美国学生世界地理教材 第64期:海盗的海洋(1)

 Chapter 20 Pirate¹ Seas 第20章 海盗的海洋

I was once on a train leaving Baltimore when a man asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to Baltimore.  我有一次坐火车正要离开巴尔的摩，这时一个男子问我到哪去。我告诉他我要去巴尔的摩。

He looked at me as if I must have made a mistake and exclaimed², “You are on the wrong train; this train is leaving Baltimore.” 他看着我，现出的神情就好像我弄错了，他大声说：“你坐错车了；这辆火车是从巴尔的摩开出的。” 

“I know that,” I replied, “but I’m going to Baltimore the long way round, round the World to Baltimore. I’m going west to get east.” “我知道，”我回答说，“但是我要绕个大圈子到巴尔的摩，绕过整个世界到巴尔的摩去。我要向西走，到东方去。” 

On the other side of the World from us are some islands called “The Indies.” 在与我们相对的世界的另一面，和我们相对的地方，有一些岛屿叫做“印度群岛”。 

People had always gone to the Indies, far, far away, by traveling toward³ the east. 人们到遥远的印度群岛去总是向东走。 

Columbus thought he could go in just the opposite direction—toward the west—and reach the Indies that way. 哥伦布认为他可以往正相反的方向走——向西走——到达印度群岛。 

People said it was foolish to go west to get east, but Columbus believed the World was round, 人们说到东方去却向西走是很愚蠢的，但哥伦布认为世界是圆的，而世界如果是圆的， 

and if it were round he knew he could get to these islands by going west just as well as by going east. 他知道他可以向西走，到这些岛屿去，正如可以向东走去一样。 

So he sailed, and he sailed, and he sailed, always toward the setting⁴ sun, and at last he did come to some islands.  于是他扬帆起航，日日夜夜不停地在海上航行，一直朝着落日的方向，最后他真的到达了一些岛屿。

He thought these islands were the Indies, so he named them the “West Indies.” 他以为这些岛屿就是印度群岛，于是他把它们叫做“西印度群岛”。 

As a matter of fact, we know, but he didn’t know, that he hadn’t gone half far enough to reach the Indies. 事实上，我们知道到印度群岛的路程他还没走到一半，但他自己却不知道。

He didn’t know that even if he had gone on farther⁵, Central America would have been in the way, anyway. 他不知道即使他再走下去，至少中美洲还会挡住他的路。

Living on these islands were men with red skins, painted faces, and feathers in their hair, and Columbus called them Indians. 住在这些岛上的人有着红色的皮肤，脸上涂着油彩，头发上插着羽毛，哥伦布把他们叫做“印第安人”。 

Other people called these Indians “Caribs,” which means⁶ “brave,” because they were brave, 其他人把这些印第安人叫做“加勒比人”，意思是“勇敢的人”，因为他们很勇敢， 

and the blue sea which surrounded these islands they called the Caribbean Sea—the sea of the Caribs. 而环绕着这些岛屿的蓝色海洋，他们称之为“加勒比海”——加勒比人的海洋。

Columbus was looking for a new way and he found it, but after Columbus other men came along looking for gold and silver and they found that. 哥伦布在找一条新的路线，他确实找到了，但是在哥伦布之后其他人跟着来，是寻找金子和银子的，他们也找到了。 

Some they found in Mexico and some they found in South America, and some they took away from the Indians who had already found it. 有些是在墨西哥找到的，有些是在南美洲找到的，还有些是他们从先找到金银的印第安人手里夺来的。 

They robbed⁷ them, that’s all. This gold and silver—treasure—found and stolen, they loaded on ships and started back to Spain. 他们抢劫了印第安人，就是这么一回事。这些金子和银子——财宝——找到的和窃取的，他们都装在船上，运回西班牙。

1 pirate   

n.海盗，每盗船

参考例句：

• The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
• The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。

2 exclaimed   

vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊，惊叫，大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

4 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

5 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 robbed   

v.抢夺( rob的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫；掠夺；使丧失

参考例句：

• Would you be able to identify the man who robbed you? 你能够认出那个抢你东西的人吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They stood looking on while the man was robbed. 正当那个人被抢劫时，他们却站在那儿袖手旁观。 来自《简明英汉词典》