纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 062希伯来星盘（8）

 

Against this European background of growing anti-Semitism, Christian¹ Spain could still seem comparatively tolerant. But, there were already signs of trouble, and the survival of Muslim Granada was a reminder² of unfinished business. The intellectual alliance of Christians³, Jews and Muslims would soon be swept away by a militant⁴ Spanish monarchy⁵, intent on following the rest of Europe and asserting Christian dominance. In the years around 1500, Jews and Muslims would be persecuted⁶ and expelled from Spain. The 'convivencia' was over.

Eventually, the astrolabe, this one intricate object which could do so many things, would be displaced by a whole range of separate instruments - the globe, the printed map, the sextant, the chronometer⁷ and the compass - all of them doing a part of the job that the single astrolabe could do alone.

Tomorrow we're far south of Spain, way beyond the reach of our astrolabe, in the forest world of West Africa, and again we have a high-status object which represents a huge cultural achievement. It's a sculpture, a head of a ruler from Ife in present-day Nigeria. Like the astrolabe, it's both an object of great beauty and of high technology ... and it's one that in the twentieth century would astonish the whole of Europe.

在这种背景下，基督教治下的西班牙显得相对宽容。但矛盾的征兆已然存在，穆斯林王国格拉纳达的幸存提醒着基督徒事业未竟。很快，一位好战的西班牙君主就破坏了基督徒、犹太教徒与穆斯林之间的文化交流，他一心想要追随欧洲其他地?区，确保基督教的绝对统治地位。公元一千五百年左右，犹太人与穆斯林遭到迫害，被驱逐出了西班牙。多元并存就此终结。

 

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

6 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

7 chronometer   

n.精密的计时器

参考例句：

• Murchison followed with his eye the hand of his chronometer.莫奇生的眼睛追随着他的时计的秒针。
• My watch is more expensive because it's a chronometer.我的手表是精密型的，所以要比你的贵。