Between 1807 and 1814 the Iberian Peninsula (comprising Spain and Portugal) was the scene of a titanic and merciless struggle. It took place on many different planes: between Napoleon’s French army and the angry inhabitants; between the British, ever keen to exacerbate the emperor’s difficulties, and the marshals sent from Paris to try to keep them in check; between new forces of science and meritocracy and old ones of conservatism and birth. (46) It was also, and this is unknown even to many people well read about the period, a battle between those who made codes and those who broke them.
I first discovered the Napoleonic cryptographic battle a few years ago when I was reading Sir Charles Oman’s epic History of the Peninsular War. In volume V he had attached an appendix, The Scovell Ciphers. (47) It listed many documents in code that had been captured from the French army of Spain, and whose secrets had been revealed by the work of one George Scovell, an officer in British headquarters. Oman rated Scovell’s significance highly, but at the same time, the general nature of his History meant that (48) he could not analyze carefully what this obscure officer may or may not have contributed to that great struggle between nations or indeed tell us anything much about the man himself. I was keen to read more, but was surprised to find that Oman’s appendix, published in 1914, was the only considered thing that had been written about this secret war.
I became convinced that this story was every bit as exciting and significant as that of Enigma and the breaking of German codes in the Second World War. The question was, could it be told?
Studying Scovell’s papers at the Public Record Office, London, I found that he had left an extensive journal and copious notes about his work in the Peninsula. What was more, many original French dispatches had been preserved in this collection, which I realized was priceless. (49) There may have been many spies and intelligence officers during the Napoleonic Wars, but it is usually extremely difficult to find the material they actually provided or worked on.
As I researched Scovell’s story I found far more of interest besides his intelligence work. His status in Lord Wellington’s headquarters and the recognition given to him for his work were all bound up with the class politics of the army at the time. His tale of self-improvement and hard work would make a fascinating biography in its own right, but represents something more than that. (50) Just as the code breaking has its wider relevance in the struggle for Spain, so his attempts to make his way up the promotion ladder speak volumes about British society.
46.这也是一场密码创造者和密码破译者之间的战争，甚至很多对这一时期有深入了解的人对此都一无所知。
47.它列举了许多从入侵西班牙的法军那里缴获的密码文件，这些文件的秘密是由英军指挥部的一名军官乔治·斯科威尔的工作破译出来的。
48.他无法仔细分析这位默默无闻的军官究竟对这场国际大战做出了什么贡献，也无法告诉我们关于他本人的更多情况。
49.在拿破仑战争期间可能有许多间谍和情报军官，但通常很难找到他们实际提供或研究的材料。
50.正如破译密码在这场援助西班牙的战争中具有深远意义一样，他在晋升的阶梯上所做的努力也充分反映了英国社会的状况。
【整体分析】
来源：The Man Who Broke Napoleon’s Codes《拿破仑密码破解者》一书的前言部分。
主题：本文主要介绍了拿破仑战争期间在伊比利亚半岛发生的密码战，讨论了英军指挥部的一名军官乔治·斯科威尔破解法国密码的工作，以及这项工作的重要性。
【试题解析】
46. It was also, and this is unknown even to many people well read about the period, a battle between those who made codes and those who broke them.
【结构分析】
分句1：It（主语）was（系动词）also（状语）a battle（表语）between those（后置定语）
who定语从句1：who（引导词）made（谓语）codes（宾语）
who定语从句2：who（引导词）broke（谓语）them（宾语）
分句2：this（主语）is（系动词）unknown（表语）even to many people（状语）well read about the period（后置定语）
【补充分析】
① and this is … period作插入语，用来强调a battle between…，be unknown to是固定搭配，意为“不为人知的”；
② well read about the period作后置定语修饰people，well read是形容词，表示“博学的”，此处结合语境可翻译为“熟知、了解这一时期的”；
③ 第一个定语从句修饰those，表示“创造密码的人”；
④ 第二个定语从句修饰those，them指代前面的code，broke本义是“打破；打碎”，此处和code搭配，可翻译为“破译密码”。
47. It listed many documents in code that had been captured from the French army of Spain, and whose secrets had been revealed by the work of one George Scovell, an officer in British headquarters.
【结构分析】
主句：It（主语）listed（谓语）many documents in code（宾语）
that定语从句：that（引导词）had been captured（谓语）from the French army of Spain（状语）
whose定语从句：whose secrets（主语）had been revealed（谓语）by the work of one George Scovell,（状语）an officer in British headquarters（同位语）
【补充分析】
① 介词in可表示使用的语言，in code意为“用密码写成的”；
② that和whose引导的定语从句都是修饰documents in code，因为从句部分较长，可以翻译成两个分句，capture本义是“俘虏；俘获”，此处结合语境可翻译为“缴获、截获文件”；
③ one位于人名之前，表示“一名叫做……的人”；
④ an officer in British headquarters作George Scovell的同位语，用来说明乔治·斯科威尔的职位和身份。
48. he could not analyze carefully what this obscure officer may or may not have contributed to that great struggle between nations or indeed tell us anything much about the man himself.
【结构分析】
主句：he（主语）could not analyze（谓语1）carefully（状语）or（连词）indeed（状语）tell（谓语2）us（间接宾语）anything（直接宾语）much about the man himself（后置定语）
what宾语从句：what（引导词）this obscure officer（主语）may or may not have contributed（谓语）to that great struggle between nations（状语）
【补充分析】
① what在宾语从句中作have contributed的宾语，表示“做出了什么贡献”，may or may not直译过来是“可能做出了或没做出什么贡献”，为了让语句更通顺可以修改为“究竟做出了什么贡献”；
② great struggle between nations中great表示战争的规模很大，between nations说明这是发生在许多国家之间的战争，综合起来可翻译为“国际大战”。
49. There may have been many spies and intelligence officers during the Napoleonic Wars, but it is usually extremely difficult to find the material they actually provided or worked on.
【结构分析】
分句1：There may have been（there be句型）many spies and intelligence officers（主语）during the Napoleonic Wars（时间状语）
分句2：it（形式主语）is（系动词）usually extremely difficult（表语）to find the material（真正的主语）
定语从句：[省略引导词that] they（主语）actually（状语）provided or worked on（谓语）
【补充分析】
① there be句型通常翻译为“有……”，为了符合汉语习惯可以将时间状语during the Napoleonic Wars提前，可翻译为“在拿破仑战争期间可能有……”；
② intelligence有“智力”和“情报”的意思，此处和officers搭配且与spies相并列，应选取“情报”的词义，翻译为“情报军官”；
③ it is + adj. + to do sth.句型中it是形式主语，通常会将真正的主语to do sth.提前，可翻译为“……做某事；要做某事是……的”；
④ 省略引导词that的定语从句they actually provided or worked on修饰material，表示“他们实际提供或研究的材料”。
50. Just as the code breaking has its wider relevance in the struggle for Spain, so his attempts to make his way up the promotion ladder speak volumes about British society.
【结构分析】
主句：so（状语）his attempts（主语）to make his way up the promotion ladder（后置定语）speak（谓语）volumes（宾语）about British society（状语）
as方式状语从句：Just（状语）as（引导词）the code breaking（主语）has（谓语）its wider relevance（宾语）in the struggle for Spain（地点状语）
【补充分析】
① as引导方式状语从句，表示“像……一样”，just表示强调，可翻译为“正如；就像……一样”，Just as… so…是固定句式结构，意为“正如……，……也”；
② relevance有“相关性”和“重要性”的意思，此处表示破译密码在战争中意义重大，应选取“重要性”的词义，struggle for Spain直译过来是“为了西班牙的斗争”，结合语境和历史背景，此处讲的应该是英国援助西班牙的战争，可翻译为“在这场援助西班牙的战争中具有深远意义”；
③ to make his way up the promotion ladder作后置定语修饰attempts，表示“他在晋升的阶梯上所做的努力”；
④ speak本义为“说话；讲话”，此处和British society搭配，可引申为“反映”之意，volumes本义为“许多卷；成卷的书”，此处可引申为“大量；充分”的意思，可以将speak volumes视作一个固定搭配，意为“充分反映；充分说明”。
【重点词汇】
peninsula /pəˈnɪnsjələ/ n. 半岛
titanic /taɪˈtænɪk/ adj. 巨大的
exacerbate /ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt/ v. 使恶化；使加剧；使加重
meritocracy /ˌmerɪˈtɒkrəsi/ n. 精英领导体制；英才管理制度
conservatism /kənˈsɜːvətɪzəm/ n. 保守主义
cryptographic /ˌkrɪptəˈɡræfɪk/ adj. 关于暗号的；用密码写的
appendix /əˈpendɪks/ n. 附录
obscure /əbˈskjʊə(r)/ adj. 无名的；鲜为人知的
copious /ˈkəʊpiəs/ adj. 大量的；充裕的；丰富的
【全文翻译】
1807年至1814年间，伊比利亚半岛（包括西班牙和葡萄牙）发生了一场巨大而残酷的战争。这场战争发生在许多不同的层面上：拿破仑的法国军队与愤怒的居民之间；一直热衷于加剧皇帝的窘境的英国人与从巴黎派来试图控制他们的元帅之间；科学认知和精英统治的新力量与保守主义和唯出身论的旧力量之间。这也是一场密码创造者和密码破译者之间的战争，甚至很多对这一时期有深入了解的人对此都一无所知。
几年前，我在阅读查尔斯·欧曼爵士的《半岛战争史》时，第一次发现了拿破仑时期的密码战。在第五卷中，他附上了一个附录，即《斯科威尔密码》。它列举了许多从入侵西班牙的法军那里缴获的密码文件，这些文件的秘密是由英军指挥部的一名军官乔治·斯科威尔的工作破译出来的。欧曼对斯科威尔的重要性给予了高度评价，但同时，其《历史》一书的整体研究性质意味着他无法仔细分析这位默默无闻的军官究竟对这场国际大战做出了什么贡献，也无法告诉我们关于他本人的更多情况。我很想读更多的东西，但惊讶地发现，欧曼这份在1914年出版的附录是关于这场秘密战争唯一可供参考的资料。
我开始相信，这个故事与第二次世界大战中的恩尼格码密码机和破译德军密码的故事一样激动人心且意义重大。问题是，它能为人所知吗？
在伦敦的英国国家档案馆研究斯科威尔的文件时，我发现他留下了大量关于他在半岛工作的日记和大量的笔记。更重要的是，许多法军的密件原稿被保存在这批文件中，我意识到这是无价之宝。在拿破仑战争期间可能有许多间谍和情报军官，但通常很难找到他们实际提供或研究的材料。
随着我深入研究斯克威尔的故事，我发现除了他的情报工作外，还有更多有趣的地方。他在威灵顿公爵指挥部的地位以及对他工作的认可，都与当时军队的阶级政治联系在一起。他的自强不息和勤勉刻苦的故事本身就可以成为一本引人入胜的传记，但所代表的意义却不止于此。正如破译密码在这场援助西班牙的战争中具有更广泛的意义一样，他在晋升的阶梯上所做的努力也充分反映了英国社会的状况。
