11.1811年，他曾和父亲一起投票反对采纳下院某个委员会的提案，即英格兰银行应当恢复用现金（即钱币）进行支付业务，而不是继续只用纸币。1819年，皮尔自己成为某个提议恢复钱币支付的委员会的主席，并推动议会通过了一项能实现该目的的法案。这次出尔反尔的行为让他父亲非常痛苦，他父亲在议会下院曾动情地提过这件事。
12.在开始公共生活之初，皮尔就曾反对解放天主教。这主要是因为他在1818年曾经当选为牛津大学的代表。1829年，他却推动议会通过了如今仍获得普遍认可的“天主教解放法”b。
13.皮尔改弦更张的第三个问题是关于“自由贸易”。一开始，他反对对“谷物法”做任何改变，后来他又提议按比例增减税额，最后，在1846年，他主持通过了完全废止“谷物法”的法案。他在这个问题上的改变分裂了托利党，并导致两股政治力量在自由主义和保守主义的旗帜下重组。
14.罗伯特·皮尔爵士曾两度担任英国首相，第一次是1834~1835年，后来则是1841~1846年。保护主义者（因作为“自由贸易”的对立面而得名）针对皮尔抛弃他们而展开报复，他们与自由主义者联合起来，于1846年反对皮尔的“爱尔兰强制a”五项法案“：将有关预防和惩治犯罪有关的法律打包在一起的法案。这些法案中废除了许多严酷的刑罚，对待犯人更加人道。
b”天主教解放法“：即废除将罗马天主教徒从下院中排斥出去的法律。
统治法”。皮尔被击败并辞职。在随后四年里，他支持拉塞尔爵士的内阁。1850年6月，他从马上摔下来，锁骨骨折，几天之后就去世了。
15.除了采纳“自由贸易法”之外，他出任第二任内阁首相时的著名事件，是于1844年通过了“银行法”，并对关税进行改革，对商业用品的税率实行按比例征收。他作为一名金融改革家的工作，后来被他的学生和拥护者W.E.格莱斯顿所从事和贯彻。
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VICTORIA （PART II.）
维多利亚（二）
allies，English，French，and Turks.
final，closing；last.force，numbers.gallant，brave.
mutiny，rising of soldiers or sailors against their officers.
stronghold，fortified place.
treaty，agreement.
1.The long peace was at length broken when war was declared by England and France against Russia，in defence of the Sultan of Turkey，whose provinces north of the Danube had been seized by a Russian army.The Turks had，by a number of gallant efforts，driven the Russians back，when 5，000Turks were massacred by the Russian fleet at Sinope.
2.The English and French fleets then sailed to the Black Sea，and theirbarmies invaded the Crimea.
c
A battle was fought on the banks of the little riverAlma，in which the Allies gained a great victory over the Russians.They thenlaid siege to Sebastopol，the great Russian stronghold on the Black Sea.
3.During the siege the Russians made a fierce attack on the Allies in thedvalley of BalaKlava，but without success.In this battle the famous chargeof the Light Brigade took place.By a mistaken order，six hundred horsemen charged a much larger body of the enemy，to save a few guns from being taken.Barely two hundred returned.
4.Very shortly followed the bloody Battle of Inkermann，which lasted twelve hours，and in which 14，000English and French defeated 50，000Russians.
e
5.The next battle was fought in the valley of the Tchernaya，in the summerof 1855.The Sardinians，who had joined the Allies with an army of 15，000men，were attacked by the Russians in great force；but，being helped by the French，they drove them back with much slaughter.
a Sinope.-A sea-port of the Black Sea，on the coast of Asiatic Turkey.
b Crimea -A peninsula in the south of Russia，stretching into the Black Sea.
c Alma.-A river of the Crimea，17miles north of Sebastopol.
d Balaklava.-A sea-port 6miles south of Sebastopol，from which Inkermann is about the same distance eastward.
e Tchernaya.-The river which flows into Sebastopol harbour.
6.Meanwhile the siege of Sebastopol had been slowly but surely carried on；and now the final attack began.Day after day shot and shell were poured into the town from the guns of the allied armies，setting fire to buildings，blowing up powder-magazines，and killing the enemy to the number of a thousand a-day.
7.At length one night，under cover of the darkness，the Russian generaldrew off his troops in fine order，set the town on fire，broke down the bridge across the river，and sank all the vessels of war in the harbour.The allied armies entered the town next day，but found little else than a heap of blackened ruins.
8.It is said that during this terrible siege，which lasted nearly a year，there fell，of Russians，English，French，and Sardinians，no fewer than 100，000men.Russia now sought peace；and a treaty was signed at Paris.
9.These troubles were hardly over，when the British rule in India was almost overturned by a general Mutiny，which broke out in Bengal among the Sepoys，or native soldiers in England’s Indian army.These，at a given signal，rose in revolt，aand put to death their English officers.They took possession of Delhiband otherplaces；and at Cawnpore
they savagely murdered great numbers of Englishgentlemen，ladies，and children，after treating them in a most brutal manner.
10.After a long and desperate struggle，the rebels were subdued by the brave and good Sir Henry Havelock，and by Sir Colin Campbell，afterwards Lord Clyde.Havelock sank under the fatigue of the struggle.The government of India has since been brought directly under the Crown；and in 1876Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
中文阅读
1.当英国和法国向俄国宣战以保卫土耳其的苏丹时，长久的和平终于被打破。爆发战争的原因，是苏丹的多瑙河以北地区被一支俄国军队占领。土耳其人经过一系列英勇斗争，击退了俄国军队，但是有5000名土耳其人在西诺卑c遭到俄国舰队的屠杀。
2.英国和法国舰队于是向黑海航行，随后两军入侵克里米亚d。在阿尔玛e这条小河的沿岸进行了一场战役，结果联军大胜俄国军队。之后，联军围攻塞巴斯托波尔这个俄国位于黑海上的重要据点。
a Delhl.-On the Jumna，a tributary of the Ganges；250miles north-west of Lucknow.It was long the Mohammedan capital of India，and the seat of the Great Moguls，the Tartar Emperors，whose dynasty began in 1525.
b Cawnpore.-A city on the Ganges；50miles south-west of Lucknow，and 628from Calcutta.
c 西诺卑：黑海上的一个海港，位于亚洲土耳其的海岸上。
d 克里米亚：俄国南部的一个半岛，延伸至黑海。
e 阿尔玛：克里米亚的一条河流，位于塞巴斯托波尔以北17英里处。
3.在围攻期间，俄国人在巴拉克拉瓦a山谷对联军发起猛烈进攻，但却没有得手。在这场战役中，“轻骑兵”一战成名。600名骑兵以一种错误的阵形去抢敌人夺去的几门炮，最终伤亡过半，只有不到200人逃回。
4.随后不久，就爆发了血腥的英克尔曼战役。这次战役持续了12个小时，1.4万名英国和法国联军击败了5万名俄国军队。
5.接下来的战役是于1855年夏天在特切尔那亚b山谷打响的。以1.5万名军人加入联军阵容的撒丁人，被数量众多的俄军攻击，但在法国军队的帮助下，他们却将俄军击退并造成俄军重大伤亡。
6.与此同时，对塞巴斯托波尔的围攻虽然减缓但仍在坚定地继续着，现在，最后的进攻开始了。子弹和炮弹日复一日地从联军的枪炮中向这个小镇倾泻，他们放火烧毁建筑物，摧毁军火库，并且每天要杀死多达1000名敌人。
7.终于，在一个晚上，借着夜色掩护，俄国将军指挥他的部队井然有序地撤退，但他们在小镇上放了火，炸毁了河上的桥梁，并且凿沉了港口的所有战船。联军第二天进入小镇，除了一堆黑乎乎的废墟之外，什么也找不到。
8.据说在这次持续将近一年的可怕的围攻战中，俄国人、英国人、法国人和撒丁人的阵亡总数不少于10万人。这时，俄国求和了，随之在巴黎签署了一项和约。
