只有通过学习

as much as through land, that the fortunes of the Pastons would be utterly transformed.

而非土地占有 才能让帕斯顿家族的地位 彻底改变

Clement's son did indeed become a lawyer and married into money.

克莱门特的儿子不出所料成为律师 通过婚姻得到大笔财富

So did his grandson John, who acquired Caister Castle,

他的孙子约翰命运相同并且得到了凯斯特城堡

completing the meteoric rise of the Pastons from peasantry to landed gentry in just two generations.

通过两代人就完成了帕斯顿家族 从小农阶级到土地豪绅的迅速上升

John Jenney informed me, and I've verily learned since,you're to be made a knight at this coronation.

由约翰·詹尼的来信中我得知 你将在这里被加冕为骑士

Considering the comfortable tidings aforesaid,to attain the necessary gear be prayed for.

考虑到上述喜讯 你必须尽快适应

But nothing's ever this easy, is it?

但是树大招风 不是吗

As the Pastons became influential and rich,so they also were bound to attract enemies.

随着帕斯顿家族日渐显贵 必然会招致敌人

As long as they were obscure nobodies,the bloody tides of the Wars of the Roses would happen somewhere else.

在他们还是无名小卒之时 玫瑰战争的血腥战事 还未蔓延上身

But now that they became owners of lands and manors and castles,they also became prime targets for the heavies,

然而 现在他们成为土地 庄园和城堡的拥有者 也成了敌人的首要目标

and no one was heavier than the Duke of Norfolk.

诺福克公爵大力发难

词汇解析

1、describe

描述;描写;形容;叙述

We asked her to describe what kind of things she did in her spare time.

我们请她描述一下她业余时间都在做什么。

She broke down describing how she was arrested for refusing a breath test.

她在叙述自己如何因为拒绝接受呼吸测试而被捕时再也控制不住情绪。

把…说成;把…称为;认为

He described it as an extraordinarily tangled and complicated tale.

他说那是一个非常曲折复杂的故事。

Eriksson described him as 'the best player on the pitch'.

埃里克森称他是“场上最好的球员”。

描画，画出(图形);形成…的形状

His pass described a perfect arc through the leaden sky.

他的传球在阴沉的天空中划出了一道完美的弧线。

2、inform

告诉;通知

They would inform him of any progress they had made.

他们会把他们取得的任何进步都告诉他。

My daughter informed me that she was pregnant.

我女儿告诉我她怀孕了。

告发;检举

Somebody must have informed on us.

肯定有人告发我们了。

Thousands of American citizens have informed on these organized crime syndicates.

数以千计的美国公民检举过这些有组织的犯罪团伙。

赋(思想或特质)于;渗透入

All great songs are informed by a certain sadness and tension.

所有很棒的歌曲都透着某种悲伤和张力。

The concept of the Rose continued to inform the poet's work.

玫瑰的概念持续贯穿于诗人的作品中。