8.With thirteen ships,Ralegh set sail for Trinidad;and when he reachedthe Orinoco,being sick himself,he sent his son and a captain,whom he trusted,up the stream to attack the town of St.Thomas.In the fight that ensued young Ralegh was killed;and the captain,after telling the sad story to Ralegh,who heaped on him dreadful reproaches,went into his cabin and stabbed himself to the heart.
9.Ralegh then led his fleet,which was greatly reduced in strength by desertions,away to Newfoundland,in the hope of finding and plundering some of the Spanish silver-ships.But this hope also failed,and he steered his vessels for England.
a The Orinoco.-A river in the north of South America,flowing into the Atlantic.
b Guiana.-In the north of South America;now three colonies -one British,one Dutch,and one French.
c Trinidad.-An island off the north-east coast of south America.
10.At the urgent demand of the Spanish ambassador,he was arrested as so as he landed,and was taken again to that Tower where he had spent so many weary years.The old sentence,pronounced against him so long before,was now revived,and under it he was ordered to be executed.
11.When the morning of execution came,he took a good breakfast,smoked a pipe,and drank a cup of the wine called sack.So great was the crowd around the scaffold,that he was with difficulty forced through to the place where he was to die.He then made a speech,in the course of which he declared that he was to be put to death on a false accusation.
12.The Sheriff wanted him to come down and warm himself at a fire,as he seemed to be cold.-“No,good Mr.Sheriff,”said he;“let us be quick,for in a quarter of an hour my ague will come on me;and if I be not dead before then,my enemies will say that I quake for fear.”
13.Then having prayed,and bidden farewell to the gentlemen around him,he took up the axe and balanced it in his hand,saying at the same time,as he ran his fingers along the edge,“This is a sharp medicine;but it will cure all diseases.”
14.When his neck was placed on the block,the headsman delayed to give the blow;upon which he cried out,“What are you afraid of ?Strike,man!”The words were scarcely uttered when the blow fell;and another following,sent the head of brave old Ralegh rolling in the dust.
中文阅读
1.在英国历史上,没有任何人的名字出现的场合有沃尔特·罗利那么多。他生于德文郡,并在牛津接受教育。作为一名战士,他曾在法国和荷兰参战,之后开始了水手和殖民者的生涯。有一次他在一条泥泞道路上有幸遇到伊丽莎白女王,当女王在路况最差的一段路上行走时,他将斗篷脱下来铺在地上,以使女王不会弄脏双脚。随后,女王便将他带至宫廷里豪华的宴会厅。
2.罗利接受了女王赠予的领地,随后前往美洲探险,并创立弗吉尼亚殖民地。a 探险者回来时,将烟草、玉米和马铃薯这三种作物引入欧洲。
3.我们在爱尔兰也能找到罗利。他在那里拜访大诗人斯宾塞b,并耕种自己获赠的、位于被征服的芒斯特省内的土地。不过,他并没有在那里逗留,因为国内还有很重要的事情要他去做。船队即将启航,喜欢他的人全部同行。当船队驶至英吉利海峡时,他采取了一系列措施并在其中发挥重要作用,但这些措施全都流产了。
a 弗吉尼亚:美利坚合众国的一个州,切萨皮克湾以南。
b 斯宾塞:即埃德蒙,英国最伟大的诗人之一,《仙后》的作者,生于1553年,卒于1598年。
4.他与伊丽莎白女王的一名宫女相爱后,嫉妒的女王将他送进监狱。在监狱里以及在他位于多塞特郡谢尔波恩那绿树掩映中的安静乡间小屋(他从监狱释放后就赋闲于此)里,他筹划着通过海上航行前往奥里诺科a,期望在那里能找到丰富的黄金和钻石。实际上,这次航海他很快就随之实现,但由于重新受到宫廷的恩宠,去圭亚那殖民的想法未能实现。他将时间都花在身穿华丽的衣服参加当时知名的盛大庆典活动上了。
5.伊丽莎白女王死后,罗利的厄运开始增多。由于不喜欢詹姆士国王,有人指控他密谋废黜这名苏格兰君主,因为此人没有善待他的新臣民。为此,他被带到温切斯特受审,在被宣判有罪后送进监狱。
6.事实证明,这次在伦敦塔长达近15年(1603~1618年)的监狱生涯,成为他一生中成就威名的重要时期。这是因为他在监舍里开始写一本名叫《世界历史》的书,并在朋友的帮助下写成了宏篇巨著。
7.但是,他并未丧失出狱的希望。瞅准一个时机,他请一位朋友告诉某名朝臣,说圭亚那b有一座金矿,并说若干年前他前往那个地区时曾亲眼看到过。这名朝臣将消息告诉了国王,后者于是放了罗利,指望他去那里找到大笔财富充实国库。
8.罗利带着13艘帆船,启航前往特立尼达c。到达奥里诺科河的时候,由于身体有恙,他便派自己的儿子和一名心腹船长顺流而上,向圣托马斯镇发起进攻。之后的战斗中,小罗利战死,船长在将这一噩耗告诉罗利之后,罗利勃然大怒、严加斥责,并来到船长的船舱将其刺死。
9.然后,罗利将由于部分人逃走而力量大损的船队带走,前往纽芬兰,以期找到一些西班牙运银的船只后实施抢劫。不过,这一希望也破灭了,他只好调转船头前往苏格兰。
10.在西班牙大使的严密注视下,罗利一上岸就被逮捕,并再次被送到他已经度过很多年无聊时光的伦敦塔。在很久之前便已宣判过的旧罪名现在又恢复了,根据这一罪名,他被下令执行死刑。
11.行刑那天早上,他美美地吃了早餐,抽了一管烟,喝了一杯叫做“麻袋”的葡萄酒。断头台周围的人太多,以至于很难让他走过人群,来到这个将结束他性命的地方。之后,他发表了一个讲话,在讲话中他宣称,自己是由于一项错误的指控被判死刑的。
12.郡长希望他先下来烤会儿火,暖和一下,因为他看上去很冷。“不了,好心的郡长先生,”他说,“让我们动作快点儿,因为再过15分钟,我的疟疾就会发作;如果我在此之前死不了,那么我的敌人就会说我是因为害怕而发抖。”
a 奥里诺科:南美洲北部的一条河流,流入大西洋。
b 圭亚那:位于南美洲北部,如今有三块殖民地,分属英国、荷兰和法国。
c 特立尼达:南美洲东北海岸线外的一个岛屿。
13.接着他做了祈祷,向周围的先生们永别,然后拿起斧子,在手中掂了掂,一边用手指抚摸斧的边缘一边说:“这是一剂猛药,但它能治愈所有疾病。”
14.当他的脖子架在断头台上时,刽子手却并不急于砍下;在这当口他大喊:“你怕什么?砍吧,兄弟!”话几乎没有说完,斧头就落了下来;再加上一斧,勇敢的老罗利的头颅当即滚落在地。
108
THE FOUNDERS OF NEW ENGLAND
新英格兰创始人
benefit,good.defiance,challenge.embarked,entered.emigrants,colonists.finally,at last.grateful,thankful.mentioned,spoken of.miserable,wretched.perilous,dangerous.
pestilence,plague;disease.privations,wants;losses.prospered,got on well.pulled,rowed.
recognition,notice;acknowledgment.
remained,continued.revived,rekindled.wigwams,Indian huts.
1.In the reign of James the First,when persecution was raging against the Puritans,some pious farmers left the Humber to find shelter in Holland.Settling there,they began to work for their bread at different trades,one becoming a printer,another a dyer of silk;and all behaved with such quietness and honesty,as to win the good opinion of the magistrates.But they still felt like exiles,and longed for a home;and at last they resolved to go to America.
2.When they had got the consent of the Virginian Company,and had arranged with some London merchants about the raising of money to carry on the fisheries in those distant seas,they prepared two ships for the voyage.These,bearing the names of two pretty English flowers-the Mayflower and the Speedwell-were intended to carry the white blossom of a pure religious faith across the Atlantic,and to plant it on the American continent.
a
3.At Delfshaven
the Pilgrim Fathers embarked on their perilous voyage.
They had fasted and prayed;then they had sung psalms and had shed many natural tears at a farewell feast given in their pastor’s house;and now the ropes were loosed,and,with the firing of their three little cannon and all the muskets they possessed,the faithful band sailed out of the harbour.