第27课

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The 'Vasa'

“瓦萨”号

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What happened to the 'Vasa' almost immediately after she was launched?

“瓦萨”号下水后几乎立刻发生了什么？

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From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden,

17世纪的瑞典王国

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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.

一艘名为“瓦萨”的帆船在1628年首次出航时就沉没了。这个故事一定是航海史上最离奇的事件之一。

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For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956.

她在斯德哥尔摩港湾海底沉睡了将近3个半世纪，直到1956年才被发现。

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This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.

这就是“瓦萨”号，一支强大皇家舰队的旗舰。

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King Gustavus Adolphus 'The Northern Hurricane',

国王古斯塔夫·阿道夫，人称“北方飓风”，

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then at the height of his military success in the 'Thirty Years' War,

当时正处于“三十年战争”军事胜利的巅峰时期，

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had dictated her measurements and armament.

亲自规定了“瓦萨”号的尺寸和武器装备。

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Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon.

三层炮甲板上装载着64门青铜大炮。

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She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.

她注定要在瑞典日益壮大的国力中扮演重要角色。

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As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment.

1628年8月10日，“瓦萨”号准备首次航行，斯德哥尔摩一片沸腾。

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From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands

从海事博物馆码头和周围的岛屿，

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the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind.

人们看着这艘美丽的船开始张帆起航，乘风破浪。

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They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art;

人们辛劳了3年才建造出这艘漂浮的艺术品；

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she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship.

她比以往任何一艘船都雕刻得更精美，装饰得更华丽。

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The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors,

高高的船尾楼雕刻着众神、恶魔、骑士、国王、武士、

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mermaids, cherubs; and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze with red and gold and blue,

美人鱼、小天使；还有栩栩如生的动物造型，它们都被漆成红、金和蓝色，

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symbols of courage, power, and cruelty,

象征着勇气、力量和残酷，

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were portrayed to stir the imaginations of the superstitious sailors of the day.

旨在激发当时迷信水手们的想象力。

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Then the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute to which the Vasa fired in reply.

锚泊的军舰鸣炮致敬，“瓦萨”号也鸣炮回敬。

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As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam beneath her bow,

当她从漂浮的硝烟中驶出，船头下的水花翻腾成泡沫，

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her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze,

旗帜飘扬，三角旗招展，风帆鼓满，

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and the red and gold or her superstructure ablaze with colour,

红金相间的上层建筑色彩斑斓，

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she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before.

她展现出斯德哥尔摩人前所未见的雄伟景象。

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All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them.

所有的炮门都敞开着，炮口不怀好意地探出。

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As the wind freshened there came a sudden squall and the ship made a strange movement, listing to port.

随着风势渐强，一阵突如其来的飑风袭来，船身做了一个奇怪的动作，向左舷倾斜。

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The Ordnance officer ordered all the port cannon to be heaved to starboard

炮兵军官命令将所有左舷的大炮都移到右舷，

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to counteract the list but the steepening angle of the decks increased.

以抵消倾斜，但甲板的倾斜角度反而加剧了。

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Then the sound of rumbling thunder reached the watchers on the shore,

接着，隆隆的雷鸣声传到了岸上的观望者耳中，

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as cargo, ballast, ammunition and 400 people went sliding and crashing down to the port side of the steeply listing ship.

原来是货物、压舱物、弹药和400名船员滑向急剧倾斜的船只的左舷，发出撞击声。

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The lower gun-ports were now below water and the inrush sealed the ship's fate.

下层炮门现在已在水面之下，涌入的海水注定了这艘船的命运。

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In that first glorious hour, the mighty Vasa, which was intended to rule the Baltic,

在那光荣的第一个小时，原本注定要称霸波罗的海的“瓦萨”号，

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sank with all flags flying--in the harbour of her birth.

带着所有飘扬的旗帜，沉入了她诞生时的港口。