英语小达人 447 Experiencing Scotland(1)

 Experiencing Scotland 感受苏格兰

Scotland is a unique and austere¹ place, laden² with history,  苏格兰是一个独特的地方，自然条件虽不得天独厚，历史的厚重感却随处可见。

where you can find aristocratic palaces and castles,  你不仅能看见无数豪门望族的府第与城堡，

as well as the traditional parades in national costumes.  还可以观看人们穿着民族服装举行传统巡游。

It has some of the most beautiful cities in Europe,  这里有全欧洲最美的城市，

a living testimony³ of a proud and splendid past. 诉说着苏格兰昔日的荣光。

In order to see and discover the true soul of Scotland today,  想看看真正的苏格兰，

what forged the character of this splendid region,  追寻这里民族精神的源泉，

we have to go towards the northern regions, to the Grampian Mountains.  就得去北部的格兰扁山区。

Beautiful and unspoiled, it was difficult to farm.  格兰扁山区景色怡人，还没有受到现代文明的污染。格兰扁过去并不适合耕作，

The Scots subdued⁴ the environment with simple spades and strong arms. 倔强的苏格兰人凭着双手征服了这片土地。

The history of this ancient struggle, and its people's ancient love affair with the hard land,  苏格兰先民的艰苦劳作与他们自古对这片贫瘠土地的眷恋，

is enclosed within the walls of the Angus Folk Museum.  在安格斯民俗博物馆里一览无余。

You are able to get a feel of the typical rural atmosphere of times past from the everyday artifacts displayed here. 这里展出的都是史前的日常物品，你能从中体味到典型的旧日乡间氛围。

From coastal⁵ Aberdeen in towards the interior of the Grampian Mountains there runs the Castle Trail,  一条古堡之路从沿海的阿伯丁一直蜿蜒到格兰扁山区深处。

a road that touches on many fortresses⁶, which are witnesses of continual revolts against the dominion⁷ of neighboring England in Scottish history. 沿途的众多要塞见证了英格兰不断反抗英格兰统治的历史。

1 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 fortresses   

堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They will establish impregnable fortresses. 他们将建造坚不可摧的城堡。
• Indra smashed through Vritra ninety-nine fortresses, and then came upon the dragon. 因陀罗摧毁了维他的九十九座城堡，然后与维他交手。 来自神话部分

7 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。