女巫 Witches

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Michelle and joining me today is Neil.
欢迎来到6分钟英语BBC英语学习栏目。我是米歇尔，今天参与我们节目的还有尼尔。
Hello there.
大家好。
Now it may be well past Halloween but our topic today is a tale of the strange and supernatural. We’re talking about witches.But before we start on our mysterious journey, I’ve got a quiz question for you Neil. Are you ready?
虽然现在万圣节已经过去了，但我们今天的话题仍是一个奇异、超自然的事情。我们谈谈女巫。但在我们的神秘之旅开始之前，我有个测验问题想提问尼尔。你准备好了吗？
Yes come on then.
准备好了。
How many people across Europe do you think were executed for witchcraft that’s the practice of magic - between the years 1500 and 1800? Was it: a) 10,000 peopleb) 20,000 peoplec) 50,000 people
在1500年到1800年之间，在欧洲有多少人由于巫术而遭受处决呢？有：a)10000人b)20000人c)50000人
Well, you’d hope it was none of them really – that sounds awful to be executed for making magic. But let’s go with a) 10,000 because I hope it’s nobody really.
你应该希望答案都是错误的，的确由于巫术而遭受处决听起来很可怕。我选择a)10000吧，但我真希望没有人因此受害。
OK, well you’ll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Our scene is set in Pendle Hill in the north-west of England. Engineers doing maintenance work there were extremely surprised to find the remains of a seventeenth century house, which some people believe may be linked to a group of witches.
好的，我们将在节目的最后公布答案。我们的场景发生在位于英格兰西北部的彭德尔山。在那里做维修工作的工程师非常惊讶地发现了17世纪房子的残骸，有些人认为这可能与一群女巫有关。
Yes, the Pendle witches were a group of people who were famously tried for murder for witchcraft in the seventeenth century. Ten of them were found guilty and they were hanged.
彭德尔女巫是一群在17世纪因谋杀罪受审的人们。十人被判有罪，并施以绞刑。
So Pendle Hill has strong links with witchcraft and folklore. And the history of the area remains a tourist attraction today.
所以彭德尔山与巫术和民间传说有着密切的联系。此历史遗迹现在仍是一个旅游景点。
There’s even a special traffic sign warning witches not to fly low on their broomsticks or any faster than 30 miles per hour!
那里甚至有一个特殊的交通标志警示女巫们在扫把上飞的时候位置不要太低且速度不能超过每小时30英里！
And now some people think that the hidden cottage discovered by engineers may have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.
现在有些人认为这座被工程师发现的隐蔽小屋可能属于一位彭德尔女巫。
But what’s the real story behind these people who were so treated unfairly – or persecuted - for being witches?
但是隐藏在这些遭遇迫害、并被如此不公平对待的人们背后真正的故事究竟是什么？
Let’s listen to local tourist guide Simon Entwistle talking about the story behind the Pendle witches. What does he say was their real crime?
有请当地导游西蒙·唐谢恩德为我们讲述彭德尔女巫背后的故事。他认为真正的罪行是什么？
Their only crime in life was to be poor really, and they would beg off local people. And if local people wouldn’t cough up any money, they would curse them and some of them actually believed they did in fact have witches’ powers.Ten villagers were hanged. Simon believes the house just dug up is where they’d met.For a historian tour guide like me, it’s like finding Tutankhamen’s tomb, it’s of such great significance.
他们真正的罪行是他们的贫穷，他们需要向当地人乞讨。如果当地人不给他们钱，他们就会进行诅咒，他们中的一些人真的相信他们确实会巫术。十位村民被绞死。西蒙认为所挖出的房子就是他们的。对于一名像我这样的历史学家导游，这就像是发现了图塔卡蒙墓葬一样有重大意义。
So did you catch what he said the witches’ only real crime was?
所以你听清他所说的女巫的真正罪行了吗？
Yes. He said their only real crime was to be poor.
是的。他说他们的真正罪行是贫穷。
So it’s a really sad story really isn’t it?
这真是一个很悲伤的故事。
The so-called witches may have begged people for money. And then if people didn’t give them any, they would curse them. This means to use supernatural powers to hurt someone.
所谓的女巫们可能曾向人们乞讨。如果人们不给他们钱，他们便会施以诅咒。这便意味着使用超自然的力量去伤害别人。
Tourist guide Simon Entwistle said they would curse local people if they wouldn’t ‘cough up any money’.
导游西蒙·唐谢恩德说如果当地人们不给他们钱，他们就会进行诅咒。
To cough up is a way of saying to produce something, normally money.
“cough up”是一种表达付出某种东西的方式，通常是指金钱。
But he certainly sounds very excited about the discovery of what could be a witches’ house. He even says that to him, it’s like finding Tutankhamen’s tomb!
但听起来他因发现了可能是女巫的房子而异常兴奋。他甚至说对他而言这就像是发现了图坦卡蒙墓葬一样！
And he might be right, because when an archaeologist was brought in, he found the bones of a cat which had apparently been mummified.
他或许是正确的，因为当一名考古学家过来的时候，他发现了已经成为木乃伊了的猫骨。
Mummification is a way the ancient Egyptians preserved a person’s, or in this case animal’s body, after they had died.
木乃伊是古埃及人保存人的尸体，或像这种情况下保存动物尸体的方式。
And even more strangely, the mummified cat was found hidden in one of the walls of the house.
更奇怪的是，木乃伊猫被发现隐藏在房子的外墙处。
And of course witches are often associated with magical animals, especially cats.
当然，女巫常常与神奇的动物相联系，尤其是猫。
Let’s hear from archaeologist Frank Giecco. Does he think that the evidence points to a witch having lived in the house centuries ago?
让我们听听考古学家弗兰克的解说。他是否认为这一证据表明数百年前曾有位女巫住在这座房子里呢？
So here’s the cat, in all its glory.When an archaeologist was brought in, he found the remains of a mummified cat sealed into a wall.How old is that?Well the hallway was blocked about two hundred years ago, judging by the bricks in it. The building’s definitely going back to the 17th Century so that fits in with the period. But we’ve got no evidence to actually concrete connect this up with the witches; that’s just a stab in the dark.
这便是这只猫的荣耀了。当一名考古学家进来的时候，他在墙边发现了隐藏的木乃伊猫遗骨。它有多少年了？从走廊上的砖推断它大约被封锁了200多年。这一建筑物可以被清晰地追溯到17世纪，这也正与那个时代吻合。但我们没有世纪证据将这与巫婆相联系，这只是个任意的猜测。
So what do you think Neil? Does it sound like there’s much evidence for the cottage having belonged to witches?
尼尔，你是怎样认为的呢？他是说有很多证据可以证明那个小屋是属于女巫的吗？
Well, he said there’s no real evidence connecting the house to witches. But he did say that the building goes all the way back to the seventeenth century, which is around the time of the witches’ trial in Pendle Hill. And of course there’s that mummified cat found hidden in a wall. Very strange!
他说的是没有真实证据证明小屋与女巫有联系。但他确实说这个建筑可以追溯至17世纪，即在彭德尔山受到审判的女巫的时代附近。当然，还在一堵墙附近发现了隐藏的木乃伊猫。太奇怪了！
It all sounds very intriguing doesn’t it? But you’re right, the archaeologist thinks there’s no real evidence connecting the house to the Pendle witches. And he uses an interesting expression. He says it’s a stab in the dark, meaning it’s a guess or speculation.
这一切听起来很耐人寻味不是吗？但你是正确的，考古学家认为没有真实证据证明这座房子与彭德尔女巫有关。他使用了一个有趣的表达方式。他使用“a stab in the dark”来表示猜想或是推测。
But whether the new discovery is connected to witches or not, Pendle Hill still has an eerie story to tell.
但无论新发现是否与女巫相关，彭德尔山都流传着一个怪异的故事。
Absolutely. Now Neil it’s time to find out if you got your quiz question right. I asked you how many people across Europe were executed for witchcraft between 1500 and 1800? And what was your answer?
是的。尼尔，现在让我们看看你的答案是否正确吧。我的问题是，在1500年到1800年之间，在欧洲有多少人由于巫术而遭受处决呢？你的答案是什么呢？
I said a) 10,000.
我选择的是a)10000。
Well, I can tell you that unfortunately you were wrong. The answer is c) 50,000 people, which is quite shocking really.
我可以告诉你不幸的是你错了。答案是c)50000人，真的十分骇人听闻。
That’s awful! 50,000!
太可怕了！50000!
Could you remind us of today’s words please Neil?
尼尔，你能提示一下今天我们节目中提及的词汇吗？
We had: supernaturalwitchcrafttried for murderfolklorepersecutedcurseto cough upa stab in the darkeerie
我们有：超自然的巫术因谋杀罪受审民俗迫害咒骂拿出猜测怪诞的
Thanks very much Neil. And thank you for listening. Bye.
谢谢你，尼尔。感谢大家的收听。再见。
Goodbye.
再见。