BBC英国史

But Charles met the most serious crisis of his reign with his most powerful weapon,reason.

但是他却遭遇了统治时期最严重的危机 他运用了自己最强大的武器 理性

He offered a compromise.

他提出了折中方案

His brother would be allowed to succeed if he agreed to be a private Catholic

他的兄弟有权继承王位 只要他同意将天主教信仰个人化

and not to lay a finger on the Church of England.

而不染指英国国教

Riding the wave of paranoia,the newly elected parliament summoned to Oxford turned him down.

在疑心病的驱使下 新选举的议会在牛津聚会 想逼他就范

They assumed that memory was on their side,

他们认为人们牢记历史 会站在他们一边

but this Charles would remember the fate of his stubborn father,

查尔斯会记起他固执的父亲

who'd triggered a war when he too had been suspected of being soft on Catholicism.

当被指对于天主教过于软弱时 他挑起了战争

But historical memory is a double-edged sword.

但是历史是一把双刃剑

When the Commons met in the Great Hall of Christchurch to hear what they thought would be the royal capitulation,

当下院的议员们在基督城大会堂集会 以为会听到皇室投降的消息时

they found themselves instead confronted by a Leviathan in ermine.

与此相反 迎接他们的是 身披白貂的陛下

"This is the king's will," He said."Take it or leave it."

这是国王的旨意 他说道 不容置疑

It was a breathtaking gamble.

这是一场豪赌

Backed up by the House of Lords,Charles had left the exclusionists in the Commons no alternative but to go to war.

在上院的支持下 查尔斯毫不顾忌下院要求驱逐詹姆斯的人 一场战争在所难免

词汇解析

1、private

（产业、服务）私立的，私有的，私营的，民营的

a joint venture with private industry.

与私营企业建立的合资企业

Bupa runs private hospitals in Britain.

保柏在英国开办私立医院。

个人的；私人的

the law's insistence that private citizens are not permitted to have weapons.

法律坚持要求公民个人不得持有武器

The King was on a private visit to enable him to pray at the tombs of his ancestors.

国王以私人身份出访，以便能够祭拜先祖陵墓。

（会议、讨论、活动等）秘密的，私下的

Don't bug private conversations, and don't buy papers that reprint them.

不要窃听私人谈话，不要购买重印这些谈话的报纸。

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。