BBC英国史

With events now spiralling out of control,

随着事件不断升级趋向失控

Pym saw this was the moment to try and strip the king of virtually all his authority.

皮姆认为时机已到 是时候剥夺国王的所有权力了

Charles's response was to try to arrest him.

查理的应对之策是企图逮捕皮姆

But Pym and four other parliamentary leaders had been tipped off that the king was marching on parliament with an armed guard.

但皮姆和另外四个议会领袖收到了风声 得知国王正带领全副武装的卫队前往议会

They waited till the last moment and slipped out of the back.

他们等到最后关头从后门溜走

Charles was left empty-handed.It was an unmitigated fiasco.

让查理扑了个空 那全然是一场失败

The gamble had only been worthwhile so long as Charles was sure of total success.

除非有一网打尽的把握 否则这场豪赌查理必输无疑

Exposed now, just as Pym had wanted,as a naked, abject failure,

阴谋暴露了 正如皮姆希望的 在这次惨重的失败之后

Charles appeared to be something worse than a despot,a blundering despot.

查理的形象已不仅是残暴不仁 更是愚蠢冒失

Both sides were moving fast beyond any point of reconciliation.

双方均无意和谈

Pym made it clear that parliament now needed to protect itself and England from the king.

皮姆明言议会现在需要保护自身和国家 不受国王迫害

It set about raising an army.

他们开始着手组建军队

In July 1642,Bulstrode Whitelocke thought out loud about the abyss facing the country.

1642年7月 布斯托得·怀特洛克不禁说出了 国家正面临的劫难

It is strange to note how insensibly we have slipped into this beginning of a civil war by one unexpected accident after another,

我们不知不觉中竟卷入了 一场内战 预料之外的打击接连来袭

as waves of the sea would have brought us this far and which we scarce know how.

就如一波波的暗潮将我们推到这里 而我们竟不知缘何落入这等境地

What the issue shall be, no man alive can tell.

没人能说出未来将会如何

Probably few of us here may live to see the end of it.

也许我们之中没几个人能活着看到结局

词汇解析

1、appear

好像;似乎;看来

There appears to be increasing support for the leadership to take a more aggressive stance.

好像有越来越多的人支持领导层采取更为强势的立场。

The aircraft appears to have crashed near Katmandu.

飞机似乎在加德满都附近坠毁了。

看起来；显得

She did her best to appear more self-assured than she felt.

她竭力让自己表现得比实际更自信。

He is anxious to appear a gentleman.

他急于想表现得像个绅士。

开始存在；产生

small white flowers which appear in early summer.

初夏时绽放的白色小花

Slogans have appeared on walls around the city.

标语已出现在全城周围的墙上。

2、expect

预期;预料;期待

a council workman who expects to lose his job in the next few weeks.

预计自己在接下来的几周里会丢掉工作的市政工人

They no longer expect corporate profits to improve.

他们不再期待公司利润会增长。

盼望;期待;等待

I am expecting several important letters but nothing has arrived.

我正在等几封重要的信件，可是一封都没到。

I wasn't expecting a visitor.

我没想到会有人来访。

要求；认为应当得到;指望

He wasn't expecting our hospitality.

他没有指望我们会盛情款待。

I do expect to have some time to myself in the evenings.

我确实希望晚上能有些属于自己的时间。