We'll be arriving at Branley Castle in about five minutes, but before we get there I'll give you a little information about the castle and what our visit will include.

我们将在五分钟后到达布兰利城堡，但在我们到达之前，我会给你一些关于城堡的信息，以及我们的参观将包括什么。

So in fact there's been a castle on this site for over eleven hundred years.

事实上这个地方的城堡已经有一千一百多年的历史了。

The first building was a fort constructed in 914 AD for defence against Danish invaders by King Alfred the Great's daughter, who ruled England at the time.

最早的建筑是一座防御丹麦入侵者的堡垒，是在公元914年由当时统治英格兰的阿尔弗雷德大帝的女儿建造的。

In the following century, after the Normans conquered England, the land was given to a nobleman called Richard de Vere, and he built a castle there that stayed in the de Vere family for over four hundred years.

在接下来的一个世纪里，诺曼人征服了英格兰，这块土地被赠与给了一个叫理查德·德维尔的贵族，他在那里建造了一座城堡，在接下来的四百多年都属于德维尔家族。

However, when Queen Elizabeth I announced that she was going to visit the castle in 1576, it was beginning to look a bit run down, and it was decided that rather than repair the guest rooms, they'd make a new house for her out of wood next to the main hall.

然而在1576年，当女王伊丽莎白一世宣布她将参观这座城堡时，它开始显得有些破旧不堪，于是城堡的管理人决定，与其去修缮客房，还不如在大厅旁边用木头给她造一座新房子。

She stayed there for four nights and apparently it was very luxurious, but unfortunately it was destroyed a few years later by fire.

她在那里住了四个晚上，当然新房非常豪华，但不幸的是几年后被大火烧毁了。

In the seventeenth century the castle belonged to the wealthy Fenys family, who enlarged it and made it more comfortable.

在十七世纪，城堡属于富有的Fenys家族，他们扩建了城堡，使其更加舒适。

However, by 1982 the Fenys family could no longer afford to maintain the castle, even though they received government support, and they put it on the market.

然而，到了1982年，尽管得到了政府的支持，Fenys家族也不再负担得起城堡的维护费用，于是决定将其放到市场上出售。

It was eventually taken over by a company who owned a number of amusement parks, but when we get there I think you'll see that they've managed to retain the original atmosphere of the castle.

它最终被一家经营着许多游乐园的公司接管了，但我觉得等到了那里，你们就会发现他们已经设法保留了城堡原来的氛围。

When you go inside, you'll find that in the state rooms there are life-like moving wax models dressed in costumes of different periods in the past, which even carry on conversations together.

当你们走进去的时候，你会发现在大厅里有栩栩如生的移动的蜡像，它们穿着过去不同时期的服装，甚至还能进行对话。

As well as that, in every room there are booklets giving information about what the room was used for and the history of the objects and furniture it contains.

此外，每个房间都有小册子，用来介绍房间的用途以及房间内家具摆件的历史。

The castle park’s quite extensive.

城堡的公园相当开阔。

At one time sheep were kept there, and in the nineteenth century the owners had a little zoo with animals like rabbits and even a baby elephant.

以前那里还养过绵羊。在十九世纪时，城堡的主人还有个小动物园，里面养着兔子之类的动物，甚至还有一头小象。

Nowadays the old zoo buildings are used for public displays of paintings and sculpture.

现在，旧的动物园被用来向公众展示绘画和雕塑。

The park also has some beautiful trees, though the oldest of all, which dated back 800 years, was sadly blown down in 1987.

公园里还有一些美丽的树木，只是那棵最老的八百岁的古树，在1987年不幸被吹倒。

Now, you're free to wander around on your own until 4:30, but then at the end of our visit we'll all meet together at the bottom of the Great Staircase.

现在，你们可以自由行动到四点半，但参观结束时，我们将在大楼梯的底部集合。

We'll then go on to the long gallery, where there's a wonderful collection of photographs showing the family who owned the castle a hundred years ago having tea and cakes in the conservatory - and we'll then take you to the same place where afternoon tea will be served to you.

我们接下来将去到长廊，那里收藏着许多很棒的照片，它们展示了一百年前的城堡主人们在温室里喝茶、吃蛋糕的样子——然后我们将带你们去到照片里同样的地方，你们将在那里享用下午茶。