新概念英語第四冊
Lesson 27 The 'Vasa'
1 . but the steepening angle or me decks increased.但甲板的傾斜度仍在增加。
2 . The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods,高聳的船樓上雕刻著令人眼花繚亂的神仙、
3 . the story of a galleon that sank at the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea.在1628年，一艘大帆船在處女航開始時就沉沒了，這個流傳至今的故事無疑是航海史上最離奇的事件之一。
4 . King Gustavus Adolphus, 'The Northern Hurricane',當時號稱北方颶風的國王古斯塔夫斯·阿道爾弗斯
5 . This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.這就是"瓦薩號，帝國大艦隊的皇家旗艦。
6 . The lower gun-ports were now below water and the inrush sealed the ship's fate.下層炮眼已淹沒在水裡，湧進船艙的水給瓦薩號帶來了難以逃脫的厄運。
7 . From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind.人們從斯開波斯布朗和周圍的島嶼前來觀看這艘美麗的戰船揚帆起航，乘風前進。
8 . Then the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute to which the Vasa fired in reply.這時，停泊在港口的其他戰船向瓦薩號鳴炮致禮，瓦薩號也鳴炮回禮。
9 . Then the sound of rumbling thunder reached the watchers on the shore, as cargo, ballast,岸上的觀眾聽到船上發出了雷鳴般的轟響。當物品、壓艙物、
10 . then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War,had dictated her measurements and armament.正處在"三十年戰爭"的軍事鼎盛階段，他親自規定了這艘船的規模和武器配備。
11 . As the wind freshened there came a sudden squall and the ship made a strange movement, listing to port.當風力增強時，突然刮來一陣大風，瓦薩號奇怪地搖晃了一下，便向左舷傾斜。
12 . As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam beneath her bow,當"瓦薩號從瀰漫的禮炮煙雲中出現時，船頭下浪花四濺，
13 . The Ordnance Officer ordered all the port cannon to be heaved to starboard to counteract the list,炮長命令把左舷上所有大炮搬到右舷上來以抵消船的傾斜，
14 . They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art;瑞典人辛辛苦苦幹了3年才建成這件水上藝術品，
15 . In that first glorious hour, the mighty Vasa , which was intended to rule the Baltic,就這樣，想要統治波羅的海的大型戰艦"瓦薩號，在它壯麗的起航時刻，
16 . she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship.它比以往任何船隻雕刻得都更加精美，裝飾得都更加華麗。
17 . As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment.在1628年8月10日，瓦薩號準備首航時，斯德哥爾摩一片歡騰。
18 . For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956.這艘大船在斯德哥爾摩港口的海底躺了將近3個半世紀之後，直到1956年才被發現。
19 . and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze with red and gold and blue,還有用紅色、金黃色、藍色繪製的光彩奪目的獸形圖案，
20 . were portrayed to stir the imaginations of the superstitious sailors of the day.以激起當時崇尚迷信的水手們的想像。
21 . she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before.瓦薩號展現的壯觀景像是斯德哥爾摩人從未見過的。
22 . All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them.船上的炮眼都開著，炮口虎視眈眈地向外窺視著。
23 . sank with all flags flying----in the harbour of the birth.帶著全身飄揚的彩旗，沉沒在了它誕生的港口。
24 . Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon.三層的火炮甲板上裝著64門青銅加農炮，
25 . From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden,從17世紀瑞典帝國
26 . She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.目的就是要在不斷增長的瑞典勢力中起主導作用。
27 . her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze,艦旗迎風招展，三角旗隨風飄動，微風鼓起風帆，
28 . and the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with colour,金碧輝煌的船樓閃耀著燦爛的色彩。
29 . ammunition and 400 people went sliding and crashing down to the port side of the steeply listing ship.彈藥和400個人轟地一聲滑向陡斜的左舷時，
30 . symbols of courage, power, and cruelty,象徵著勇敢、力量和殘暴，
31 . demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs;妖魔、騎士、國王、武士、美人魚和小天使，