3.Richard，though he had waded through blood to the throne，did not long wear the crown he had won by such wicked means.His life was one of great misery，from the fear of being murdered，and from the stings of a guilty conscience.It is said that his nights were sleepless，or were disturbed by horrid dreams，which often made him start from his bed with a cry of terror.
4.There was also a strong party in the nation against him；and it was proposed that Henry Tudor，Earl of Richmond，who was of the House of Lancaster，should have the crown.Richmond accordingly sailed from Normandy with about 2，000amen，and landed at Milford Havenin Wales.His army soon increased to 6，000.
b
Richard met him at Bosworth Field，
near Leicester；with a larger force，and abloody battle was fought，in which Richmond gained the victory.
5.When Richard saw that his cause was lost，he rushed into the midst of his enemies，fighting with the rage of a wild beast；and he fell covered witha Milford Haven.-In Pembroke shire （Wales）.It is the finest natural harbour in Britain.
b Bosworth Field.-Near Market Bosworth；11.5miles south-west of Leicester.
wounds.His crown，which he had worn in the battle，was found in a hawthorn bush close by.It was placed on the head of Richmond by Lord Stanley，who hailed him as “King Henry the Seventh.”
6.The body of Richard was found among heaps of slain.It was thrown across a horse，carried to Leicester，and there buried.Richard the Third was an able statesman；but he was crafty and cruel，and was ready to stoop to any means in order to effect his purpose.He was the last King of the House of York.
7.Notes of Progress.-During the reigns of the Houses of Lancaster and York，very little progress was made in art and science.Hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed，many castles were laid in ruins，and the fields in many parts of the country were left unploughed.-The Feudal System，which had lasted since the Norman Conquest，now came to an end；and so did villenage or slavery，which had been common in England for many centuries.-The Government of the country became then what it is now-a limited monarchy.The King could make no law，nor lay any tax on the people，without the consent of Parliament.
中文阅读
1.被关在伦敦塔里的小王子们很快离奇失踪，人们都认为是理查德雇佣刺客将他们杀害了。据说杀手们在午夜潜入他们的卧室，看见两个孩子正相互搂着睡得正甜，便用枕头将两个小王子捂死了，然后将他们的遗体埋在了他们房间的楼梯下面。
2.差不多两百年后，伦敦塔做内部翻修时，人们发现了两个男孩的遗骨。经过鉴定，其年龄和骨骼尺寸和这两个不幸的小王子完全吻合。两人的遗骨后来移葬至威斯敏斯特大教堂。
3.而理查德本人呢，虽然以血腥暴力的手段夺取了王位，但是并没有在国王位置上待多久。他后来的人生也很悲惨，整日担心被刺杀，同时基于良知的谴责，内心的负罪感也让他惶惶不可终日。据说他经常彻夜失眠，或者总是在噩梦中被吓醒，在床上发出声声恐怖的惨叫。
4.这期间还有一股政治势力一直反对理查德，他们主张隶属于兰开斯特家族的里士满伯爵亨利·都铎应该继承王位。1485年，里士满伯爵率兵两千人从诺曼底扬帆起航，在威尔士的米尔福斯港a登陆，部众人数也很快增加到六千。理查德率领一支更大的军队与他们在莱斯特附近的博斯沃思原野b相遇，一场战斗打响，最终里士满伯爵取得了胜利。
a 米尔福斯港：位于威尔士的彭布洛克郡，是不列颠最为优良的天然海港。
b 博斯沃思原野：位于博斯沃思市区附近，地处莱斯特西南11.5英里。
5.理查德见大势已去，便只身冲入敌军阵中，像一头野兽那样疯狂厮杀，最终受伤倒下了。他战斗时戴的那顶王冠后来被人们在一丛山楂树旁发现了。斯坦利勋爵亲手将它戴在了里士满伯爵的头上，尊其为“亨利七世国王”。
6.人们在战死者的遗体中找到了理查德的尸体，把他搭上马运到了莱斯特，在那里给他举行了葬礼。理查德三世是一位能干的政治家，但其人狡猾而残忍，常常为达目的不择手段。他是约克王朝的末代君王。
7.社会文明进步--在兰开斯特与约克两朝，人文艺术与自然科学的发展都极为有限。成百上千的村庄城镇被毁，许多城堡成了废墟，大面积的耕地无人耕种，荒草丛生。从诺曼征服时期开始发展起来的封建制度彻底走向没落，影响英国历史数个世纪的农奴制也完全终结。从这时起，英国政府的结构就变成了今天的样子，即君主立宪政体。没有经过议会的同意，国王不能擅自立法，也不能对人民征税。
81
THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER
伦敦塔里的小王子
alabaster，white，like marble.commanding，ordering.confined，shut up.
desiring，asking.
dreadful，fearful.
execute，carry out.murderous，bloody.refused，declined.travelling，journeying.
victims，sufferers；objects of crime.
1.In the inner ward of the Tower of London there yawns a broad，low-browed archway，over which is a little，square，grated window，divided into two parts by a shaft of stone.The arch supports and the window lights a little room，in which one of the most dreadful crimes connected with English history is said to have been committed-a crime which has stained the whole building of the gateway with the name of the Bloody Tower.
2.It is said that while Richard the Third was at the city of Gloucester，in the course of that royal travelling through the country which was called a Progress，he sent a man called John Green，who was a trusted servant，to the Governor of the Tower，Sir Robert Brackenbury，with a letter desiring that official to put to death，somehow or other，the two little Princes who were then confined in the fortress.The boys were the young King Edward the Fifth，and his younger brother，Richard，Duke of York.
3.Brackenbury was afraid to execute so horrible an order，and he refused to commit the crime，and sent back Green to Richard with a message to that effect.Richard had by this time gone to Warwick.When he heard of what he would call the cowardice of Brackenbury，he chose a man whose heart was like iron，and sent him-Sir James Tyrrel，the Master of the Horse-with a written order to Brackenbury，commanding that official to hand over to Tyrrel the keysand full control of the Tower for four-and-twenty hours.
4.Brackenbury could do nothing but comply with this order，although he must have known well what its dreadful meaning was.Tyrrel，who，bad as he was，did not like to do the murderous deed himself，hired two men-Miles Forest，a murderer by trade，and John Dighton，a big rough groom-and sent them by night to the chamber where the little Princes lay asleep.
5.With noiseless footsteps and shaded lamp they stole up the stone staircase to the room，and there saw the two boys-“Girdling one another Within their alabaster innocent arms：Their lips were four red roses on a stalk，Which，in their summer beauty，kissed each other.A book of prayers on their pillow lay.”
