BBC英国史

Thornhill's design is a shameless steal from the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles,

桑希尔的设计无耻地剽窃了 凡尔赛宫镜厅的创意

but the artistic larceny is, of course, making a point.

但这起艺术剽窃 明显蕴涵深意

Here, Apollo the sun god shines not on the Catholic Sun King, Louis XIV,

这里 太阳神阿波罗 并未庇护天主教中的太阳之王 路易十四

but on the British monarchs.

但却庇佑了英国君主

Over there, in France,despotism and popery.

那边 在法国 是专制与天主教会

Over here, thanks to William,liberty and Protestantism.

而这里 由于威廉 成就了自由与新教

Over there,the curses of serfdom, misery and superstition.

那边 农奴制之下 是苦难与迷信

Over here the blessings of navigation, trade and science.

而这里 由于海运 是贸易往来与科学

But, of course,you don't go to ceiling paintings for the unvarnished truth.

但是 当然 他并不会将未经粉饰的真相画在天花板上

The truth was that we had been at war for almost 25 years,give or take a few intermissions.

事实上我们已经在绵延的战火中 生活了近25年 期间仅有几次短暂的喘息机会

And during that time,Britain had been completely transformed by the experience.

而在那一时期 英国因战争而面目全非

It was no longer a case of gallant little England defending the scepter'd isle

当时的情况不再是 勇敢弱小的英格兰在暴君的强压之下

against the serried ranks of despots.

挺身而出保卫王权

Now, we sat at the heart of the greatest war machine in the world.

现在 我们身处世界上最大的战争机器中心

That machine couldn't work without the lubrication of money,

而这机器没有金钱的润滑也无法正常运转

so along came a national debt needed to pay for it all.

接踵而来的就是巨额国债 需要人民来买单

And this debt needed servicing,so enter the armies of money men

而还债需要人力支持 所以无数的金融投资家就出动了

accountants, tax assessors, Customs and Excise officers.

会计 纳税评估员 海关人员

词汇解析

1、complete

完全的;十足的

The rebels had taken complete control.

叛乱分子完全控制了局面。

It shows a complete lack of understanding by management.

这表明管理层对此完全不了解。

完整的;全部的;整个的

A complete tenement block was burnt to the ground.

整幢公寓大楼被付之一炬。

The job sheets eventually filled a complete book.

工作指导卡最终装满了整整一个册子。

使齐全;使完整

Children don't complete their set of 20 baby teeth until they are two to three years old.

小孩要到两三岁才会长齐20颗乳牙。

the stickers needed to complete the collection.

集全一整套所需的贴纸

2、national

国家的;全国的

Ruling parties have lost ground in national and local elections.

执政党在全国和地区选举中均败北。

major national and international issues.

国内和国际重大问题

国民的;民族的

the national characteristics and history of the country.

这个国家的民族特征和历史

Baseball is the national pastime.

棒球是全民性的休闲运动。