环球英语 — 343：Viking Sailors

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Mike Procter.
Voice 2
And I’m Rachel Hobson. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight story begins a long time ago. The year was 793. The place was a small island off the east coast of Britain. Here lived a peaceful religious community. One day something happened to destroy the quiet life of this community. Foreign raiders sailed to their island. These war-hungry men attacked and killed the holy men. The raiders stole everything of value. These raiders were called Vikings. This was the beginning of Viking attacks all over the British Isles² for hundreds of years to come.
Voice 2
In today’s Spotlight we tell of the Vikings. We talk about who they were. We describe their customs. We also tell of a modern group of people who built a Viking ship. Why did they do it? What did they hope to learn?
Voice 1
The Vikings were robbers³. They travelled by sea from Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Vikings were most active from the ninth [9th] to the eleventh [11th] century. Most Vikings were farmers. They spent their time working on their land and hunting. But often young Viking men wanted to find excitement and wealth. They would go by sea to rob other people groups.
Voice 2
Viking leaders organized the young men into groups of fighters. They took the fighters on sea trips on longships. Longships were the fastest ships in the world at the time. They were beautiful to look at. And they could hold many fighters. The Vikings planned their attacks before they took a trip. They knew the coasts of Europe very well. They knew where to find villages and churches that they could attack.
Voice 1
When the Vikings found their target, they searched the coastline for a good place to land. Then, they left the boat quickly and quietly. They surrounded the villages and attacked. The village people were not prepared for them. The Vikings were fierce fighters. Often they killed the men and had sex with the women by force. Then they would return home with many treasures. But not all Vikings returned home. Many of them stayed in the new lands. They brought their families. And they started Viking settlements.
Voice 2
Experts believe the Vikings attacked other people groups for several reasons. They say that Viking populations were becoming too large. The Vikings needed more resources and more land. Also the people they attacked were such easy targets. The Vikings knew they would have much success on their raids⁴. However, not all Vikings remained violent. The Vikings that settled in new lands often accepted local traditions and beliefs. They brought their knowledge of trading and farming with them. They established some very powerful and wealthy cities - such as York and Dublin.
Voice 1
Historians⁵ do not know very much about the Vikings. Vikings did not write down their history. Instead Viking story tellers⁶ told the people their history. They told stories of Viking heroes and important events from the past. The younger generations learned⁷ about the past in this way. Later, story tellers in Viking settlements in Iceland wrote down some of these stories. Much of the information we know about Viking customs comes from these Icelandic writings.
Voice 2
Many people are interested in learning⁸ more about the Vikings. Viking ruins have been discovered in many places - even as far away as Canada. Different groups have worked on projects to discover more about them. In 1962, an important event happened in Denmark. Experts recovered the remains⁹ of five Viking ships. The ships were at the bottom of the water of the Roskilde Fjord. The largest ship was a warship¹⁰. It was thirty meters long. Officials named it Skuldelev number Two. Scientists tested the ship. Evidence showed that the Vikings built it in Dublin, Ireland nearly a thousand years ago.
Voice 1
In the 1990’s, officials at the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark had an idea for an important project. They decided¹¹ to build a copy of the Skuldelev number Two. They wanted the copy to take a similar trip to the original Skuldelev number Two. They wanted to sail the ship between Denmark and Ireland.
Voice 2
The project took ten years of careful preparation and planning. The team did not use modern materials or tools to build the new ship. Instead they used the same methods and tools as the Vikings. It took four years to complete the ship. When it was finished, they named it “The Sea Stallion from Glendalough”. They took the ship on a test trip. For four weeks a crew sailed the ship. It survived heavy winds and high waves.
Voice 1
Finally in the summer of 2007, the ship was ready for its long trip. The ship would sail from Denmark to Dublin. It would stay in Dublin all through winter. Then the next summer the ship would return to Denmark. The team leaders needed a crew of sixty-five [65] people to sail the ship. The crew would experience the same difficulties as the Vikings. They would have to live in a very small space. They would have to sleep in the open air. The leaders carefully chose a crew of people who were ready for such an experience. So the Sea Stallion started its trip.
Voice 2
The first days of the trip were exciting. Strong winds helped the ship sail over four hundred kilometres. But then there was no wind at all. For ten days the ship did not move much. This was a difficult time for the crew. There was little they could do without the wind. However, the biggest problem happened when they experienced¹² too much wind. The ship was off the southwest of Scotland¹³. Suddenly the wind and waves threatened to overpower the longship. Many of the crew believed the ship was going to sink. But to everyone’s surprise it survived.
Voice 1
The leader and crew have recorded their experiences. Experts are looking at this information. They are excited by what they are learning. Already, they are surprised that longships move slower than they had expected. And they hope to discover much more! The experts will need a long time to read and process all this information.
Voice 2
Many people ask the question why the Viking Museum has spent so much time and money on this project. The museum officials say the answer is simple - they want to gain knowledge. They believe this is an important scientific and archaeological project. The trip will help to answer many questions about Vikings - questions from historians, archaeologists and boat builders. The trip will help them to learn more about the past.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

3 robbers   

n.抢劫者，强盗，盗贼( robber的名词复数 )；盗匪

参考例句：

• The robbers fled empty-handed. 抢劫犯一无所获地逃走了。
• The policeman discharged his gun at the fleeing robbers. 警察向逃跑的强盗开了枪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 raids   

突然袭击( raid的名词复数 )； 劫掠，劫夺； 突然查抄[搜捕]

参考例句：

• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。
• We can annoy the enemy by raids. 我们可以用空袭骚扰敌人。

5 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

6 tellers   

n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者

参考例句：

• The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里，还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

13 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。