BBC英国史

On January 30th, 1649,the English killed their king.

1649年1月30日 英格兰人弑杀了其君主

It had happened before of course,all those Edwards and Richards violently done in by their subjects.

当然 这并非史无前例 早有数名爱德华或理查德王 横死于臣民之手

But this was different.

但与众不同的是

Now the British monarchy itself had been exterminated.

这次 英国的君主制也被推翻了

Now there was just the people and its parliament,the keepers of the liberties of England.

人民与议会得以长存 他们正是英格兰自由的守护者

What use was the point of freedom when you were frightened?

但若心存恐惧 自由又有何意义

What the people really wanted to know was who would keep them safe?

人们真正关心的是 谁能保证他们的安全

Who'd stop the soldiers from burning and pillaging,allow people to sleep quietly in their beds?

谁能让士兵不再烧杀掠抢 谁能让人民从此高枕无忧

Who'd protect them from the wars of religion and politics which seemed to go on and on and on?

谁能让这片土地免于无休无止的 宗教与政治斗争

Would it be parliament or would it be a great general like Oliver Cromwell?

是议会 还是伟大的将军奥利弗·克伦威尔

It doesn't matter,said hard-headed philosopher Thomas Hobbes,a royalist who'd come back to Cromwell's England.

这无关紧要 精明实际的哲学家托马斯·霍布斯如是说 身为保皇党 他仍愿回到克伦威尔治下的英格兰

What the country needs is a strong ruler who embodies ALL the people.

国家需要的是一位的强大统治者 一位能代表全体国民的统治者

Whatever or whoever can save the country from anarchy,whatever can save you from yourselves.

任何能使国家摆脱无政府状态的 任何能救你们脱离苦海的

Never mind about what's right or wrong.

无需计较对错

Put yourself in the hands of the power that protects,the all-powerful Leviathan.

将自己交给有能力庇佑你们 并无所不能的利维坦吧

If that's Oliver Cromwell, then so be it.It's the reasonable thing to do.

如果奥利弗·克伦威尔能做到 就让他做吧 这才是理性的选择

But the Scots, the English and the Irish were not about to be reasonable.

但苏格兰 英格兰和爱尔兰人 并没有打算做什么理性选择

They were much too busy being righteous.

因为他们太忙于追逐绝对的公道

Over the next half century,righteousness would kill a lot of the British.

在接下来的半个世纪中 所谓的公道使众多不列颠人命丧黄泉

At the end of it all, reason would appear,but not before a lot of tears had been shed.

到头来 理性自当显现 但在此之前 必先经历涟涟泪水

Tears of rapture and tears of grief.

或喜极而泣 或悲泣不已

词汇解析

1、general

将军；（通常指陆军）上将

The General's visit to Sarajevo is part of preparations for the deployment of extra troops.

将军造访萨拉热窝是在为增加兵力部署做准备。

全体的；总的；普遍的

The figures represent a general decline in employment.

这些数字显示就业人数总体在下降。

the general deterioration of English society.

英国社会的普遍堕落

一般性的；普通的

2,500 pounds for software is soon swallowed up in general costs.

用于软件方面的2,500英镑很快就被一般性费用耗光了。

His firm took over the planting and general maintenance of the park last March.

他的公司去年3月接管了公园的绿化和日常维护工作。

整体的；全面的

a general ache radiating from the back of the neck.

从后颈部扩散到全身的疼痛

a general sense of well-being.

总体上的幸福感

2、reasonable

（人）公平的，明智的，理智的，有判断力的

He's a reasonable sort of chap.

他是个理智的家伙。

Oh, come on, be reasonable.

噢，好了，理智一点。

（决定或行动）公平的，合理的

a perfectly reasonable decision.

完全合理的决定

At the time, what he'd done had seemed reasonable.

那时他的所作所为似乎很合理。

（价钱）合理的，公道的，不太贵的

You get an interesting meal for a reasonable price.

你花不多的钱就可以吃一顿很特别的饭。

His fees were quite reasonable.

他的收费还挺合理。