BBC英国史

What could be done?Well, something quite extraordinary.

那应该如何是好呢 当然是采取非常规的措施了

A group of seven leading statesmen sent a message to Holland with an explosive request.

七位政要向波兰传递了一条信息 提出了一个大胆的要求

"Prince William," They asked, "Would you mind invading Britain,"and saving us from a Catholic king?"

威廉王子 他们写道 您不如入侵英国 把我们从天主教中解救出来吧

William of Orange wanted to save his country from Catholic despots alright,

威廉·奥兰治想要 将他的国家从天主教暴政中解救出来

but the country he had in mind first, foremost and always was the Dutch Republic.

但是他心中的国家 首先而且永远都是 波兰共和国

English politics were always a sideshow for William to the main event.

对于威廉来说 和对抗路易十四的伟大欧洲战争相比

That was the great European war against Louis XIV.

英国的政治只是无足轻重的小事

What choice did he have?

他有什么选择呢

There would be British troops in that war.

这场战争中必定有英国军队

To ensure they'd be fighting for him,not against him,

一定要保证他们是为他而战 而不是与他作对

exactly 100 years after the Spanish Armada had failed to do the very same thing,

一百年前西班牙的无敌舰队 正是倒在了英军脚下

William set out to conquer Britain.

威廉决定征服英国

He was nothing if not thorough.

为了此战他必须准备充分

60,000 copies of William's manifesto blanketed England

六万份威廉的战争宣言传遍英国

in an effort to present the planned invasion

这是为了表明入侵

as a response to a spontaneous uprising against the Catholic tyrant.

是对天主教暴政的一个迅速而有力的回应

It was so persuasive that he succeeded in making James seem the foreigner in his own land and the Dutchman the true Brit.

这份宣言很有说服力 他成功地让詹姆斯在英国如同异族 而荷兰人才是真正的英国人

词汇解析

1、extraordinary

非凡的;优秀的;出色的

We've made extraordinary progress as a society in that regard.

在那个方面，我们的社会已经取得了巨大的进步。

The task requires extraordinary patience and endurance.

那项任务需要非凡的耐心和毅力。

非常奇特的;令人惊奇的

What an extraordinary thing to happen!

这事儿真蹊跷！

His decision to hold talks is extraordinary because it could mean the real end of the war.

他作出举行谈判的决定非同寻常，因为这可能意味着战争真的要结束了。

（会议）特别的

at an extraordinary meeting of the sport's ruling body.

在体育运动管理机构的特别会议上

Representatives of the colonies met in an extraordinary congress.

各殖民地代表在一次特别大会上会面。

2、invasion

武装入侵;侵略

seven years after the Roman invasion of Britain.

罗马人入侵英国7年以后

He was commander in chief during the invasion of Panama.

在侵略巴拿马的战役中他是总司令。

(令人不快的或难以对付的人或事物的)大批进入，涌入

this year's annual invasion of flies, wasps and ants.

今年，苍蝇、黄蜂和蚂蚁同往年一样的大批进犯

Seaside resorts such as Blackpool and Brighton are preparing for a tourist invasion.

像布莱克浦与布赖顿这样的海滨胜地正为游客的大批涌入做准备。