TED演讲:俄罗斯的起源(2)

 　　With Vladimir's conversion¹ and marriage to the Byzantine emperor's sister, 通过弗拉米尔的转变，还有他和拜占庭皇妹的联姻

　　as well as continued trade along the Volga route, the relationship between the two civilizations deepened. 以及伏尔加河上蓬勃发展的贸易，两个帝国的关系更加紧密了。

　　Byzantine missionaries² created an alphabet for Slavic languages based on a modified Greek script 罗斯帝国的维京战士在拜占庭帝国做一流守卫的同时，

　　while Rus Viking warriors³ served as the Byzantine Emperor's elite⁴ guard. 拜占庭的传教士根据改良版的希腊字母为斯拉夫语创造了一套新的字母表。

　　For several generations, the Kievan Rus flourished from its rich resources and trade. 在很长一段时间后，基辅罗斯由于自身丰富的资源和蓬勃发展的贸易变得十分强大。

　　Its noblemen and noblewomen married prominent European rulers, 他们的贵族在与欧洲其他统治者联姻的同时，

　　while residents of some cities enjoyed great culture, literacy, and even democratic freedoms uncommon⁵ for the time. 当地居民还享受着他们自己伟大的文化、文学甚至是当时罕有的民主自由。

　　But nothing lasts forever. 但是好景不长。

　　Fratricidal disputes over succession began to erode⁶ central power 兄弟间争夺继承权的斗争使中央集权逐渐瓦解，

　　as increasingly independent cities ruled by rival princes vied for control. 王子争夺着不同城市的统治权。

　　The Fourth Crusade and decline of Constantinople devastated⁷ the trade integral to Rus wealth and power, 当日耳曼的十字军逐渐抵达北部时，随着第四次十字军战争和君士坦丁堡的沦陷，

　　while Teutonic crusaders threatened northern territories. 基辅罗斯因贸易而积攒的财富和权力慢慢沦陷。

　　The final blow, however, would come from the east. 然而，压死骆驼的最后一根稻草来自东部。

　　Consumed by their squabbles, Rus princes paid little attention to the rumors⁸ of a mysterious unstoppable hoard⁹ until 1237, 王子们执着于眼前的争吵，忽视了当地对一个神秘快速发展的组织的流言，直到公元1237年，

　　when 35,000 mounted archers¹⁰ led by Batu Khan swept through the Rus cities, 成吉思汗率领着3万5千名骑兵横扫了基辅罗斯的所有城市，

　　sacking Kiev before continuing on to Hungary and Poland. 洗劫了首都基辅后又前往匈牙利以及波兰。

　　The age of Kievan Rus had come to an end, its people now divided. 基辅罗斯的时代告一段落，原基辅罗斯的居民如今也散布在世界各地。

　　In the east, which remained under Mongol rule, a remote trading post, known as Moscow, 在仍被蒙古人统治着的东方，有一个叫做莫斯科的贸易点成长起来，

　　would grow to challenge the power of the Khans, 拥有了挑战可汗的权力，

　　conquering parts of their fragmenting empire, and, in many ways, succeeding it. 他们夺回了破碎帝国的部分领土之后势如破竹。

　　As it absorbed other eastern Rus territories, it reclaimed¹¹ the old name in its Greek form, Ruscia. 他们逐渐吸收了原属基辅罗斯的东部领土，改变了原来的名字，用了希腊发音，叫Ruscia。

　　Meanwhile, the western regions whose leaders had avoided destruction through political maneuvering¹² 与此同时，西部地区的统治者们一直通过一些政治手段规避风险直到蒙古骑兵撤退，

　　until the hoard withdrew came under the influence of Poland and Lithuania. 但他们仍然遭受着波兰和立陶宛的影响。

　　For the next few centuries, the former lands of Kievan Rus populated by Slavs,  在接下来的几个世纪，基辅罗斯的这片领土上曾填满了斯拉夫人，

　　ruled by Vikings, taught by Greeks, and split by Mongols 他们曾被维京人统治、被希腊人教导、被蒙古人瓜分，

　　would develop differences in society, culture and language that remain to the present day. 最终形成了社会、语言、文化的多元，一直延续到今天。

1 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

2 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

10 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

11 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 maneuvering   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• This Manstein did, with some brilliant maneuvering under the worse winter conditions. 曼施坦因在最恶劣的严冬条件下，出色地施展了灵活机动的战术，终于完成了任务。 来自辞典例句
• In short, large goals required farsighted policies, not tactical maneuvering. 一句话，大的目标需要有高瞻远瞩的政策，玩弄策略是不行的。 来自辞典例句