英國語文第五冊(雙語):弗吉尼亞州(1)

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LESSON 42 Virginia

第四十二課 弗吉尼亞州

Sir Walter Raleigh spent a large fortune in attempting to colonize Virginia. He succeeded in directing the attention of his countrymen to the region which had kindled his own enthusiasm. But his colonies never prospered. Sometimes the colonists returned home disgusted by the hardships of the wilderness. Once they were massacred by the Indians. When help came from England, the infant settlement was in ruins. The bones of unburied men lay about the fields; wild deer strayed among the untenanted houses. Once a colony wholly disappeared. To this day its fate is unknown.

沃爾特·雷德爵士花了一大筆錢去弗吉尼亞州開拓殖民地。他成功的吸引了民眾對那個地方的注意力，而弗吉尼亞州也點燃了他的熱情。但是他的殖民地從來不曾繁榮過。有時候殖民者因為忍受不了這塊荒涼的土地而返回家鄉(xiāng)。還有一次他們遭到了印第安人的屠殺。當英國的援助到來的時候，最初的殖民地已經(jīng)變成一片廢墟，遍地是未埋的殘骸，野鹿在無人居住的房子周圍游蕩。曾經(jīng)有一批殖民者全部消失，直到現(xiàn)在都無人知曉他們的命運。

Sir Walter was enduring his long captivity in the Tower, writing his "History of the World," and moaning piteously over the havoc which prison-damps had wrought upon his handsome frame. The time had now come, and his labours were about to bear fruit. The history of Virginia was about to open. It opened with meagre promise. In 1606 A. D. a charter from the King established a Company whose function was to colonize—whose privilege was to trade.

沃爾特爵士長期被囚禁在倫敦塔里，期間他寫下了【世界史】，他哀嘆潮濕的監(jiān)獄環(huán)境對他的摧殘和折磨，損害了他俊朗的容顏和健康的體格。終于他的艱辛等來了成功的那一刻。弗吉尼亞州的歷史即將翻開新的一頁，但這段故事的開頭卻前景黯淡。在1606年，當時英國國王為了給殖民地貿(mào)易特權(quán)，于是特許在殖民地成立了弗吉尼亞公司，從事貿(mào)易活動。

The Company sent out an expedition, which sailed in three small vessels. It consisted of one hundred and five men. Of these, one half were gentlemen of broken fortune. Some were tradesmen; others were footmen. Only a very few were farmers, or mechanics, or persons in any way fitted for the life they sought, Morally, the aspect of the expedition was even more discouraging. "An hundred dissolute persons" were on board the ships. The respectable portion of the expedition must have gone into very little space.

這家公司派出了一支遠征隊，他們在海上有三艘小船，船上共有105個人，有一些是已經(jīng)破產(chǎn)的貴族，還有一些商人，另外還有一些男仆。只有少數(shù)人是農(nóng)民、機械師，或從事其他賴以謀生的職業(yè)。這支遠征隊的前景確實不容樂觀。據(jù)說船上有“100個墮落的人”，值得尊敬的那部分人只能占一小部分。