BBC英国史

The British wars began here, in St Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh,on the morning of July 23rd, 1637,

1637年7月23日清晨 英国内战正式在爱丁堡的圣吉尔大教堂打响

and the first missiles that were launched were not cannonballs,they were footstools.

但第一波攻击并非是威力惊人的加农炮 相反 仅仅是一些脚凳

They were launched straight down the nave,and their targets were the dean and bishop of the cathedral.

它们被直接扔进教堂中殿 而它们的目标则是教堂的主任牧师和主教

The right reverends had just started to read from a royally authorised new prayer book,

牧师和主教们正准备 朗读新的皇家授权的祈祷书

and it was this attempt to read from the liturgy which had triggered a deafening outburst of shouting and wailing,

就仅仅是准备朗读的仪式 就已经使教堂内民众发出了 震聋发聩的哭喊与哀号

especially from the many women gathered in the church.

特别是激怒了聚集在教堂中的女性

The prayer book riots, though, were just the fuse.

但对祈祷书的反对浪潮 仅仅是一根导火索

What those who lit it wanted was to blow up the bishops and the whole royal church establishment in Scotland.

而点燃这条导火索的人 目的在于 撼动主教以及苏格兰皇家教会体系的根基

On February 28th, 1638,a national covenant was signed in a four-hour ceremony

1638年2月28日 在长达四小时 伴随着布道和圣歌的仪式上

along with sermons and psalms exhorting the godly to be the new Israel.

勉励着虔诚的人创造新的乐园 同时签署了公约

The next day, the covenant was brought here to the open churchyard at Greyfriars,

第二天 他们将公约带至 格雷弗赖斯的露天教堂墓地之中

where hordes of ordinary Scots added their signature.

在那里很多苏格兰人也共同签署了公约

Copies were made and distributed the length and breadth of Scotland.

很快 公约的副本 就被分发到了苏格兰的大街小巷

词汇解析

1、launch

发射（火箭、导弹或卫星）

NASA plans to launch a satellite to study cosmic rays.

美国国家航空航天局计划发射一颗卫星上天，对宇宙射线进行研究。

A Delta II rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral early this morning.

今天一早，一枚“德尔塔”Ⅱ型火箭在卡纳维拉尔角发射升空。

开展（重大活动）；发起，发动（军事袭击等）

Heavy fighting has been going on after the guerrillas had launched their offensive.

游击队发起攻击后，激烈的战斗一直持续不断。

The police have launched an investigation into the incident.

警方已对该事件展开调查。

（在江河、湖泊和港口载人的）大型汽艇

The captain was on the deck of the launch, steadying the boat for the pilot.

船长站在汽艇甲板上为领航员保向。

We'll make a trip by launch to White Island.

我们将乘汽艇到怀特岛。

2、trigger

(枪的)扳机

A man pointed a gun at them and pulled the trigger.

一名男子拿枪指着他们，接着扣动了扳机。

引爆;启动;触发

The thieves must have deliberately triggered the alarm and hidden inside the house.

盗贼肯定是故意触发了报警器，然后躲在房子里。

The one thousand pound bomb was triggered by a wire.

那颗重达 1,000 磅的炸弹是由一根导线引爆的。

引起;发动;促使

the incident which triggered the outbreak of the First World War.

导致第一次世界大战爆发的事件

The current recession was triggered by a slump in consumer spending

目前的经济衰退是由消费支出骤跌引起的。