新概念英语第四册Lesson9 Royal Espionage

Alfred the Great acted his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel. In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere. They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport. Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth, and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring. While Alfred's little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders. There had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went. He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions. There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft. Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney. The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde. But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids. So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy. He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him. His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army. Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes -- and within a month the Danes had surrendered. The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage! BERNARD NEWMAN Spies in Britain New words and expressions 生词和短语 espionage n. 间谍活动 Alfred 公元871-899 年间任英国国王 Danish adj. 丹麦的，丹麦人的，丹麦语的 minstrel n. 中世纪的吟游歌手 wandering adj. 漫游的 harp n. 坚琴 ballad n. 民歌 acrobatic adj. 杂技的 conjuring n. 魔术 Athelney n. 阿塞尔纳（英国一个小岛） Chippenham n. 切本哈姆（英国一个城市） thither adv. 向那里 Dane n. 丹麦人 slack adj. 涣散的 conqueror n. 征服者 casual adj. 马虎的，随便的 precaution n. 预防，警惕 proceeds n. 所得 assemble