010 来自东方的风暴

旁白 neutral

Laurie was lying on the floor of Grandpa's study one rainy afternoon, doing her homework

一个雨天的下午，劳丽趴在爷爷书房的地板上做作业。

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She saw a crumpled piece of paper near the trash can and smoothed it out

她看见垃圾桶旁边有张皱巴巴的纸，就把它展平了。

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" Hey, Grandpa, what's this? Did you draw it?" she asked, looking at a drawing of a vicious-looking man on a horse

“嘿，爷爷，这是什么？是你画的吗？”她看着一幅画，上面有个凶神恶煞的男人骑在马上，问道。

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" That is the work of a talented student, not me

“那是一个有才华的学生画的，不是我。”

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He found it more entertaining to draw Attila the Hun than to listen to my lecture on Hun artifacts," Grandpa said

“他觉得画匈奴王阿提拉比听我讲匈奴文物更有趣。”爷爷说。

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" Attila the Hun? I've heard of him! Wasn't he a horrible villain?" Laurie asked

“匈奴王阿提拉？我听说过他！他不是很可怕的大坏蛋吗？”劳丽问。

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" Well, it depends on who you ask," Grandpa said, joining Laurie on the floor

“嗯，这得看你问谁了。”爷爷说着，也坐到地板上，来到劳丽身边。

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" The Huns were a group of nomadic horsemen who lived on the steppes of western central Asia

“匈奴人是一群游牧骑兵，生活在中亚西部的草原上。

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Most of what we know about them was written down by men of the Roman Empire — the empire the Huns invaded

我们对他们的了解大多来自罗马帝国的人记载——就是那个被匈奴人入侵的帝国。

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Since the Huns had no written history of their own, it is difficult for historians to explain their past

因为匈奴人自己没有文字历史，所以历史学家很难解释他们的过去。

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But we know they lived in big tents made of wooden frames covered in wool

但我们知道他们住在木头框架、覆盖羊毛的大帐篷里。

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And they moved around when the seasons changed to find new grazing land for their large herds of cattle, sheep, and horses

而且他们随着季节变化而迁移，为他们庞大的牛群、羊群和马匹寻找新的牧场，

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which they depended on for food

他们靠这些牲畜获取食物。

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And we know that they had a big impact on the Roman Empire."

而且我们知道他们对罗马帝国产生了巨大影响。”

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Laurie heard a rumble of thunder and looked outside. The sky had grown dark

劳丽听到一声雷响，向窗外看去。天空已经暗了下来。

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" Meanwhile the Romans lived in busy cities

“与此同时，罗马人生活在繁忙的城市里。

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They were developing governments, conquering neighboring lands, and organizing taxes

他们在发展政府，征服邻国，并组织税收。

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Imagine what they must have thought when they encountered the Huns!

想象一下，当他们遇到匈奴人时，他们一定是怎么想的！

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They couldn't understand their language or way of life

他们无法理解他们的语言或生活方式。

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So they called these very different people barbarians, which is actually what they called anyone who was not from Rome."

所以他们把这些截然不同的人称为野蛮人，实际上他们把所有非罗马人都称为野蛮人。”

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" When I eat with my hands, Mom says,' Stop acting like a barbarian!'" Laurie said

“我用手吃饭时，妈妈会说，‘别像个野蛮人似的！’”劳丽说。

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" She just doesn't understand my way of eating!"

“她就是不懂我的吃饭方式！”

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" Exactly!" Grandpa laughed." But don't tell your mother I said that

“没错！”爷爷笑道，“不过别告诉你妈妈我这么说。”

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Anyway, back to the Huns. They were the greatest horsemen in the world at the time

好了，回到匈奴人。他们当时是世界上最厉害的骑手。

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Old tales say that Hun children were taught to ride horses soon after they learned to walk

古老传说讲，匈奴小孩刚学会走路不久，就被教着骑马。

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By the time they were adults, they were fast, skilled riders

等他们长大成人，就已经是快速又熟练的骑手了。

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They had to be, because horses were their main means of transportation

他们必须如此，因为马是他们主要的交通工具。

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Hun warriors also fought on horseback. They would race into villages, firing arrows, looking larger than life, and terrifying the villagers

匈奴战士也在马背上作战。他们会冲进村庄，一边射箭，显得高大威猛，把村民吓坏。

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It is said that Hun warriors cut and scarred their faces in order to make themselves look more frightening!"

据说，匈奴战士会划伤自己的脸，留疤让自己看起来更吓人！”

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Laurie jumped as a bright flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by a clap of thunder

一道明亮的闪电照亮天空，接着一声雷响，劳丽吓了一跳。

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" Around the fourth century, the Huns began moving west — like a dark storm cloud — raining terror on everything in their path

"大约在四世纪，匈奴人开始向西迁移——就像一团黑色的暴风云——将恐惧如雨般倾泻在他们路途上的一切事物上。

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Maybe they needed more land for their herds or maybe they were driven away by the strong walls China had built to keep them off Chinese territory

也许他们需要更多的土地来放牧，又或许是被中国为阻挡他们进入领土而修建的坚固城墙驱赶出来的。

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The important thing is that when the Huns moved west, they forced other barbarians off their land

重要的是，当匈奴人向西迁移时，他们强迫其他蛮族离开了自己的土地。

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So then these other barbarian tribes had to move farther west

于是，这些蛮族部落就不得不向更西的地方迁移。

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They moved into the Roman Empire, upsetting cities there

他们进入了罗马帝国，搅得那里的城市不得安宁。

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Some tribes became part of the Roman Empire

有些部落融入了罗马帝国。

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Some lived right on the borders. And others just caused trouble

有些就生活在边境上。而另外一些则只是制造麻烦。

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The Visigoths, one powerful tribe, were farmers who needed land to grow crops

西哥特人是一个强大的部落，他们是需要土地来种植庄稼的农民。

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After fighting Roman armies for some years, they settled within the empire

在与罗马军队作战几年后，他们在帝国内部定居下来。

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In exchange for land and peace, they defended the empire's borders

作为获得土地与和平的交换，他们保卫帝国的边境。

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But the Visigoths soon grew unhappy because the Romans didn't give them everything they had promised

但西哥特人很快就变得不满，因为罗马人没有兑现他们承诺的一切。

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In the fourth century, the fearless Visigoth leader named Alaric led his soldiers into cities in what is now Italy and Greece

公元四世纪，西哥特人无畏的领袖，名叫阿拉里克，带领他的士兵进入了现今意大利和希腊境内的城市。

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The Visigoths invaded, stole what they wanted, and left. This is called sacking

西哥特人入侵、抢夺他们想要的东西，然后离开。这被称为洗劫。

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In 410 AD the Visigoths sacked Rome

公元410年，西哥特人洗劫了罗马。

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It was a huge shock to the Romans, and many feared it would be the end of the greatest empire in the world."

这对罗马人来说是一个巨大的打击，许多人担心这会是这个世界上最伟大帝国的末日。

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" Was it?" asked Laurie

“是吗？”劳丽问道。

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" No. The Roman Empire held on for a while longer, and the barbarian invasions continued

“不。罗马帝国又撑了一段时间，蛮族的入侵还在继续。

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The next major attack was from the Huns."

下一次大规模的攻击来自匈人。”

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Grandpa took something out of his pocket and tossed it to Laurie." Heads up!"

爷爷从口袋里掏出什么东西，抛给了劳丽。“接着！”

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She opened her palm and saw it was a coin

她摊开手掌，发现是一枚硬币。

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" In the fifth century, Attila the Hun — the man on that coin you're holding — rose to power

“在五世纪，匈奴王阿提拉——你手中硬币上的那个人——崛起了。

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He gathered thousands of Hun warriors and led them into southeastern Europe

他聚集了数千名匈奴勇士，率领他们进入东南欧。

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After he conquered those lands, he moved his armies into Roman territories in modern-day Poland, Hungary, and Germany

征服那些土地后，他又将军队开进罗马帝国位于今日波兰、匈牙利和德国的领土。

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The Huns became wealthy by looting cities, but also by taking prisoners and selling them

匈奴人通过掠夺城市变得富有，但也通过俘虏和贩卖人口获利。

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And they made money from peace treaties

他们还通过和平条约赚钱。

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These treaties often required the Romans to pay large amounts of money to the Huns

这些条约往往要求罗马人向匈奴人支付大笔金钱。

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One treaty demanded nine hundred kilograms of gold a year!"

有一份条约甚至要求每年支付九百公斤黄金！”

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" So what happened? Did the Huns become the richest, most powerful people in the world?" Laurie asked

“后来呢？匈奴人成了世界上最富有、最强大的民族了吗？”劳丽问道。

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" They didn't, although it seemed possible at one point

“他们没有，虽然曾经看似有可能。

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Attila the Hun died in 453 AD. He died of something silly — a nosebleed, they say — on his wedding night

匈奴王阿提拉于公元453年去世。据说，他死因很可笑——在新婚之夜流鼻血而死。

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How sad for a warrior who had survived so many battles

对于一个历经无数战役的勇士来说，这多么可悲。

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Shortly after that a civil war broke out among the Huns, destroying their empire

不久之后，匈奴人内部爆发内战，摧毁了他们的帝国。

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But the damage they and the other barbarians had done to the Roman Empire had weakened it forever

但他们和其他蛮族对罗马帝国造成的破坏，已使其永久衰弱。

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It, too, soon collapsed. The different regions created new governments and boundaries

罗马帝国也很快崩溃了。不同地区建立了新政府和疆界。

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Slowly Europe as we know it began to take shape."

我们今天所知的欧洲，就这样慢慢开始成形。”

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Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and suddenly the lights went out

闪电划过，雷声轰鸣，突然灯灭了。

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" Ahh!" Laurie shrieked. Grandpa reached for a candle by the window and lit it

“啊！”劳丽尖叫起来。爷爷伸手拿起窗边的一支蜡烛，点燃了它。

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" Here I am, Laurie." He put his arm around his granddaughter

“我在这儿，劳丽。”他搂住孙女。

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" And if a scar-faced barbarian comes crashing through that door, don't worry — I'll protect you!"

“要是有一个满脸疤痕的野蛮人破门而入，别担心——我会保护你的！”

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He held the candle up like a torch

他像举火炬一样举起蜡烛。

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" Grandpa!" Laurie giggled

“爷爷！”劳丽咯咯笑起来。

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" Laurie? Grandpa? Are you guys okay up there?" Dad shouted from downstairs

“劳丽？爷爷？你们在上面还好吗？”爸爸在楼下喊道。

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" We're okay, Dad! Safe and sound," Laurie answered

“我们很好，爸爸！安然无恙，”劳丽回答。