新概念英语第四册自学导读：第九课王室谍报活动(下)

9-13. So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy.

【译文】因此，面对丹麦人的进攻，阿尔弗雷德没有贸然同敌人正面开战，而是采用骚扰敌人。

【讲解】faced with the Danish advance作时间状语，修饰risk和harried。

【单词和短语】

harry:（时常）袭击；掠夺；抢劫；蹂躏（to keep attacking an enemy）。

9-14. He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him.

【译文】他一直在运动中，牵着敌人在后面跟着跑。

【讲解】drawing the Danes after him作结果状语，修饰was constantly on the move。

9-15. His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army.

【译文】他派出巡逻队阻止敌人抢劫：因而饥饿侵袭着丹麦军队。

【讲解】parties后的冒号引出说明语，表结果。

【单词和短语】

halt：使停止前进；使停止；使终止（to prevent someone or something from continuing），

例如：
No one can halt the advance of history.
谁也阻挡不了历史的前进。

assail：攻击，袭击（to attack someone or something violently），

例如：
assail a fort 攻要塞

9-16. Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes—and within a month the Danes had surrendered.

【译文】阿尔弗雷德这时发起一连串小规模进攻，结果不出一月丹麦人就投降了。

【讲解】skirmishes后的破折号引出被强调的部分，这里的and表示结果。

【单词和短语】

skirmish：小规模战斗；小冲突（a fight between small groups of soldiers, ships etc, especially one that happens away from the main part of a battle），

例如：
a street skirmish 巷战
a border skirmish 边境冲突

9-17. The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!

【译文】这段历史可说是王室谍报活动中独一无二的华章。

【单词和短语】

epic：史诗，叙事诗（a book, poem, or film tells a long story about brave actions and exciting events），

例如：
Homer’s Iliad and Milton’s Paradise Lost are epics.
荷马的《伊利亚特》和弥尔顿的《失乐园》是史诗。

espionage：（the activity of secretly finding out secret information and giving it to a country’s enemies or a company’s competitors），

例如：
use espionage to find out other countries’ military secrets
用间谍手段探出别国的军事机密

Three persons have been arrested on espionage charges.
三个人被指控犯间谍活动罪而被捕