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Yersinia pestis, the germ of plague,came to Britain in the guts of infected fleas.
耶尔森氏菌 这场瘟疫的病原菌 潜藏在受感染跳蚤肠道中来到英国
They were hidden away in cargoes of grain,bales of cloth and in the fur of black rats.
跳蚤们蛰伏在运送粮食的货船上 成捆的布料及黑鼠的毛发里
The most probable point of entry was Melcombe Regis, near Weymouth.
瘟疫最可能的入侵地点 是墨尔库姆雷吉斯 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尔时
there were already stories from traumatised cities of Italy as to how and where it had begun
在饱受创伤的意大利各地 各种传说早已盛嚣尘上 诉说着瘟疫的起因和地点
in the East, on the plains of central Asia,another of the horrors carried on the backs of the Mongol hordes.
在东方 亚洲中心的平原 另一种恐怖 随着蒙古部落的铁蹄纷至沓来
The plague cut a swathe of destruction eastwards to China and India and westwards into Crimea and Turkey.
他们携瘟疫而来 所过之处哀嚎遍野 向东侵入中国和印度 向西进犯克里米亚半岛和土耳其
At Caffa, the Tartars had thrown infected bodies over the city walls to hasten the surrender of the defending Genoese,
在卡法 鞑靼人把病死者的尸体 抛进城墙里 以迫使守城的热那亚人投降
a first in the annals of biological warfare.
这是史上第一次细菌战
Once it arrived by sea in Italy,it spread quickly into mainland Europe.
瘟疫经海路抵达意大利后 迅速挺进欧陆腹地
There had been devastating calamities before visited on Britain
英国在过去就已经历过 无数毁灭性的灾难
countless numbers died in the apocalyptic famine of 1315
1315年末日般的饥荒饿死无数
but it was the merciless,indiscriminate swiftness of the plague's progress
然而瘟疫冷酷无情 不加选择地肆虐
which so unhinged the cities and villages caught in its onslaught.No one, rich or poor, could escape.
所过之处 城市村庄几乎分崩离析 任何人 无论贫富 皆难逃其魔爪
