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书虫二级《亨利八世和他的六位妻子》:1.亨利国王去世

所属教程:书虫2级 亨利八世和他的六位妻子

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2019年06月11日

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1.King Henry is dead
1.亨利国王去世

My name is Catherine Parr. A month ago I was the Queen of England, the wife of King Henry the Eighth. Henry died and we buried him last week in St George's Church, Windsor. Two days ago, on 16th February 1547, I went back to the palace of Whitehall, which was once my home. I wanted to take my letters and books and bring them back to my house.

我叫凯瑟琳·帕尔。一个月前我还是英格兰的王后,国王亨利八世的妻子。亨利去世了,我们上周在温莎的圣乔治教堂埋葬了他。两天前,也就是1547年2月l6日,我回到了白厅的王宫,这儿曾经是我的家。我想拿走我的信件和书籍,把它们带回我的家。

Margaret, my new maid, came to the palace with me. She's very young and doesn't know a lot about the world. She has only just come up to London from her home in Somerset. Perhaps I was like her when I was twelve. I, too, was always asking questions and wanting answers immediately.

我的新侍女玛格丽特和我一起来到王宫。她非常年轻,不谙世事。她刚从她的家乡萨默塞特来到伦敦。我12岁时可能也和她一样,总爱问问题并总想马上知道答案。

When we arrived at the palace, it was cold and dark. We walked into Henry's room. I sat down in one of Henry's large chairs in front of his wooden writing desk and looked at the pictures around the room. Next to me there was a big picture of Henry, when he was young. He was very handsome then, not like the fat old man he was later. I thought his blue eyes were watching me. I turned to Margaret and said:

到达王宫时,那里又冷又暗。我们走进了亨利的房间。我在他那木制写字台前的一把大椅子上坐了下来,环视着屋里的画。我旁边是一张亨利年轻时的大幅画像。那时他非常英俊,不像后来那样又老又胖。我觉得,他的蓝眼睛正注视着我。我转向玛格丽特说:

You see that picture of the King? That's what he was like when he was young—tall and strong and handsome. People say that he never got tired. He could go out riding all day, changing his horses nine or ten times, and then he could dance all night. He was clever, too; he could speak five languages. Will people remember him like that, or will they only remember him because he had six wives?'

“你看到国王的那幅画像了吧?那是他年轻时的样子——高大,强壮,而且英俊。人们说他永远不会疲倦。他能整天在外骑马,换九到十次马,然后还能整夜跳舞。他也非常聪明,会说五种语言。但人们会因为他是这样一个人而记住他,还是仅仅因为他有过六个妻子而记住他呢?”

Did he really have so many wives?' said Margaret.

“他真有那么多妻子吗?”玛格丽特说。

Yes, of course. I thought that everyone knew that.'

“是的,当然。我想大家都知道。”

Margaret looked away and said, 'We didn't get much news from London at home, and my family's house is a long way from the nearest village.'

玛格丽特望着远处说道:“我们在家时对伦敦的消息知道得并不多,我家离最近的村子也有很长一段路。”

It doesn't matter,' I said, smiling. 'One day, I'll tell you the story of my husband Henry's life.'

“不要紧,”我笑着说,“有一天我会把我丈夫亨利一生的故事全告诉你的。”

On the desk in front of me there was a wooden box with a large gold H on the top. I opened it slowly and took out some old letters. Each letter was in different writing and some of them were old and yellow. One letter had a picture of a large bird on it. It was from Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn.

我面前的桌子上有一个木盒子,上面有一个巨大的金字“H”。我慢慢地打开它,取出了几封旧信。每封信的字迹都不相同,有些已经旧得发黄了。其中一封信上画着一只大鸟,那是亨利的第二任妻子安妮·博伦写来的。

Margaret!' I said. 'I've found some letters from Henry's other wives. There's also a beautiful gold necklace and a small piece of hair.' I looked at another letter. 'Here's one old letter from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. She was married to him for a very long time.'

“玛格丽特!”我说,“我发现了亨利其他妻子们写的一些信件,还有一条美丽的金项链和一绺头发。”我看了看另外一封信,“这儿有他的第一任妻子阿拉贡的凯瑟琳写的一封信。他们的婚姻维持了很长一段时间。”

She only had one child, didn't she?' said Margaret.

“她只有一个孩子,是吧?”玛格丽特说道。

Yes, only Princess Mary is still alive. There were five other children, but they were all born too early and died.'

“是的,只有玛丽公主还活着。她还生过五个孩子,但都是早产,全都夭折了。”

Again I looked at the letter with the picture of the bird on it. 'Have you heard of Anne Boleyn, Margaret?'

我又看了看那封画着鸟的信。“你听说过安妮·博伦吗,玛格丽特?”

Yes, my mother talked about her. She said she was a very bad woman.'

“是的,我妈妈说起过她,说她是个很坏的女人。”

Well, that's what some people say. Anne was the mother of Henry's second daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Look,' I said. 'This one is from Katherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. Both Anne and Katherine were beheaded in that terrible prison, the Tower of London.'

“啊,有些人是那么说的。安妮是亨利的第二个女儿伊丽莎白公主的母亲。看,”我说,“这一封信是凯瑟琳·霍华德,也就是亨利的第五任妻子写的。安妮和凯瑟琳都是在伦敦塔那个可怕的监狱里被砍头的。”

Why did the King send them to their deaths?' asked Margaret. She looked afraid.

“国王为什么要处死她们呢?”玛格丽特问道。她看起来很害怕。

They had many enemies, who told the King that they had lovers. Perhaps the stories were true, I don't know. But the King believed them.'

“她们有很多敌人,这些人跟国王说她们有情人。那些故事也许是真的,我不知道。但是国王相信他们的话。”

I looked at another letter. 'This one is from Jane Seymour. She was the third wife and the mother of Henry's only living son. He is now our King, Edward the Sixth.'

我看了看另一封信。“这封是简·西摩写的。她是亨利的第三任妻子,也是亨利唯一尚在人世的儿子的母亲。他现在是我们的国王,爱德华六世。”

Was Jane Seymour beheaded too?' asked Margaret.

“简·西摩也是被砍头的吗?”玛格丽特问。

No, poor Queen Jane died soon after Edward was born.'

“不,可怜的王后简在爱德华出生后不久就去世了。”

I looked at the last, short letter. 'Look, a letter from Anne of Cleves, Henry's fourth wife.'

我看到最后一封短信。“看,这封信是克利夫斯的安妮写来的,她是亨利的第四任妻子。”

Did she have any children?' asked Margaret.

“她有孩子吗?”玛格丽特问道。

No,' I laughed. 'Henry thought that Anne was very ugly and he didn't want her to be the mother of his children.'

“没有,”我大笑,“亨利认为安妮太丑了,不想让她做他孩子的母亲。”

Margaret was silent. Then she said, 'King Henry sounds like a terrible husband.'

玛格丽特沉默了。然后她说:“亨利国王听起来像是个很可怕的丈夫。”

He wasn't all bad, Margaret. There were good times, too. He was clever at so many things—horse-riding and tennis, writing and playing music. He wrote many beautiful songs, and he had a wonderful singing voice. But it's true that he wasn't very kind to his wives.'

“他并非一无是处,玛格丽特。他也有好的时候。他擅长的东西很多——比如骑马、打网球、写作以及演奏音乐。他写过很多优美的歌曲,还有一副动人的歌喉。不过他的确对妻子们不太好。”

Margaret looked at the box. 'So why did he keep these letters from them?' she asked.

玛格丽特看着盒子。“那他为什么还保留着她们的信呢?”她问。

Oh, you ask so many questions, Margaret! I don't know. Perhaps each letter says something important.'

“哦,你问的问题太多了,玛格丽特!我不知道。也许每封信都写了些重要的事情吧。”

I looked up and saw that it was nearly dark. It was time to go home to Chelsea Manor. I put the letters back inside the box.

我抬头看了看,天差不多黑了。我的家在切尔西庄园,现在该回去了。我把信放回盒子里。

Come, Margaret, we must go now.'

“来,玛格丽特,我们现在得走了。”

But can't we read the letters?' she asked.

“但是我们不能读这些信吗?”她问。

We'll take them with us and read them tomorrow.'

“我们要把它们带回去,明天再读。”

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