CHAPTER XI. BRITANNIA.

 Opposite to the west coast of Europe is the island called Britannia, so celebrated¹ in the records of Greece[25] and of our own country. It is situate to the north-west, and, with a large tract² of intervening sea, lies opposite to Germany, Gaul, and Spain, by far the greater part of Europe. Its former name was Albion.[26] This island is distant from the coast of the nation of the Morini,[27] at the spot where the passage 30 across is the shortest, fifty miles. Pytheas and Isidorus say that its circumference³ is 4875 miles. It is barely thirty years since any extensive knowledge of it was gained by the successes of the Roman arms, and even as yet they have not penetrated⁴ beyond the vicinity of the Caledonian[28] forest. Agrippa believes its length to be 800 miles, and its breadth 300; he also thinks that the breadth of Hibernia is the same, but that its length is less by 200 miles. This last island is situated⁵ beyond Britannia, the passage across being the shortest from the territory of the Silures,[29] a distance of thirty miles. Of the remaining islands none is said to have a greater circumference than one hundred and twenty-five miles. Among these there are the Orcades,[30] forty in number, and situated within a short distance of each other, the seven islands called Acmod?.[31] The most remote of all that we find mentioned is Thule,[32] in which, there is no night at the summer solstice, when the sun is passing through the sign of Cancer, while on the other hand at the winter solstice there is no day. Some writers are of opinion that this state of things lasts for six whole months together.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

3 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

4 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

5 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。