While Alfred's little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders.

little ^{adj. trivial; insignificant 微不足道的}

• She complained about every little problem.
• The error was so little that it was ignored.
• He paid little attention to the warning.

gather ^{v. assemble; collect; mass; congregate … 聚集；收集；集合}

• A large crowd began to gather in the square. ^聚集
• She was trying to gather information for her report. ^收集
• The whole family gathered for Christmas. ^集合

set out to do ^{开始做...；有意做某事}

• Dimitri at once set out to find the thief.
• The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts, but he took a long time to send them.
• True eccentrics never deliberately set out to draw attention to themselves. ^{从未故意打算吸引}
• We never set out to hurt you, Victor. And I'm sorry we did. Are you done? Yeah. ^{从未有意要伤害}

penetrate (into / through) ^{进入、穿过（尤其表示费力、有抵抗力的情况下）}

• Our troops have penetrated (into) enemy territory. ^{我们的部队已进入敌方领土。}

Guthrum ^{丹麦人的国王古特仑（历史人物）Danish king, he was forced to accept baptism after being defeated by Alfred.}

• Guthrum was the commander of the Danish invaders.
• Alfred defeated Guthrum and forced him to accept baptism.
• The Treaty of Wedmore established boundaries between Alfred's kingdom and Guthrum's territory.

These had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went.

settle down ^{定居下来、安顿下来；安静下来}

• They’d like to see their daughter settle down, get married and have kids.
• After a long journey, we finally settled down in our new apartment.
• The children settled down to watch the film.
• He had hardly had time to settle down when he sold the house and left the country.

He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual.

Discipline is slack / loose / lax ^纪律松懈

• The manager warned that discipline was slack in the department.
• The school enforced stricter rules because the discipline was loose.
• Lax discipline led to many mistakes.

precautions ^防范措施

• What are Universal Precautions? ^{什么是普遍预防措施？}
• Precautions before mining a website. ^{挖掘网站之前的注意事项。}
• What precautions should we take? ^{以及我们应该对此做些什么准备呢？}

casual ^{adj. slack; careless; inattentive 松懈的；马虎的；不经意的}

• His manner was very casual about the important meeting. ^态度松懈
• The students were casual about their deadlines. ^不在意
• The security checks were surprisingly casual.^{安保检查出人意料地马虎}

They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions.

live by doing ^{靠(通过)某种职业为生}

• He lives by writing. ^{他靠写作谋生}
• He lives by sewing. ^{他靠缝纫为生}
• The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing during the last Ice Age... ^{靠狩猎和捕鱼为生}

live on sth. ^{靠(依赖)某种食物或生活来源为生（指人）}

• He lives on meat and milk. ^{靠某种食物为生}
• He lives on salary. ^{靠生活来源为生}
• He still lives on his parents despite having a job. ^啃老

proceeds ^{做某事或卖某事的收益 the money that is obtained from doing sth. or selling sth.}

• The proceeds of the concert will go to charity. ^{音乐会的收益}
• The family received the proceeds from the sale of the house. ^{出售的收益}

raid on ^{对...的抢劫/突袭}

• The police carried out a raid on the jeweler's shop. ^{对珠宝店的抢劫}
• They launched an air raid on the military base. ^{对军事基地的空袭}
• The soldiers conducted a surprise raid on the camp. ^{对营地的突袭}

neighboring ^{adj. nearby 临近的}

• The two countries are neighboring states. ^{这两个国家是临近的}
• They often visit the neighboring regions. ^临近地区
• She borrowed a cup of sugar from her neighboring flat. ^临近的

There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft.

as well as... ^{除了...之外还... （强调前者）}

• She speaks French as well as Spanish. ^{除了...之外还有...}
• He's got plenty of brains as well as brawn. ^{他四肢发达，头脑也不简单。}
• This year numerous bands are playing, as well as comedy acts. ^{今年有许多乐队在表演，也有喜剧节目。}

soft  ^{adj.If you are soft on someone, you do not treat them as strictly or severely as you should. 软弱可欺;心慈手软的}

• If you appear to be soft, people will take advantage of you. ^{如果你显得软弱可欺}
• The army had become soft after years of peace. ^{军队已经变得软弱}
• Don't go soft on them; they deserve the punishment. ^{不要变软弱}