The Origins of a Nation (5000BC-1066)
英国的起源（公元前5000年—1066年） (来源：英语学习门户网站EnglishCN.com)

I.Early Settlers （5000BC-55BC）
早期的居民（公元前5000年—公元前55年） 

1．The first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians.
人们所知的英国最早居民是伊比利来人。
2． At about 2000 BC the Beaker Folk arrived from the areas now know as Holland and Rhineland.
约公元前2000年，从现在的荷兰和莱茵兰地区来了宽口陶器人。
3． The Celts began to arrive Britain about 700 BC.
约公元前700年，克尔特人来到不列颠岛。
4． The Celts came to Britain in three main waves.
克尔特人来到不列颠有三次高潮。
The first wave were the Gaels-came about 600 BC.
第一次高潮是约公元前600年盖尔人的来临。
The second wave were the Brythons-came about 400 BC.
第二次高潮是约公元前400年布立吞（不列颠）人的抵达。
The third wave were the Belgae-came about 150 BC.
第三次是约公元前150年比利其人的到达。 

II. Roman Britain (55BC-410AD)
罗马人统治时期的英国（公元前55年—410年） 

1.British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55BC and 54BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice. In AD 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years, Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation.

有记录的英国历史开始于罗马人的入侵。公元前55年和54年，罗马将军朱略斯•凯撒两次入侵英国，均未成功。直到公元43年，克劳锹才成功占领不列颠。将近四百年里，英国人处于罗马人的占领下，但这并非是完全的占领。 

2. Roman’s influence on Britain.
The Roman built many towns, road, baths, temples and buildings. They make good use of Britain’s natural resources. They also brought the new religion, Christianity, to Britain.
罗马人修建了许多城镇网，道路，澡堂，庙宇和其他建筑物。他们还很好地利用了英国的自然资源。罗马人还把基督教这门新宗教带到不列颠。 

3.Reasons for limited Roman influence on Britain.
罗马对不列颠的影响有限的原因。
First, the Romans always treated the Britons as a subject people of slave class. Second, never during the 4 centuries did the Romans and Britons intermarry. Third, the Romans had no impact on the language or culture of ordinary Britons.
首先，罗马人把不列颠人当作奴隶阶段的属民来对待。其次，在四世纪对罗马人和不列颠人通婚。最后，罗马人也未影响普通不列颠人的语言和文化。 

Summary: This is the second part of Chapter 2 (The Origins of a Nation). It introduced some important events and important people in England from 446 to 1066. These most important events are The Anglos-Saxons’ invasion; The Viking and Danish Invasions and The Norman Conquest.
(简要：这是第二章“国家的起源”的第二部分。在这一部分里，主要是介绍了英国从公元446年到1066年所发生的重要事件及人物。这些重要事件分别是盎格鲁—撒克逊人的入侵，北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵及诺曼征服)。 

III. The Anglo-Saxons (446-871)
盎格鲁—撒克逊人（公元446—871年） 

1． Basis of Modern English race: the Anglo-Saxons.
盎格鲁—萨克逊时代（奠定了英国的基础）
In the mid-5th century a new wave of invaders, Jutes, Saxons, and Angles came to Britain. They were three Teutonic tribes.
The Jutes, who fished and farmed in Jutland, came to Britain first. A Jutish chief became the King of Kent in 449. Then the Saxons, users of the short-sword from northern Germany, established their kingdom in Essex, Sussex and Wessex from the end of the 5th century to the beginning of the 6th century. In the second half of the 6th century. In the second half of the 6th century, the Angles, who also came from northern Germany and were to give their name to the English people, settled in East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. These seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria have been given the name of Heptarchy.
五世纪中叶，朱特人、撒克逊人和盎格鲁人不断入侵不列颠。这是三支日耳曼（条顿）部落。
居住在朱特兰岛（现丹麦南部）上从事打渔农耕的朱特人先抵不列颠。后来从德国北部来的使用短剑的撒克逊人在埃撒克斯、苏塞克斯和威塞克斯建立了王国，统治期从五世纪末至六世纪初。六世纪后半叶，同样来自德国北部的盎格鲁人，在东盎格利亚、麦西亚以及诺森伯利来定居，同时也他们也把名字给了英国人。这七个主要王国（肯特、埃塞克斯、苏塞克斯、威塞克斯、东盎格利亚、麦西亚和诺森伯利亚），合称为七王国。 

2．The early Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.
最早的盎格鲁—撒克逊人改信基督教。
The Anglo-Saxons brought their own Teutonic religion to Britain. Christianity soon disappeared, except among the Celts of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine, the Prior of St. Andrew’s Monastery in Rome, to England to convert the heathen English to Christianity. In 579 St. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He was remarkably successful in converting the king and the nobility, but the conversion of the common people was largely due to the missionary activities of the monks in the north.
盎格鲁—撒克逊人把日耳曼宗教带到了英国。除了康瓦尔、威尔士、苏格兰和爱尔兰中的克尔特人还信奉基督教外，基督教很快就消失了。公元597，教皇格里高一世把罗马圣安德鲁修道院的副院长圣奥古斯丁派遣到英格兰，其使命是使异教徒的英国人皈依基督教。公元579年圣奥古丁成为坎特伯雷大主教。在使国王和贵族皈依基督教方面，奥古斯丁特别成功。但是普通人的皈依很大程度上归功于北部修士们的传教活动。 

3．The Early Anglo-Saxons make the contributions to the English state.
早期盎格鲁—撒克逊人为英国做出的贡献。
The Anglo-Saxons laid the foundations of the English state. Firstly, they divided the country into shires, with shire courts and shire reeves, or sheriffs, responsible for administering law. Secondly, they devised the narrow-strip, three-field farming system which continued to the 18th century. Thirdly, they also established the manorial system. Finally, they created the Witan（council or meeting of the wisemen） to advise the king, the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today.
盎格鲁—撒克逊人为英国国家的形成打下了基础。首先，他们把国家划分为郡，郡法庭和郡法官、或行政司法长官负责执法。其次，他们设计的窄条三圃田农耕制延用至18世纪。此外，他们还建立了领地制。最后，他们还创立了议会(贤人会议)，向国王提供建议，这就成为了今天仍存在的枢密院的基础。 

IV．Viking and Danish invasions
北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵 

1．The invaders were the Norwegians and the Danes. They attacked various parts of England from the end of the 8th century. They became a serious problem in the 9th century, especially between 835 and 878. They even managed to capture York, an important center of Christianity in 867. By the middle of 9th century, the Viking and the Danes were posing a threat to the Saxon kingdom of Wessex.
入侵者是挪威人和丹麦人，从8世纪末开始，他们不断袭击英格兰的各个地方。9世纪，尤其是公元835-878年间已成为严重问题。他们甚至占领了约克郡，公元867年时的基督教中心。到9世纪中叶，北欧海盗和丹麦人威胁到撒克逊人的威撒克斯王国的安全。 

2．King Alfred (849-899) and his contributions
艾尔弗雷德国王（849-899）和他所做出的贡献
Alfred was a king of Wessex. He defeated the Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them in 879. The Danes gained control of the north and east, while he ruled the rest. He also converted some leading Danes into Christians.
He founded a strong fleet and is known as “ the father of the British navy”. He reorganized the Saxon army, making it more efficient. He translated a Latin book into English. He also established schools and formulated a legal system. All this earns him the title “Alfred the Great.”
阿尔弗雷德是威塞克斯的国王。他打败了丹麦人，并于公元879年与他们达成了友好协议。协议规定丹麦人控制英格兰北部和西部（丹麦法区），而他统治其他地区。他还劝服一些丹麦首领成为基督教徒。
他因为建立了强大舰队，而以“英国海军之父”闻名于世。他改组了“弗立德”（撒克逊军队），使之更为高效。他将一本拉丁语的书翻译成英语。同时他还建立了学校，并且阐明了法律制度。所有这一切使他当之无愧于“阿尔弗雷德大王。”的称号。 

V．The Norman Conquest (1066)
诺曼征服（公元1066年） 

1．Reasons for William’s invasion of England after Edward’s death.
威廉在爱德华死后入侵英国的原因。
It was said that king Edward had promised the English throne to William, but the Witan chose Harold as king. So William led his army to invade England. In October 1066, during the important battle of Hastings, William defeated Harold and killed him. One Christmas Day, William was crowned king of England, thus beginning the Norman Conquest of England.
据说，爱德华国王曾答应把英格兰王位传给诺曼底公爵威廉，但是贤人会议挑选了哈罗德为国王。公元1066年10月，在哈斯丁斯附近的激烈交锋中，威廉打败了哈罗德军队，同时哈罗德也在此战争中战死。 

2．The Norman Conquest and its consequences