Royal espionage
Alfred the Great acted his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel. In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere. They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport. Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth, and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring.
While Alfred’s little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders. There had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went. He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions. There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft.
Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney. The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde. But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids.
So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy. He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him. His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army. Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes – and within a month the Danes had surrendered. The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!
单词
wandering a. 浪迹天涯的，居无定所的
a band of wandering musicians 一队浪迹天涯的音乐家
wander / roam 闲逛
(2-70课) During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring.
have / take / go for a walk / stroll 散步，慢悠悠的、有固定路线的散步
(3-19课) He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o’clock.
(3-23课) The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.
walk the dog 陪狗散步，遛狗
stretch one’s legs 随便走走
(3-44课) You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, meet interesting people and enjoy good food …
stray 迷路的，找不到家的
stray sheep （《圣经》中称普通人迷途的羊）
(3-33课) Only two stray dogs benefited from all this confusion, for they greedily devoured what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!
thither ad. 去那里，到那里
thither 去那里 hither 来这里
hither and thither = here and there
The leaves were blown hither and thither by the wind.
Colored fish darted hither and thither.
slack a. 松弛的；懈怠的；萧条的
slack
~ tight taut 紧绷的
Slack defending by Real Madrid allowed Manchester United to score. 皇家马德里球队松懈的防守让曼彻斯特联队得了分。
Business is bad / slack /depressed in winter.
the Great Depression 大萧条
Business is good / booming. 生意兴隆的
conqueror n. 征服者
conquer v. 征服
The Normans conquered England in 1066.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
England conquered their man rivals in the first round.
conquer the mountain
I finally conquered my fear of heights.
She has conquered the hearts of many men.
precaution n. 预防措施 sth. you do in order to prevent sth. dangerous from happening.
fire / safety / security / sanitary precautions
safety ～ 安全措施， security ~ 安保措施。 safety 指不要出意外事件，而 security 指不让坏人进来。 sanitary ~ 预防保健措施。
take precautions 采取预防措施
The government took precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
take measures 采取措施
take effective measures to do …
take drastic measures to do …
caution 小心，谨慎 cautious 小心的
cautious optimism about sth. 谨慎乐观（第8课）
be cautiously optimistic about sth.
proceeds n. 收入，收益 the money that is obtained from doing sth. or selling sth.
proceeds of / from sth.
The proceeds of the concert will go to charity.
gain fame and gain 名利 profit 利润
proceedings （法律上的）诉讼
divorce proceedings
proceed to do …
assemble v. 人群聚集；装配，组装
A large crowd assembled outside the American embassy.
A large crowd was assembled outside the American embassy.
| / | / | / | / |
|---|---|---|---|
| vi.&vt | assemble | gather | mass |
| vi. | collect | congregate | converge |
assemble a computer 组装一台电脑
dismantle / take apart** 拆卸
dismantle the computer
take the computer apart
prolonged a. 持久的，长时间的
prolonged questioning
prolonged exposure to the sun
The drug help to prolong life.
protracted (protract) 持久的，长时间的（延长）
protracted warfare = prolonged warfare 持久战
curtail 缩短 curtail one’s holiday
episode n. 插曲，片段，逸事 an event occurring as part of a long series of events, as in a novel, one’s life, etc.
one of the most interesting episodes in his career
Please watch next week’s thrilling episode!
the final episode 大结局
harry vt. 骚扰，纠缠
He was harried by journalists / phone calls.
The Vikings harried the English coast.
harass harassment
assail 袭击，进攻，骚扰
(3-28课) I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.
pester 纠缠 … 做事情
pester sb. for sth.
pester sb. to do
The beggar pestered me for money.
(3-29课) From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home.
课文
the royal palace 王宫
the Royal Air Force / Navy 皇家空军/海军
royalty 王室成员
a shop patronized by royalty 王室成员经常光顾的商店
loyal 忠诚的 loyalty 忠诚
背景知识 Alfred the Great - wikipedia
He was recognized as the first king of England. Today his name still carries thunder: Alfred the Great. （still carries thunder 名字仍然如雷贯耳）
the Great 是对他的称谓。 历史人名 + 称谓 / 外号等。如 “康熙大帝”……
| / | / |
|---|---|
| Peter the Great | 彼得大帝 |
| Alexander the Great | 亚历山大大帝 |
| Caesar the Great | 凯撒大帝 |
| Catherine the Great | 凯瑟琳大帝 |
| Richard the Lion-hearted | 狮心王查理 |
| George the Fifth | 乔治五世 |
| William the Conqueror | 征服者威廉 |
第一句：Alfred the Great acted his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel.
act as … 1. （临时）担任某工作
My brother speaks French – he can act as interpreter.
act as … 2. 当作 … 来用 = be used as / serve as / function as
(7课) Not all sounds made by animals serve as language, …
disguise A as B 把 … 装扮成 …
dress (sb.) up as …
The king disguised himself as a peasant.
The king dressed (himeself) up as a peasant.
He escaped across the border disguised as a priest.
dressed up as … （非谓语）
Alfred the Great acted as his own spy, visiting Danish camps dressed up as a minstrel.
(3-40课) When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university, he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill.
第二句：In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere.
in those days 在当年（强调和现在不一样），注意 in 不能省略（复习）
(3-21课) In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money.
(3-4课) These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices.
第三句：They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport.
passport 护照
visa 签证
work / student / tourist visa
暗喻 Metaphor （这句中将 harp 比作 passport）
- 喻体直陈式
College is a comma of a sentence of life.
She was an angel of a wife.
- 喻体全隐式
(10课) As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a fwq days and a fwq hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures.
Some books are to be toasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested. 有些书浅尝即可，有些书囫囵吞下，只有少数书应咀嚼和消化。（Sir Francis Bacon）
- 喻体半隐式
From every window heads were craning for a view of it.
crane v. 探头看 n. 仙鹤
He doesn’t have an idea of *his own. He just parrots what other people say.
A heavy silence blanketed the room.
They stormed the speaker with questions.
(GRE 范文) I would argue that although it may be a benefit to study classics and be well schooled in diverse disciplines, these pursuits merely refine and hone an ability each and every person has, the ability to study human nature.
第四句：Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth, and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring.
in (one’s) youth
(3-24课) The reader’s hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
I live in that solitude（孤独） which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. – Albert Einstein
vary / add variety to … / diversify / add color/spice to … 使多样化
To obtain the nutrients you need, vary the foods you eat.
(3-31课) This invariably wins them the love and respect of others, for they Ad color to the dull routine of everyday life.
第五句：While Alfred’s little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders.
little adj. trivial; insignificant
gather v. assemble; collect; mass; congregate …
set out to do 1. begin a job / task
(3-16课) Dimitri at once set out to find the thief.
(3-5课) The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them.
set out to do 2. 有意做某事
– We never set out to hurt you, Victor. And I’m sorry we did.
– Are you done?
– Yeah.(3-31课) True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves.
penetrate (into / through) … 艰难地进入；渗透进
Our troops have penetrated (into) enemy territory.
trespass on … 非法进入
I accused him of trespassing on my estate.
Trespassers will be prosecuted.
Guthrum: 当时的丹麦国王 Danish king, he was forced to accept baptism after being defeated by Alfred.
第六句：There had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went.
settle down 定居下来
They’d like to see their daughter settle down, get married and have kids.
第七句：He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual.
纪律松懈 Discipline is slack / loose / lax.
casual adj. slack; careless; inattentive.
第八句：They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighboring regions.
proceeds: n. the money that is obtained from doing sth. or selling sth. （收入）
proceeds of / from sth.
The proceeds of the concert will go to charity.
注意这句中的三个介词：
- 第一个介词 on 接 live: live on
- 第三个介词表示 “在 … 抢劫”
a raid on a jeweler’s shop.
neighboring adj. nearby
第九句：There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft.
as well as … 除了 … 还 …, 强调前者。在本句中强调 women, 翻译为：“他们除了抢劫食物还掠夺妇女“。类似的短语还有 in addition to / besides / along with / together with / aside from / apart from …
强调后者的短语： not only … but also
There they collected not only food and drink but also women.
soft 软弱
If you appear to be soft, people will take advantage of you.
Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney.
before 翻译成 “然后”
I shaved before I went to the party.
But I decided to disembark before buying anything.
before 强调主句的时间比预期的长时，翻译为 “才”
It will be a long time before we meet again.
(3-2课) Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o’clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.
before 强调主句的时间比预期的短时，翻译为 “就”
I hadn’t waited long before he came.
第十句：The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde.
本句可以改成：
The force (which was) assembled / gathered / massed there was trivial …
（复习）compared to / with …
in / by contrast to / with …
in / by comparison to / with …
horde 移动着的一大群， 形容人群的时候带一点贬义。
第十一句：But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids.
be fit for … / to do … （复习）
(4-8课) Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.
not … but … 不是 … 而是 …
not that …, but that … 不是因为 … 而是因为 …（复习）
第十二句：So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy.
be faced / confronted with …
risk sth. / doing 冒着 … 危险
risk one’s life
risk being caught in a storm
这句也可以改为（肯定前者，否定后者）：
Alfred harried the enemy (instead of | in preference to | in place of) risking open battle.
Alfred harried the enemy rather than risked open battle.
rather than 准并列连词，前后一致：
She telephoned rather than wrote.
He is to be pitied rather than to be disliked.
第十三句：He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him.
on the + n. 处于某种状态
on the move
The dog is on the alert.
He is always on the go.
The patient is on the recovery.
Crimes are on the rise.
也有一些词不加 the， 或用其他介词。
(3-18课) Even people who take no interest in art cannot have failed to notice examples of modern sculpture on display* in public places.
The house is *on sale.
The workers are on strike.
I’m here on vacation / business.
The nurse is on call 24 hours a day.
第十四句：His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army.
party n. group; band; team
(3-8课) The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter.
a search party
a rescue party
该句中的冒号表示 “递进”。
hunger assailed the Danish army …
Panic seized me.
Curiosity swallowed him.
Confidence deserted him.
That night sleep eluded me. （复习）
第十五句：Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes – and within a month the Danes had surrendered.
now 描述过去事实时用现在时，让读者 make sense.
第十六句：The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!
reasonably ad. justifiably; legitimately
be unique to …
be peculiar to …
Each set of genes is unique to the individual.
Pandas are peculiar to China.
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