This battle marked the downfall of Hannibal2), one of history's most famous and daring generals. For more than 60 years, the Carthaginians and the Romans fought for world power. For 16 of those years Hannibal, the Carthaginian leader, was able to hold off the Romans—until the battle of Zama. Though the Carthaginians had 15,000 fewer warriors, Hannibal thought he had solved the problem. He had 80 elephants, which he would use to send the Roman army fleeing3) in terror and confusion. But when Hannibal set the elephants free in the Roman ranks, the animals took the easier route and ran the other way! Hannibal and his army lost 11 elephants, the battle, and the war. 
汉尼拔是历史上最著名最勇敢的将军之一,而这次战役则标志着他的倒台。六十多年间,迦太基和罗马为了争夺世界霸权持续交战。迦太基统帅汉尼拔成功抵御了罗马人16年——直到扎马战役爆发。尽管迦太基只有不到1.5万名士兵,但汉尼拔认为自己已然将问题解决了,他决定用自己的80头大象将罗马军队打得落荒而逃。然而,当汉尼拔把大象放入罗马士兵阵中时,这些大象选择了更容易的途径,从另一条路逃跑了!汉尼拔和他的军队失去了11头大象,输掉了这场战役,也输掉了整场战争。
The battle of Marathon is famous, not only because the underdog4) won, but also because of a legend of courage and sacrifice. Darius I5), the leader of Persia, Egypt, Babylon, and India, decided to become the ruler of Greece as well. But the Greeks, armed only with javelins6) and swords, defeated the much larger and better armed Persian army. What we remember today is the story of the messenger who brought the good news to Athens, the capital of Greece. Upon completing his 26-mile run, legend says he delivered his message, collapsed, and died. Today, the word marathon means a footrace of exactly 26 miles, 385 yards.
马拉松战役的出名不仅是因为被侵略者获得了胜利,还因为它有一段有关勇气和献身精神的传奇故事。大流士一世是波斯、埃及、巴比伦和印度的统治者,他还想将希腊纳入自己的统治范围。但是,只有投枪和剑作为武器的希腊军队却打败了人数更多、武器也更精良的波斯军队。今天我们记住的是那个把胜利的消息带回希腊首都雅典的信使的故事。传说,他跑了26英里的路程,完成传递消息的任务后,就突然倒下死去了。今天,“马拉松”这个词指整整26英里385码的赛跑项目。
This battle resulted in the Norman conquest of England. Edward the Confessor7), the king of England, had no sons and promised that when he died his throne would go to his cousin William, duke of Normandy. On his deathbed, however, the king chose Harold, the powerful earl8) of Wessex, as king. An enraged9) William rushed into battle to claim the English throne. At the battle's height, the Normans pretended to flee. When the English ran after them, the Normans turned and attacked them again. Harold was shot in the face with an arrow and died on the battlefield, leaving the throne to William. To this day, the English royal family can be traced back to William the Conqueror.
这次战役的结果是诺曼人征服了英格兰。当时的英格兰国王忏悔者爱德华没有男性继承人,他答应死后将王位传给他的侄子诺曼底公爵威廉。然而临终前,他却选择了有权有势的韦塞克斯伯爵哈罗德来当新国王。愤怒的威廉马上发动战争抢夺英国王位。战争高潮时,诺曼人佯装溃退,当英国人穷追猛赶时,他们便回头反击。最终,哈罗德被一支箭射中面部,死在了战场上,将王位输给了威廉。至今,英国王室家族仍可追溯到征服者威廉(编者注:即当今的皇室家族仍是威廉的后代)。
This was the opening battle of the American Revolution. British troops led by General Thomas Gage were moving from Boston toward Lexington and Concord to capture the rebel10) leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock and destroy their military supplies. The colonists were warned when Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride, shouting, "The British are coming!" At Lexington and Concord, armed colonists, called Minutemen, resisted the British. Ralph Waldo Emerson later wrote a poem describing this conflict as "the shot heard round the world". The fighting ended almost a year later, when the British evacuated11) Boston. On July 4, 1776, representatives from the 13 colonies signed The Declaration of Independence to gain their freedom from Great Britain.
这是美国革命的首次战役。托马斯·盖奇将军率领英国军队从波士顿向列克星敦和康科德进发,目的是抓捕反叛军领导人塞缪尔·亚当斯和约翰·汉考克,同时摧毁他们的军事补给。保罗·里维尔的著名午夜骑行就发生在这一时期,他骑马赶来,大声呼喊着:“英国人来了!”殖民地的人因此提前得到了消息。在列克星敦和康科德,武装起来的殖民地人(或称之为民兵)面对英军的侵袭,奋起抵抗。拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生后来写了一首诗来描述这次战斗:“枪声响彻世界。”将近一年之后,英国人撤出了波士顿,战争由此结束。1776年7月4日,来自13个殖民地的代表签署了《独立宣言》,宣告其脱离英国获得自由。
This battle ended not only Napoleon's Hundred Days' War but also 23 years of almost constant war between France and the rest of Europe. France and England had been enemies for hundreds of years. The battle of Waterloo was fought by the English forces and their allies, some 68,000 men under Arthur Wellesley (later the duke of Wellington), with 45,000 Prussians under Gebhard von Blücher against the French emperor Napoleon, with almost 72,000 men. Casualties12) of 25,000 men destroyed the French army. Soon after this crushing defeat, Napoleon was exiled13) on the island of Saint Helena, where he died six years later. Waterloo has since come to mean a disastrous defeat of any nature.
这场战役不仅结束了拿破仑的百日战争,也终结了法国和其他欧洲国家23年间几乎从未间断过的战争。法国和英格兰几百年来一直都是敌人。滑铁卢战役是由英国和其同盟国军队,包括阿瑟·韦尔斯利(后来成为惠灵顿公爵)率领的大约6.8万名士兵和格布哈特·冯·布吕歇尔率领的4.5万名普鲁士士兵,同法国国王拿破仑率领的7.2万名士兵进行的战斗。2.5万名士兵的伤亡使法国军队大伤元气,输掉了这场战斗。在这次毁灭性的失败后不久,拿破仑被流放到圣赫勒拿岛,六年之后在那里去世。从此,滑铁卢成为所有损失惨重的败仗的代名词。
The greatest battle of the American Civil War, Gettysburg marked the northernmost advance of the Confederate forces and is considered the war's turning point. Three bloody days of fighting ended in the failure of the Confederate army, led by General Robert E. Lee, to invade the North. Though his army outnumbered the Union forces under Major General George G. Meade, the North expected the Confederates to charge16) and try to break the center of its line. Cut down by enemy fire, the Confederates were quickly overwhelmed; only 150 out of 15,000 Southerners reached the Union lines. This decisive17) victory for the North was the beginning of the end of the Confederacy.
葛底斯堡战役是美国内战中最大的战役,它标志着北部联邦军队取得了对南部邦联军队的战争优势,也被认为是美国内战的转折点。血腥的战斗持续了三天,最后,罗伯特·E·李将军率领邦联军队进攻北部,以其失败结束了这场战役。虽然他率领的南军人数多于乔治·G·米德少将率领的北军,但北军料定南军会发起冲锋,试图突破其封锁线的中心地带。受到敌人火力阻击的南军很快便败退下来;1.5万名南军士兵中,只有150名冲到了北军的阵地上。这次北方联邦军队决定性的胜利标志着南部邦联瓦解的开端。
1. Carthage [5kB:WIdV] n. 迦太基(古代北非一奴隶制国家,在今突尼斯境内)
2. Hannibal [5hAnIbEl] n. 汉尼拔(247~183或182BC),迦太基统帅,率大军远征意大利,从而发动第二次布匿战争。曾三次重创罗马军队,终因缺乏后援而撤离意大利,后被罗马军多次击败,服毒自杀。
3. flee [fli:] vi. 逃走,逃掉
4. underdog [5QndEdC^] n. (在竞争或斗争中)失败的人(或一方);处于劣势的人(或一方)
5. Darius I: 大流士一世(550?~486BC),波斯帝国国王,在位期间为帝国最盛时期,加强中央集权统治,铸统一金币大流克,发展交通,鼓励贸易,对外推行扩张政策,入侵希腊,败于马拉松。
6. javelin [5dVAvElIn] n. (打猎或作战用的)投枪
7. Edward the Confessor: (忏悔者)爱德华(1003~1066),英格兰国王,因笃信宗教,获“忏悔者”称号,兴建伦敦威斯敏斯特教堂,放逐权贵戈德温,重用异族宠臣,后因戈德温兴兵叛乱而被迫恢复其权势。
8. earl [\:l] n. (英国的)伯爵
9. enrage [In5reIdV] vt. 激怒;使狂怒
10. rebel [5rebEl] n. 反叛分子,造反者;反抗者,反对者
11. evacuate [I5vAkjueIt] vt. 撤离,撤出
12. casualty [5kAVjuEltI] n. [常作复数] (军队的)伤亡人员(包括伤、亡、病、失踪、被俘等)
13. exile [5eksaIl, 5e^z-] vt. 流放,放逐;使流亡
14. Union [5ju:njEn] n. (美国南北战争期间)支持联邦政府的北部各州
15. Confederacy [kEn5fedErEsI] n. (1860~1861年南北战争时南部11州的)南部邦联
16. charge [tFB:dV] vi. 冲锋,向前冲
17. decisive [dI5saIsIv] adj. 决定性的