# 第四册 Lesson 27 The 'Vasa' "瓦萨"号

## 一、课文原文

From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden, 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. For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956. This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.

King Gustavus Adolphus, 'The Northern Hurricane', then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War, had dictated her measurements and armament. Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon. She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden. As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10th, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment. From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind. They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art; she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship. The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs; and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze with red and gold and blue, symbols of courage, power, and cruelty, were portrayed to stir the imaginations of the superstitious sailors of the day.

Then the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute to which the Vasa fired in reply. As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam beneath her bow, her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze, and the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with colour, she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before. All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them. As the wind freshened there came a sudden squall and the ship made a strange movement, listing to port. The Ordnance Officer ordered all the port cannon to be heaved to starboard to counteract the list, but the steepening angle of the decks increased. Then the sound of rumbling thunder reached the watchers on the shore, as cargo, ballast, ammunition and 400 people went sliding and crashing down to the port side of the steeply listing ship. The lower gun-ports were now below water and the inrush sealed the ship's fate. In that first glorious hour, the mighty Vasa, which was intended to rule the Baltic, sank with all flags flying in the harbour of her birth.

— ROY SAUNGERS, *The Raising of the 'Vasa'* from The Listener

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| galleon | /ˈɡæliən/ | n. | 大型帆船 | 16-17世纪西班牙式大型帆船 |
| flagship | /ˈflæɡʃɪp/ | n. | 旗舰 | flag + ship；引申为最重要的事物 |
| dictate | /dɪkˈteɪt/ | v. | 规定，口述 | dictate terms 规定条件；dictation n. 听写 |
| armament | /ˈɑːməmənt/ | n. | 武器装备 | arms 武器 + -ment 名词后缀 |
| ferment | /ˈfɜːment/ | n. | 激动，骚动 | in a ferment 处于激动中；动词发酵 |
| ornament | /ˈɔːnəmənt/ | v./n. | 装饰 | ornamented 装饰过的；ornamental adj. |
| cherub | /ˈtʃerəb/ | n. | 小天使 | 复数 cherubim 或 cherubs |
| zoomorphic | /ˌzuːəˈmɔːfɪk/ | adj. | 动物形的 | zoo- 动物 + morphic 形态的 |
| ablaze | /əˈbleɪz/ | adj. | 闪耀的，燃烧的 | ablaze with colour 色彩绚丽 |
| squall | /skwɔːl/ | n. | 突然的暴风 | a sudden squall 突如其来的阵风 |
| list | /lɪst/ | v. | （船）倾斜 | list to port 向左舷倾斜 |
| heave | /hiːv/ | v. | 举起，拖 | heave to starboard 拖向右舷 |
| counteract | /ˌkaʊntərˈækt/ | v. | 抵消，对抗 | counter- 对抗 + act 作用 |
| ballast | /ˈbæləst/ | n. | 压舱物 | 船底的重物以保持平衡 |
| inrush | /ˈɪnrʌʃ/ | n. | 涌入 | in- 进入 + rush 冲；the inrush of water 水的涌入 |

**专有名词：**
- **Gustavus Adolphus**：古斯塔夫·阿道夫（瑞典国王）
- **The Northern Hurricane**：北方飓风（国王绰号）
- **Thirty Years' War**：三十年战争（1618-1648）
- **Skeppsbron**：斯科普斯布罗（斯德哥尔摩码头区）

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 介词 + which 定语从句

> the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute **to which** the Vasa fired in reply

介词 to 提前至 which 之前，构成正式的定语结构。

| 结构 | 例句 | 翻译 |
|------|------|------|
| to which | a salute to which she fired in reply | 对此鸣炮回礼 |
| in which | the house in which he lives | 他住的房子 |
| with which | the tool with which he works | 他用的工具 |

### 2. 独立主格结构

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

名词 + 现在分词构成独立主格，作伴随状语，描述 Vasa 号出航时的壮观场景。

| 结构 | 例句 | 功能 |
|------|------|------|
| n. + V-ing | The weather being fine, we went out. | 原因状语 |
| n. + V-ing | He lay there, his eyes closed. | 伴随状语 |
| n. + V-ed | The job done, we went home. | 时间状语 |

### 3. 被动语态的意图表达

> She **was intended to** play a leading role

was/were intended to 表示"本打算、原计划"，暗含实际结果与预期不同。

### 4. as 引导的时间状语从句

> **As** the wind freshened there came a sudden squall

as 表示"随着"，强调两个动作同时发生。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：长难句——多重修饰

> As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke **with the water churned to foam beneath her bow**, her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze, and the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with colour, she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before.

- 主干：she presented a more majestic spectacle
- with 短语（独立主格）+ 4组并列的独立主格结构
- than 引导比较状语从句
- 翻译技巧：将独立主格拆分为独立句子

### 句型2：暗含讽刺的结尾

> the mighty Vasa, which **was intended to** rule the Baltic, **sank** with all flags flying in the harbour of her birth

- was intended to 与 sank 形成强烈反差
- with all flags flying：壮烈与悲剧并存
- in the harbour of her birth：讽刺——未出港即沉

### 句型3：倒装句

> In his mouth **were** the remains of fir trees

- 介词短语前置，构成完全倒装
- 正常语序：The remains of fir trees were in his mouth

## 五、课文翻译

在17世纪的瑞典帝国，1628年一艘在其处女航开始时便沉没的大型帆船的故事，一定是最离奇的海上故事之一。将近三个半世纪，她一直躺在斯德哥尔摩港的底部，直到1956年才被发现。这就是"瓦萨"号，伟大帝国舰队的皇家旗舰。

古斯塔夫·阿道夫国王——"北方飓风"——当时正处于三十年战争军事成功的顶峰，他亲自规定了这艘船的尺寸和武器装备。三层甲板上共安装了64门青铜大炮。她本应在瑞典日益增长的实力中扮演主要角色。1628年8月10日，当她准备处女航时，整个斯德哥尔摩都沸腾了。人们从斯科普斯布罗和周围的岛屿上看着这个美丽的事物开始扬帆乘风。他们辛苦了三年才建造出这件漂浮的艺术品；她比以前任何船只都雕刻和装饰得更华丽。高耸的船尾楼满是雕刻的神像、恶魔、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼和小天使；还有红、金、蓝三色闪耀的动物形象——勇气、力量和残酷的象征——被描绘出来以激发当时迷信水手的想象力。

然后，停泊的军舰鸣炮致敬，"瓦萨"号也开炮回礼。当她从飘散的炮烟中驶出时，船头下方的海水被搅成泡沫，旗帜飘扬，三角旗翻飞，风帆鼓满，上层建筑的红金两色光彩夺目，她呈现出了斯德哥尔摩人前所未见的壮丽景象。所有炮门都开着，炮口阴险地从里面窥视。当风力加大时，突然刮来一阵暴风，船做了一个奇怪的动作，向左舷倾斜。军械官命令将左舷所有大炮推到右舷以抵消倾斜，但甲板的倾斜角度却在加大。然后岸上的观者听到了隆隆的雷声般的声响——货物、压舱物、弹药和400人滑落到急剧倾斜的船的左舷。下层炮门现在已没入水中，涌入的海水注定了这艘船的命运。在那最初的辉煌时刻，本打算统治波罗的海的强大的"瓦萨"号，在诞生的港湾中带着飘扬的旗帜沉没了。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：叙事与描写结合

- 第一段：简要叙事——沉船发现
- 第二段：华丽描写——船的建造与装饰
- 第三段：高潮叙事——沉没过程

### 2. 讽刺手法

| 预期 | 现实 |
|------|------|
| intended to rule the Baltic | sank in the harbour of her birth |
| floating work of art | first glorious hour 即沉没 |
| more majestic spectacle | 悲剧收场 |

### 3. 文化背景

- "瓦萨"号是瑞典国王古斯塔夫·阿道夫下令建造的战舰
- 1628年8月10日处女航即沉没，原因：头重脚轻、炮门过低
- 1961年被打捞出水，现为斯德哥尔摩瓦萨博物馆的核心展品
- 三十年战争（1618-1648）是欧洲历史上最具破坏性的宗教战争之一

### 4. 修辞分析

- "a riot of carved gods, demons..."——隐喻，riot 喻指雕刻繁多杂乱
- "muzzles peeped wickedly"——拟人，暗示灾祸即将来临
- "thundered a salute"——双关，salute 礼炮与 thunder 雷鸣暗示沉没

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 galleon、armament、ferment、squall、ballast 等航海词汇
2. **语法练习**：独立主格结构的构造；介词 + which 定语从句
3. **翻译练习**：注意独立主格和长难句的拆分翻译
4. **写作练习**：模仿课文的叙事描写手法，写一篇历史事件的短文

## 八、本课小结

本课讲述"瓦萨"号战舰处女航即沉没的历史故事。核心主题：**辉煌与悲剧仅一步之遥**。文章以华丽的笔触描写了"瓦萨"号的壮美，又以戏剧性的叙事记述了其沉没过程，形成了强烈的反差与讽刺。语法重点为独立主格结构（名词+分词）、介词+which 定语从句和 was intended to 的被动意图表达。词汇方面需掌握航海术语如 galleon、armament、ballast、squall 等。