The Patriot《爱国者》（视频精讲之四）

影片对白

TAVINGTON: I dare to presume my own meager¹ contributions will be rewarded one day.

CORNWALLIS: You may presume too much. His Majesty², like history, judges us not only by the outcome of the war and the manner in which it was fought. Although we serve the Crown, and we must conduct ourselves accordingly. Surrounding troops will be given quarter. These brutal³ tactics must stop!

TAVINGTON: Is it not enough, my lord, that I have never lost a battle?

CORNWALLIS: You serve me and the manner in which you serve me reflects upon me. I would've thought that a gentleman from a family as esteemed⁵ as yours would understand that.

TAVINGTON: My late father squandered⁶ any esteem⁴ in which we were held along with my inheritance. I advance myself only through victory.

CORNWALLIS: You advance yourself only through my good graces. These colonials are our brethren. And when this conflict is over, we will reestablish commerce with them. Do you understand, Colonel?

TAVINGTON: Perfectly⁷, my lord. 

GABRIEL: Reverend, with your permission, I'd like to make an announcement.

REV⁸. OLIVER: Young man, this is a house of God.

GABRIEL: I understand, Reverend, and I apologize. The South Caroline militia⁹ is being called up. I'm here to enlist¹⁰ everyman willing.

REV. OLIVER: Son, we are here to pray for the souls of those men hanging outside.

GABRIEL: Yes, pray for them. But honor them by taking up arms with us.

HARDWICK: And bring more suffering to this town?

SCOTT: If King George can hang those men, our friends, he can hang any one of us.

ANNE: Dan Scott, barely a week ago I heard you railed for two hours about independence. Mr. Hardwick, how many times have I heard you speak of freedom at my father's table? Half the men in this church, including you, Father, and you, Reverend, are as ardent¹¹ patriots¹³ as I. Will you know, when you are needed most, stop at only words? Is that the sort of men you are? I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.

GABRIEL: Who's with us?

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Quarter

这里的quarter可不是"四分之一，一刻钟"的意思，而是"（对降敌的）饶命，饶恕，宽容"，例如：He has got no quarter from the competitors whom he had forced out of business. 那些被他挤出生意圈的竞争对手们对他毫不宽容。

Quarter常用来搭配的表达有to give quarter，to ask for quarter。

2. Good graces

意指"favor; friendship"，Cornwallis 这里的意思是没有他的器重和帮助，Tavington是不可能高升的。

再给大家介绍一个关于good graces的短语：with good graces，意思是"欣然地"，例如：They had tried hard to win but accepted their loss with good grace.

3. Call up

Call up 在这里的意思是"召集，征召……入伍"，例如：He was called up for active duty.

此外，call up还可以表示"使人想起……"，例如：These stories call up old times.

Call up 现在的最新用法是"调出电脑数据"，例如：I asked him to call up the last quarter's sales figures.

4. Take up arms

"带上武器"能去干什么？当然是"奔赴战场，与敌人战斗"了。Take up arms 不仅指真刀真枪的战斗，还指语言上的交锋，我们来看两个例子：
The Kurds took up arms against the Iranians at least two centuries ago.
Some believe it's the vice-president's job to take up the arms for the president.

文化面面观

美国独立战争中的民兵

Militias¹⁴, a form of citizen-based defense¹⁵ that shaped early American history and created an American tradition of citizen soldiery. Early American colonies faced dangers from Native American and European foes¹⁶. Colonial governments quickly established universal military obligation for white males. At its simplest, men were armed or ordered to arm themselves, organized into units, and trained. In practice, the compulsory¹⁷ militia system worked poorly.

The American Revolution gave new life to the militia. As unrest grew, revolutionary governments formed that subverted¹⁸ the militia away from royal governors. The militia formed a major portion of patriot¹² forces, achieving fame at Lexington and Bunker Hill in 1775, and playing important roles in American victories throughout the war, such as Saratoga (1777) and Cowpens (1781). Just as often, however, militias proved unreliable, breaking in battle or leaving before a battle could even be fought. George Washington penned a famous lament¹⁹ about the militia in 1776: "They come in you cannot tell how, go you cannot tell when, and act you cannot tell where, consume your provisions, exhaust your stores, and leave you at last at a critical moment." Yet Washington himself had a shrewd understanding of how to use militias as auxiliary²⁰ and partisan²¹ forces in his campaigns. In addition to strictly²² military concerns, the militia played an important role in securing the countryside and subduing²³ Loyalist sentiment.

考考你

将下面的这段话译成汉语。

Dan Scott, barely a week ago I heard you railed for two hours about independence. Mr. Hardwick, how many times have I heard you speak of freedom at my father's table? Half the men in this church, including you, Father, and you, Reverend, are as ardent patriots as I. Will you know, when you are needed most, stop at only words? Is that the sort of men you are? I ask only that you act upon the beliefs of which you have so strongly spoken and in which you so strongly believe.

The Patriot《爱国者》（精讲之三）考考你 参考答案

1． 我没有心情和你去看电影。
I'm in no mood to see a film with you.

2． 威廉将军把敌人彻底击溃了。
General William finished off the enemy.

3． 你们最好把钱交给我们。
You're better off giving us the money.

1 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

2 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

5 esteemed   

adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为

参考例句：

• The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

11 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

12 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

13 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

14 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

17 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

18 subverted   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Their wills could be subverted only by death. 只有死神才能使他们放弃他们的意志。 来自教父部分
• Indiana State laws deliberately subverted the intent of the constitutions 14th Amendment. 印第安纳州的法律有意歪曲联邦宪法第十四条修正案的愿意。 来自辞典例句

19 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

20 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

21 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

22 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

23 subduing   

征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗

参考例句：

• They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。
• Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为：是精神，神秘色彩十分慑。