纪录片《凡尔赛宫》 02梦想的开始

It started in a swamp.

凡尔赛宫的建造始于一片沼泽

It was here, in a stretch of mosquito-infested marshland,

就在这片蚊虫滋生的泽地里

that Louis, the 27-year-old King of France,

27岁的法王路易

decided¹ to construct his new palace,

决心建造他的新殿

near a small and unremarkable country town called Versailles.

比邻平凡的乡下小镇凡尔赛

His courtiers were far from impressed.

他的幕僚们大为惊讶

It was almost as though Louis,

路易似乎

had deliberately² picked the worst possible site for his magnificent palace,

故意为自己宏伟的宫殿 定下了最糟糕的选址

in order to prove to the world that his will was greater than nature.

以此向世界展现他的意志超越自然

Louis had a sentimental³ reason for choosing Versailles.

路易选择凡尔赛亦有感性因素

It was the site of his father's old hunting lodge⁴,

这里是他父亲旧日的狩猎行宫

and as a boy, he'd played and hunted here.

孩童时期 路易曾在此玩耍狩猎

The original chateau⁵ of Louis' father was on top of a hill.

路易父王曾经的行宫坐落在山头

The problem, if you wanted to turn it,

若要把它改造成规模巨大的宫殿

into a whacking⁶ great palace,

即将面临的问题就是

was that you weren't going to be building on flat land.

无法将宫殿建造在平坦地面上

Louis was told, this is not a great place,

幕僚纷纷建言 此地并非

for a big expansion of your father's chateau.

扩建父王行宫的最佳选址

As a monarch⁷ with absolute power,

作为绝对专权的君主

Louis wasn't used to being told what to do.

路易既不习惯于听命于他人

And he didn't much like it.

也不屑于此

From the outset, Louis was thinking big.

从一开始 路易便心怀宏图伟业

He started by hiring the greatest architect of the age,

他开始雇佣当代最伟大的建筑师

Louis Le Vau, to transform the hunting lodge,

路易斯·勒沃 要求他

into the palace of his dreams.

将狩猎行宫变为梦幻殿宇

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

3 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

4 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

5 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

6 whacking   

adj.（用于强调）巨大的v.重击，使劲打( whack的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a whacking great hole in the roof 房顶上一个巨大的窟窿
• His father found him a cushy job in the office, with almost nothing to do and a whacking great salary. 他父亲给他在事务所找到了一份轻松舒适的工作，几乎什么都不用做，工资还极高。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。