【BBC紀錄片】凡爾賽宮 第67期：路易十六與美利堅合眾國

When the British finally gave up fighting in America

當英國最終放棄了美國這塊殖民地

and recognised the new country's independence,

并承認這新生的美利堅合眾國就此獨立

it looked like Louis had achieved a famous victory.

路易似乎大獲全勝

But even as Versailles celebrated,

可是 就在凡爾賽宮上下一片歡騰之時

his courtiers were whispering

路易的侍臣們卻在悄悄說著閑話

that France was not getting what it expected

他們說國家為了支持美國打仗而借了巨貸

from a war it had financed on borrowed money.

但是從中撈取的好處卻少得可憐

Louis had hoped for an economic boost from the war,

路易原本希望這場戰(zhàn)爭能夠促進經(jīng)濟增長

but the Americans had other ideas.

可美國人卻心存他念

The Americans preferred to

美國人還是更愿意

continue to trade with England,

繼續(xù)與英國人做生意

so France actually ended up

所以到頭來

spending an awful lot of money on a war

法國在戰(zhàn)爭中投入了大筆資金

from which she got very little tangible benefit.

卻只從中撈得了一丁點實際的好處

Turgot, the ex-Minister Of Finances says,

前財政部長杜爾哥曾預言

The first gunshot will drive the state to bankruptcy.

只需戰(zhàn)事一起 整個國家就會宣告破產(chǎn)

Well, he's wrong,

這話說太早了

but he's only wrong by a few years,

但不久之后 他的預言便會靈驗了

because the impact of that war on French finances

因為資助美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭 讓法國的財政

is absolutely terrible.

付出了十分慘痛的代價

一.fight：n.戰(zhàn)斗, 打架, 斗志 vt.打架, 對抗 vi.奮斗, 斗爭, 爭吵

【語法用法】

fight后常跟不同的介詞，如with，against等。在表示與自然災害搏斗，如“洪水”，“火災”等時，后面絕不可與介詞against連用。

They are fighting with their enemy.

They are fighting against their enemy.

They are fighting the fire.

【錯句舉例與錯句分析】

錯句: They prepared themselves to fight against the flood.

訂正: They prepared themselves to fight the flood.

翻譯: 他們準備好與肆虐的洪水搏斗。

分析: 在表示“與自然災害搏斗”的時候，fight后面不跟against。

【詞義辨析】

battle, war, campaign, struggle, warfare, fight, combat, engagement

這些名詞均有“戰(zhàn)斗，戰(zhàn)爭”之意。

battle側重指戰(zhàn)爭中的一次較全面、時間較長的戰(zhàn)斗，也指陸軍或海軍在某一特定地區(qū)進行的戰(zhàn)斗，或個人之間的爭斗。

war是戰(zhàn)爭的總稱，一般指包括多個戰(zhàn)役的大規(guī)模戰(zhàn)爭。

campaign通常指在一場大的戰(zhàn)爭中在某一地區(qū)進行的一連串有既定目的的軍事行動。也可作引申用。

struggle指激烈或時間持續(xù)長的戰(zhàn)斗或奮力斗爭。

warfare側重指戰(zhàn)爭狀態(tài)或具體的作戰(zhàn)方法。

fight最普通用詞，含義廣，指戰(zhàn)斗、斗爭或打斗。

combat泛指軍事行動，尤指小規(guī)模的戰(zhàn)斗，甚至是格斗。

engagement指交戰(zhàn)，交火。

【例句用法】

She fought like a tiger to get what she wanted.

她竭力爭取自己想要的東西。

He was unhappy in his job for years but always fought shy of telling his boss.

他多年來工作都很不愉快，卻始終未向老板啟齒。

The boxer has fought many opponents.

該拳手已與許多對手交鋒。

The news of defeat took all the fight out of us.

失敗的消息奪走了我們所有的斗志。

He was always fighting with his neighbors about the noise.

他常常為了噪音和鄰居們爭吵。

二.terrible：adj.可怕的, 極度的, 糟糕的

【詞義辨析】

afraid, fearful, awful, dreadful, frightful, terrible, horrible, terrific, appalling

這些形容詞均含“害怕的、可怕的”之意。

afraid指由于膽小或怯懦而不敢說或做某事。

fearful普通用詞，既指外界情況變化而引起的恐懼，又指來自內(nèi)心的害怕與焦慮。

awful指威嚴得令人害怕或敬畏，有一定的感情色彩。

dreadful指使人非?？謶?，毛骨悚然，也使人感到討厭而退縮。

frightful指使人陷入短暫的驚恐或產(chǎn)生毛骨悚然的感覺。

terrible側重指給人以長久的驚駭，極端的恐怖，令人難以忍受。

horrible指因駭人聽聞的丑惡而令人毛骨悚然，著重厭惡的成分多于害怕。

terrific多指外表、形狀或力量等的可怕。

appalling指既令害怕又使人驚異、膽寒。

【例句用法】

The earthquake was a terrible catastrophe.

這次地震是個可怕的災難。

Unlike my sister, I am a terrible cook.

和我妹妹不同，我是一個糟糕的廚師。

If they had any respect for human life they wouldn't do such terrible things.

他們?nèi)绻€顧及人的生命就不會做出這樣可怕的事來。

What terrible weather!

多壞的天氣。

The government didn't allow reporting the terrible accident.

政府不允許報道那起嚴重事故。