词汇提示

1.conquered 占领

2.remoteness 遥远的

3.tribe 部落

4.Protestant 新教

5.Catholic 天主教

6.tenant 佃户

7.blight 枯萎病

8.evicted 驱逐

9.dwelling 住所

10.properous 繁荣的

11.prosperity 兴盛

12.exodus 离开

原文

Ireland

Ireland is an island in the Atlantic Ocean just west of Britain.

For much of its history, it has been an advantage to Ireland to be far from the mainland.

The Romans or the other early Empires never conquered Ireland.

It was the remoteness of Ireland that helped preserve much of Christian and classical culture.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, wandering tribes destroyed much of what remained on the continent.

Finally, it was Ireland's turn to be invaded.

First, the Norsemen or Vikings attacked during the 800s and 900s.

Then in the 1100s, the English invaded Ireland.

Since that time, there has always been an English presence in Ireland.

The conflict between the English and the Irish grew worse in the 1500s.

Then the English became Protestant, and the Irish remained Catholic.

In the 1600s, Oliver Cromwell tried to make Ireland Protestant，by driving out the Catholics and bringing in Protestant settlers.

In the centuries following, Irish Catholics had very few rights in their own country.

The Catholic Irish were not allowed to vote until 1829.

Since Irish Catholics were not allowed to own land, they were poor tenant farmers.

They paid rent to the English landlords.

The main food crop in the 1840s was potatoes.

When these became infected by blight, thousands of Irishmen starved.

Many others were evicted from their dwellings because they couldn't pay the rent.

Hundreds of thousands of Irish took ship for North America.

The Catholic Irish preferred to go to the United States because Canada was under British influence.

However, many Protestant Irish went to Canada.

The influence of the Irish on North American culture has been very great in many areas.

Prominent Irish-Americans include Presidents John F·Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Meanwhile, in Ireland itself, a strong independence movement developed.

A rebellion against England in 1916 began a struggle that resulted in independence for most of Ireland

Some Protestant areas in Northern Ireland preferred to stay with England.

Republican groups such as the Irish Republican Army wanted to "liberate" the north from British rule.

Nowadays, conflict between Protestants and Catholics is limited to these northern counties.

Constant attempts are being made to bring the conflict there to an end.

Meanwhile, the Irish Republic, or Eire, has become prosperous again.

It can sell its agricultural products to the European Common Market.

Irish beer and whisky are sold all over the world.

Ireland is also becoming known for its high-tech industries.

Because of this relative prosperity, the population is increasing again, after a century and a half of decline.

The Irish differ from other people because the vast majority of Irishmen live away from their homeland.

However, this exodus from Ireland has helped to spread Irish music,culture and products around the world.

On St. Patrick's Day (March 17th), nearly everyone becomes Irish for the day.

Then there is a great party with Celtic music, Irish dancing, green beer and the wearing of the green.

翻译

爱尔兰

爱尔兰是大西洋中的一个岛屿，位于英国西部。
在爱尔兰历史的大部分时间里，远离大陆一直是爱尔兰的优势。
罗马人或其他早期帝国从未征服过爱尔兰。
正是爱尔兰的偏远地区帮助保存了许多基督教和古典文化。
罗马帝国灭亡后，游荡的部落摧毁了大陆上的大部分遗迹。
最后，轮到爱尔兰被入侵了。
首先，北欧人或维京人在八九世纪发动了袭击。
然后在11世纪，英国人入侵爱尔兰。
从那时起，英国人在爱尔兰一直存在。
16世纪，英国人和爱尔兰人之间的冲突愈演愈烈。
后来英国人成了新教徒，爱尔兰人仍然是天主教徒。
17世纪，奥利弗·克伦威尔（Oliver Cromwell）试图通过驱逐天主教徒和引入新教定居者，使爱尔兰成为新教国家。
在接下来的几个世纪里，爱尔兰天主教徒在自己的国家几乎没有什么权利。
天主教爱尔兰人直到1829年才被允许投票。
由于爱尔兰天主教徒不被允许拥有土地，他们是贫穷的佃农。
他们向英国房东支付房租。
19世纪40年代的主要粮食作物是土豆。
当这些人感染枯萎病时，成千上万的爱尔兰人饿死了。
还有许多人因为付不起房租而被赶出他们的住所。
数十万爱尔兰人乘船前往北美。
天主教爱尔兰人更喜欢去美国，因为加拿大受到英国的影响。
然而，许多新教爱尔兰人去了加拿大。
爱尔兰人对北美文化的影响在很多领域都非常大。
著名的爱尔兰裔美国人包括约翰·F·肯尼迪总统和罗纳德·里根总统。
与此同时，爱尔兰本身也发展了一场强大的独立运动。
1916年，一场反对英国的叛乱开始了一场斗争，导致爱尔兰大部分地区独立
北爱尔兰的一些新教地区更愿意留在英格兰。
爱尔兰共和军等共和党团体希望将北部从英国统治下“解放”。
如今，新教徒和天主教徒之间的冲突仅限于这些北方县。
人们不断试图结束那里的冲突。
与此同时，爱尔兰共和国重新繁荣起来。
它可以向欧洲共同市场出售其农产品。
爱尔兰啤酒和威士忌销往世界各地。
爱尔兰也因其高科技产业而闻名。
由于这种相对的繁荣，在经历了一个半世纪的下降之后，人口再次增加。
爱尔兰人与其他人不同，因为绝大多数爱尔兰人居住在远离家乡的地方。
然而，这种逃离爱尔兰的行为有助于将爱尔兰音乐、文化和产品传播到世界各地。
在圣帕特里克节（3月17日），几乎每个人都会在这一天成为爱尔兰人。
然后是一个很棒的派对，有凯尔特音乐、爱尔兰舞蹈、绿色啤酒和绿色服装。

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Level 4-Day 7.Ireland