剑桥大学校园英语情景对话21：颇具争议的克伦威尔（mp3+中英）

A: Yesterday was the 350th anniversary of Oliver Cromweirs death and this anniversary was “celebrated” by the publication of a new book.

A:昨天是克伦威尔逝世350固年纪念日，有人出版了一本新书，以‘‘庆祝”这个纪 念日。

B: I have read that book. That book suggests that the Lord Protector’s reputation should be reassessed in the light of two massacres he conducted in Ireland.

B:我看过那本书。那本书认为护国公克伦威尔的声誉应该要重新评价，因为他在爱 尔兰进行了两次大屠杀。

A： Oliver Cromwell is a controversial figure in the English history. The overwhelming majority of the 150 biographies of Cromwell published over the past century had been favorable. And Cromwell came third in a BBC poll to find the greatest Briton of the second millennium. But in Ireland they have long taken a different view.

A:在英国历史上克伦威尔是一个有争议的人物。上世纪以来出版的150本克伦威尔 的传记中的绝大多数都是对克伦威尔赞誉有加的。在BBC的一个"寻找2000年 以来最杰出的英国人u的投票中，克伦威尔排名第三。但是爱尔兰人早就对他心 怀不满。

B: Yes, it is. According to an Irish historian, the slaughters at Drogheda and Wexford which were led by Cromwell in 1649 ranked among the greatest atrocities in Anglo- Irish history. Though Cromwell is England’s great parliamentarian, he should be It was so cruel. And this act sent shock waves of fear through the rest of Ireland. Other towns surrendered as soon as Cromweirs army approached. But in the eyes of many Britons, he is a hero in the battle between good and evil. And he is a man who restores morale in an age dominated by expediency and compromise, who presses a new political equality and a religious toleration. I can’t deny his popularity in England. He has more roads named after him than any other Englishman and woman except Queen Victoria. He is a dominant figure in the memory of British and Irish history, and probably the one with most disagreement.

B:是的，他的确有争议性。一名爱尔兰历史学家认为，1649年由克伦威尔领导的 德洛格达和韦克斯福德大屠杀在英国——爱尔兰历史上是最残酷的暴行之_。虽 然克伦威尔是英格兰杰出的国会议员，他也应该为战争罪、宗教迫害和种族清洗 感到内疚。当克伦威尔和他的军队登陆爱尔兰时，德洛格达是他们进入的第一个主要城镇。 克伦威尔传召德洛格达的保皇党指挥官并让他投 降。当指挥官拒绝投降时，克伦威尔的模范军就 占领了整个城镇并杀死守备部队共计2500名军官 和平民。这真是残酷。这一举动在爱尔兰的其他地方引起 了恐惧的震动。克伦威尔的军队一接近某个城镇，那个城镇就投降。但在很多英国人眼里，克伦威尔是正义和邪恶之 战中涌现出来的英雄。在一个充斥着权宜之计和 妥协的时代，他重振了土气。他推动并执行了一 种新的政治平等和宗教宽容。我不否认克伦威尔在英格兰很受欢迎。除了维多利亚女王外，以克伦威尔名字命名的道路比任何一个英国人都要多。在英国和爱尔兰历史的回忆中，他是一个主 宰人物，可能也是争议最多的一个。

A: This topic is so serious. Shall we switch to another topic?

A:这个话题太严肃了，我们换其他话题好吗？

B: Sure. Have you ever heard of the ghost of Cromwell? Rumor has it that Cromwell has returned as a ghost to his lifetime haunts.

B:好啊。你听说过克伦威尔的幽灵吗？据传闻，克伦威尔化作鬼魂回到了他生前住 的地方。

A: Yes. And I often think that, in order for someone to return as a ghost, his life must have been unfulfilled in some way, perhaps ending tragically, prematurely, or violently.

A:我也听过这个传闻。而且我经常想，某人要化作鬼魂归来，他的生活必须是在某 种意义上设有得到满足，可能是悲剧性、过早地死去或是死于非命。

B: There have been so many reported sightings of ghosts and odd happenings at Oliver Cromweirs House.

B:据报道，有很多人看见克伦威尔的房子里有鬼魂和奇怪的事情发生。

A: Oliver Cromweirs home in Ely has now been turned into a museum documenting Cromweirs life and the history of the Civil War period.

A:克伦威尔在伊利的家现在已经变成一个博物馆，记录克伦威尔的生活和英国内战 时期的历史。

B： A woman, who once stayed at the house with her husband, described seeing the figure of a powerful man who gripped her arm firmly before disappearing. She believed it was the ghost of Cromwell.

B: 一个曾经和丈夫一起在克伦威尔房子里呆过的女人，说她看见了一个强壮的男人， 那个男人在消失之前牢牢地抓住她的肩膀。她相信那就是克伦威尔的幽灵。

A: Well, it seems we don’t need to go to Madame Tussauds to see famous dead British people.

A:那看来我们不必去杜莎夫人蜡像馆看故去的英国名人了。

B： Ha-ha, I’d rather choose to go to Madame Tussauds.
 

B:哈哈，我还是宁愿去杜莎夫人蜡像馆。