What is 'twelve leagues' distance'??
“To the anxious travelers the sight of the American shore brought almost inexpressible relief.” said one recorder of events, “The air at twelve leagues’ distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden.” The colonists’ first glimpse of the new land was a sight of dense woods.

What does “The air at twelve leagues’ distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden.” mean?
这句话是什么意思？league is an union, right?
but what is ' leagues' distance'?

Question

What is 'twelve leagues' distance'??
“To the anxious travelers the sight of the American shore brought almost inexpressible relief.” said one recorder of events, “The air at twelve leagues’ distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden.” The colonists’ first glimpse of the new land was a sight of dense woods.

What does “The air at twelve leagues’ distance smelt as sweet as a new-blown garden.” mean?
这句话是什么意思？league is an union, right?
but what is ' leagues' distance'?

Answer

Hi
 its an anitquated unit of measurement. I needed to look it up it's either 3 miles or how far you can walk in one hour. So 12 leagues would still be a long way from the shore but maybe enough to sight land and notice a difference in the air.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_(unit)

Answer

You would be able to look up the answer from the sentence. The keywords are "league" and "distance", and you would find a similar answer to Edward's link. In a case like this, if your dictionary gives you a nonsense definition, then you can take a moment to think what the word *might* mean.

Answers · 3

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!