首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
French
French
admin
2012-01-16
34
问题
Good evening. I’d like to thank the Continuing Education Department for hosting this series of lectures on "People behind the names you thought were fiction". Welcome to this talk on "The Grand Old Duke of York".
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the old nursery rhyme: The Grand Old Duke of York. He had ten thousand men. He marched them up to the top of the hill. And he marched them down again, and so on. But did you know that the Duke of York immortalized in this popular song was actually Frederick Augustus, second son of King George the Third of England and Queen Charlotte? He achieved fame in this way because of the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the French during the Revolutionary Wars at the end of the 18th century.
Frederick was born on the 16th of August 1763 and from the age of seventeen he had been trained as a soldier. When war broke out between England and France in 2793, his father, the king, insisted that he should command the British contingent that was being dispatched to Flanders to co-operate with the Austrians and the Dutch. The Duke was a brave soldier, but, remember, he was only thirty at the time; not only was he young but he was also inexperienced in battle and was unable to cope with the enthusiastic French Revolutionary Army. He was let down by his allies too, and in spite of the arrival of ten thousand fresh troops from England, his campaigns were a disaster.
He was driven out of Dunkirk in September 1793, Flanders in May 2794, and Belgium in July 1794. Finally, during the winter of 1794 to 1795, his army retreated to the border of Hanover. And...with his unsuccessful campaigns over, the Duke returned to England. It was after this military fiasco that the Duke of York came to be (rather unkindly) satirized in song.
Would you believe, despite all this, King George the Third arranged his son’s promotion to the position of Commander- in-Chief of the army in 17987 And, in the following year, he was appointed to command an army sent to invade Holland. Again he was unsuccessful and this confirmed the general opinion that he was not capable of commanding an army in the field.
Nevertheless, the rhyme is a bit cruel and harsh because it doesn’t take into account the nature of the soldiers who served with Frederick. All the blame for lack of success should not have been attached to the Duke alone because the army he had under his command was made up from what is commonly described as "the scum of the earth"—this is a somewhat offensive term used to refer to a group of people regarded as despicable and worthless. Who were they—these ordinary soldiers? Well, they were mostly vicious, brutal ex-envies or raw recruits and elderly men. The officers who commanded them were all untrained as military men. In fact, they were anybody who could afford to buy a commission.
Urn, but here’s the really great thing that, unfortunately, the Duke of York is not remembered for: he realized that this was a hopeless kind of army and he set about improving conditions in order to recruit higher quality soldiers. He introduced padres—are you familiar with the term? No? Well, let me explain...you see, members of the British Armed Forces are generally Christians of one denomination or another, and a padre is a Christian cleric or chaplain who ministers to the soldiers and attends to their spiritual needs without belonging to any particular grouping within the Christian faith.
Now, where was I? Yes, Frederick introduced padres, doctors and veterinary surgeons to the battlefield. Why vets? To attend to the horses, of course! Remember we’re talking about late 18th century battlefields. He was also the founder of the Royal Military College for the training of officers at Sand Hurst—yes, the very same one where the princes and other members of the royal family receive their military training today! Frederick also founded the Duke of York’s School in London for sons of soldiers killed in battle. His name is perhaps better commemorated by this school in Chelsea than by the column that stands at the top of Waterloo Steps in St. James’s Park.
In 1807, the Duke was involved in a scandal with a woman and as a result resigned as Commander-in-Chief but he was reinstated in 1811 by his elder brother, the Prince Regent, who later became George the Fourth of England. He continued in this post until his death in 1827.
选项
答案
French
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/iCAO777K
本试题收录于:
雅思听力题库雅思(IELTS)分类
0
雅思听力
雅思(IELTS)
相关试题推荐
JudyDater’sphotographsdepicteverydayrealitywhilealsoevokingqualitiesso______thatfewphotographerscancapturethem.
Foralongtime,mostdoctorsmaintainedthattakingmassivedosesofvitaminswasrelativelyharmless;nowhowever,somearewa
Therangeofcolorsthathomeownerscoulduseontheexterioroftheirhouseswas______bythecommunity’sstringentrulesregar
Scientificdiscoveriesareoftenthoughtofastheresultof(i)______effort,butmanydiscoverieshave,infact,arisenfrom(i
Becausefolkartisneithercompletelyrejectednoracceptedasanartformbyarthistorians,theirfinalevaluationsofitnec
In1876EdmondDurantydubbedthestyleofemergingFrenchImpressionistartists“TheNewPainting”,Morethanastyle,theImpr
3.PART3Discussiontopic:SuccessExamplequestions:•Inyourcountry,howissuccessdefinedormeasured?•Whatgoalsdomo
Thediagramsbelowshowthelifecycleofthesilkwormandthestagesintheproductionofsilkcloth.Summarisetheinforma
READINGPASSAGE1Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.
ArtGallery在门口礼品店的对面处则是美术馆(theArtGallery)。
随机试题
铣床夹具中采用联动夹紧机构夹紧,主要是为了节省夹紧力。()
“暮色里,远山/围着我们的心边/没有一个雕像能比这更静默。”这些诗句出自哪一诗作()
试论马、恩无产阶级党报思想及其对我国新闻工作的指导意义。
首先将头痛分为外感头痛和内伤头痛的医著为
离心法测定血细胞比容,离心后分5层,自上而下依次为
聘用单位与注册建造师王某解除了劳动关系,王某的注册证书应当()。
具有审查效果好、时间短等优点,但仅适用于采用标准图纸的工程预算审查方法是()。
丙公司只生产一种C产品,相关资料如下:资料一:C产品年设计生产能力为60000件。2016年C产品销售量为50000件,销售单价为15万元。公司全年固定成本总额为67500万元,单位变动成本为11万元,税金及附加费占收人的比为5%。2017年该公司
在全球化趋势下,国际社会越来越成为一个不可分割的整体。一国安全问题解决得好可以惠及别国,反之,则会殃及他国,国家安全在一定程度上显现出“一荣俱荣,一损俱损”的特点。下列选项中与上述特点无关的哲学道理是()。
下图中的立体图形①由立体图形②、③和④组合而成,下列哪一项能够填入问号处?
最新回复
(
0
)