BBC英国史

So Thomas Coram determined to tap some of that new-found wealth to create a foundling hospital,

托马斯·考勒姆遂决定把新大陆的财富 用以建立育婴堂以收留被遗弃的新生儿

a place where babies could be deposited,legitimate or illegitimate,

那里的婴儿不论是寄送 婚生亦或私生

and would be given a decent chance of survival.

都将有希望存活

For nearly 20 years, he made himself a nuisance to his friends,

20年间 他成了朋友中的讨厌鬼

petitioning the king and everyone else until the funds got raised.

他辗转化缘 从国王到平民 直至筹资完毕

In 1741, the hospital opened its doors to its first children.

1741年 育婴堂迎来第一个孤儿

Not surprisingly, it couldn't cope with demand.

不出所料 果然供不应求

To decide which children could and couldn't get places,there was a heartbreaking lucky dip.

人们只好通过揪心的摸彩桶 决定谁家孩子能够拥有一席之地

Mothers lined up to draw wooden balls out of a bag.

母亲们轮流从袋子里摸木球

A white ball, and your baby was in.

摸到白球 便意味着孩子被接纳

A red ball, you were on the reserve list.

摸到红球 则要等上一段时间

A black ball... Well,you were back on the streets.

如果摸到黑球 对不起 你们被拒之门外了

Inside this cabinet are some of the saddest things left to us by the 18th century.

这个展柜里是一些 18世纪遗留下来的颇为伤感的物件

These are the keepsake tokens given to their babies by desperate mothers

这些是绝望的母亲们 在把孩子交给育婴堂

just at the point when they'd leave them to the tender mercies of the Foundling Hospital.

听天由命的最后时刻 留给孩子的纪念品

There's a whole world of sorrow and love in this extraordinary cabinet.

这个不同寻常的展柜里 弥漫着伤痛与母爱

It speaks not just of the destitute.

然而它并非只表现了那时的窘迫

Some of the pieces, like this beautiful mother-of-pearl heart

有些物件 比如这个漂亮的心形珍珠母贝

with the initials, presumably of the baby,

刻有名字的缩写 大概是孩子的名字

suggest that some of these mothers were quite well-to-do.

说明有些母亲生活条件相当不错

词汇解析

1、determine

是…的决定因素

The size of the chicken pieces will determine the cooking time.

鸡块的大小将决定烹饪时间的长短。

Social status is largely determined by the occupation of the main breadwinner.

社会地位很大程度上是由家里经济支柱的职业决定的。

确定;查明

The investigation will determine what really happened.

调查会查明到底发生了什么事情。

Testing needs to be done to determine the long-term effects on humans.

需要进行检测以确定其对人的长期影响。

决定;敲定

The Baltic people have a right to determine their own future.

波罗的海各国人民有权决定自己的未来。

The final wording had not yet been determined.

最终措辞仍未敲定。

2、line up

（使）（某一批人）排成行；（使）列队

The senior leaders lined up behind him in orderly rows.

高级将领整齐有序地在他身后站成几排。

The gym teachers lined us up against the cement walls.

体育老师让我们靠着水泥墙排好。

使（某一批物）排列成行

I would line up my toys on this windowsill and play.

我会把玩具排在这个窗台上来玩。

He finished polishing the cocktail glasses and lined them up behind the bar.

他擦完了鸡尾酒杯，把它们成排摆放在吧台后面。