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Yersinia pestis, the germ of plague,came to Britain in the guts of infected fleas.
耶爾森氏菌 這場瘟疫的病原菌 潛藏在受感染跳蚤腸道中來到英國
They were hidden away in cargoes of grain,bales of cloth and in the fur of black rats.
跳蚤們蟄伏在運(yùn)送糧食的貨船上 成捆的布料及黑鼠的毛發(fā)里
The most probable point of entry was Melcombe Regis, near Weymouth.
瘟疫最可能的入侵地點(diǎn) 是墨爾庫姆雷吉斯 近威茅斯
By the time it got to the great ports of Southampton and Bristol,
待疫情蔓延至重要港口 南安普敦和布里斯托爾時
there were already stories from traumatised cities of Italy as to how and where it had begun
在飽受創(chuàng)傷的意大利各地 各種傳說早已盛囂塵上 訴說著瘟疫的起因和地點(diǎn)
in the East, on the plains of central Asia,another of the horrors carried on the backs of the Mongol hordes.
在東方 亞洲中心的平原 另一種恐怖 隨著蒙古部落的鐵蹄紛至沓來
The plague cut a swathe of destruction eastwards to China and India and westwards into Crimea and Turkey.
他們攜瘟疫而來 所過之處哀嚎遍野 向東侵入中國和印度 向西進(jìn)犯克里米亞半島和土耳其
At Caffa, the Tartars had thrown infected bodies over the city walls to hasten the surrender of the defending Genoese,
在卡法 韃靼人把病死者的尸體 拋進(jìn)城墻里 以迫使守城的熱那亞人投降
a first in the annals of biological warfare.
這是史上第一次細(xì)菌戰(zhàn)
Once it arrived by sea in Italy,it spread quickly into mainland Europe.
瘟疫經(jīng)海路抵達(dá)意大利后 迅速挺進(jìn)歐陸腹地
There had been devastating calamities before visited on Britain
英國在過去就已經(jīng)歷過 無數(shù)毀滅性的災(zāi)難
countless numbers died in the apocalyptic famine of 1315
1315年末日般的饑荒餓死無數(shù)
but it was the merciless,indiscriminate swiftness of the plague's progress
然而瘟疫冷酷無情 不加選擇地肆虐
which so unhinged the cities and villages caught in its onslaught.No one, rich or poor, could escape.
所過之處 城市村莊幾乎分崩離析 任何人 無論貧富 皆難逃其魔爪
