英国语文第五册(双语):弗吉尼亚州(1)
LESSON 42 Virginia
第四十二课 弗吉尼亚州
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.
沃尔特·雷德爵士花了一大笔钱去弗吉尼亚州开拓殖民地。他成功的吸引了民众对那个地方的注意力，而弗吉尼亚州也点燃了他的热情。但是他的殖民地从来不曾繁荣过。有时候殖民者因为忍受不了这块荒凉的土地而返回家乡。还有一次他们遭到了印第安人的屠杀。当英国的援助到来的时候，最初的殖民地已经变成一片废墟，遍地是未埋的残骸，野鹿在无人居住的房子周围游荡。曾经有一批殖民者全部消失，直到现在都无人知晓他们的命运。
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.
沃尔特爵士长期被囚禁在伦敦塔里，期间他写下了【世界史】，他哀叹潮湿的监狱环境对他的摧残和折磨，损害了他俊朗的容颜和健康的体格。终于他的艰辛等来了成功的那一刻。弗吉尼亚州的历史即将翻开新的一页，但这段故事的开头却前景黯淡。在1606年，当时英国国王为了给殖民地贸易特权，于是特许在殖民地成立了弗吉尼亚公司，从事贸易活动。
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.
这家公司派出了一支远征队，他们在海上有三艘小船，船上共有105个人，有一些是已经破产的贵族，还有一些商人，另外还有一些男仆。只有少数人是农民、机械师，或从事其他赖以谋生的职业。这支远征队的前景确实不容乐观。据说船上有“100个堕落的人”，值得尊敬的那部分人只能占一小部分。
