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知行英语

the rise and fall of the great powers

大国的兴衰

The power struggles between 1600 and 1815

were more complicated

as Spain and the Netherlands declined

while France, Britain, Russia,

Austria and Prussia rose to dominate diplomacy, and warfare.

Britain gained an advantage

by creating an advanced banking and credit system and,

together with Russia had the capacity to intervene

while being geographically sheltered

from the center of conflict.

Britain also started the industrial revolution

before the others,

providing a great wealth creation advantage.

讲解

语言点

together with  连同，和

He sent me the book, together with a letter.

as well as / along with / in addition to / besides

George, as well as his brother, has gone abroad.

Tobacco is taxed in most countries, along with drink.

For a century after 1815

no single nation was able to make a bid for domination,

allowing Britain to rise to its zenith in naval,

colonial and commercial terms

based on its virtual monopoly

of steam-driven industrial production.

讲解

Industrialization spread in the second

half of the 19th century tilting the balance of power

but also introduced more complicated

and expensive weaponry that transformed the nature of war

and made the world less stable and more complex.

讲解

The European Great Powers declined

while the US and Russia moved to the forefront.

Germany was the only European country

to stay with the future world powers;

Japan was intent only on domination

in East Asia and Britain,

with its declining relative position,

found it more difficult to defend its global interests.

讲解

语言点

be intent on

be intent on one's studies

be intent on

He's intent on going to Australia.

intend

intent

intend  计划，打算

Today, I intend to finish reading this book.

World War I was an exhausting struggle

that left Europe and Russia weakened,

Japan better off

and the US indisputably the strongest power in the world.

However, US and Russian isolationism

allowed France and Britain

to remain center-stage diplomatically

- a position they did not justify in power terms

- but by the 1930s Italy,

Japan and Germany became challengers

while Russia was becoming an industrial superpower.

World War II eclipsed France,

irretrievably weakened Britain,

brought defeat to the Axis nations

and left a bipolar world with military

and economic resources roughly in balance.

讲解

语言点

in…terms

in terms of

In terms of money,

he's quite rich, but not in terms of happiness.

出版社：国际文化出版公司

出版日期：2006-1

页数：527