【百天聆听】第57天 原典英语训练教材
昔日的英国王室
Chapter Two: Plots and Problems
Mary Stuart was Elizabeth's cousin and her most dangerous rival . She was a Catholic and many Catholics wanted Mary to be the Queen of England.
Mary was born in Scotland. She was the daughter of James V, King of Scotland and Mary Guise, a French noblewoman. Mary became Queen when she was only one week old. Since there were political problems in Scotland,
Mary went to France at the age of five. She had a happy childhood in the luxurious French court. She married the French Dauphin Francis and became Queen of France for a short time. In 1560 her husband, the young King of France, died and she returned to Scotland.
Scotland was a Protestant country but the Scots accepted her as their Queen. Mary was very beautiful, charming and fun-loving . This worried Queen Elizabeth.
At this time something terrible happened: Elizabeth caught smallpox , a disease that killed many people in those days. She was dangerously ill for many days. Elizabeth's German doctor saved her life. Smallpox scars remained on Elizabeth's face all her life. She .always wore white powder and cosmetics to hide the scars.
Parliament wanted Elizabeth to marry as soon as possible. It was important to have an heir to the Tudor throne.
Several foreign monarchs wanted to marry Elizabeth: The Archduke of Austria, Ivan "the Terrible" Tsar of Russia, the King of France and the King of Spain.
Many noblemen of her court wanted to marry her too. Sir Christopher Hatton loved her so much that he never married. However, Elizabeth spent most of her time with Robert Dudley, her favorite companion.
Elizabeth was not interested in marriage. She feared that a foreign king was dangerous for England. And she did not want to divide her power with anyone.
In 1566, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, said, "I really believe the Queen will never marry." He was right. However, Parliament insisted. One day Elizabeth became angry and said, "I am already bound unto a husband,
which is the kingdom of England!"
Elizabeth was afraid of a bad marriage. She had the example of h11er mother and of her cousin, Mary Stuart. After returning to Scotland, Mary married her cousin Lord Darnley in 1565. Soon after the marriage she hated him. Early in 1567 Darnley was killed. Many people suspected Mary and her lover, the Earl of Bothwell. When she married the Earl of Bothwell, the Scots were furious and she escaped to England.
Mary was now a real danger for the Queen - she was on English soil .
Catholic nobles began plotting against Elizabeth in favor of Mary. Elizabeth decided to imprison Mary in a remote castle. She remained there for 19
years. Other plots against Elizabeth were discovered, but she didn't want to execute her cousin. In 1586 Mary was finally accused of treason and in 1587 she was beheaded.
Chapter Three: Exploration and Discovery
In 1492 Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator who sailed from Spain, discovered the New World. Now there were new countries to colonise.
During the 1500s Spain and Portugal controlled sea travel on the Atlantic Ocean. England and other countries wanted to discover new trade routes to reach the Pacific Ocean. This was Elizabeth's biggest preoccupation and she sponsored many voyages.
Spain was the richest and most powerful country in Europe. Its empire extended to the West Indies, Central and South America. Spain and Portugal shared their treasures with the Pope in Rome.
The Spanish explorers took gold, silver, jewels and other riches from the natives and transported them to Spain on their galleons Each galleon carried immense treasure.
Many Elizabethan captains and sailors were pirates , but they were called "privateers." They had permission from the Queen to attack ships and take their treasure, which they divided with her! This was a common practice at that time.
Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Thomas Cavendish were three famous privateers. Elizabeth affectionately called Drake "my pirate."
Hawkins became the first Englishman to trade in African slaves.
Elizabeth asked Francis Drake, an expert navigator, to sail across the South Atlantic, attack Spanish galleons and take their treasure. She also wanted him to find new trade routes.
Drake left Plymouth in 1577 on his ship. The Golden Hind and sailed South. He attacked several Spanish galleons on the South American coast.
Then he sailed up the Pacific Coast and landed in northern California in 1579. He stayed there a month and claimed California for Queen Elizabeth -
today this place is called Drake's Bay, California, near San Francisco. In 1936 an old metal plate was found near Drake's Bay with these words on it:
BE IT KNOWN TO ALL MEN ...
JUNE 17, 1579, BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND IN THE NAME OF
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND .
FOREVER I TAKE POSSESSION OF THIS KINGDOM .
TO BE KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN AS NOVA ALBION.
FRANCIS DRAKE
(No one knows if this metal plate was Drake's or not.)
Drake then sailed across the Pacific Ocean and reached the East Indies.
From there he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and returned to England in 1580 after three long years.
Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe . His voyage is memorable because he navigated in very difficult and dangerous conditions. He had no real maps.
Queen Elizabeth was extremely pleased with his results and knighted him. She also gave him a special sword to use on England's enemies. Drake did not only bring back immense treasures, he also brought back new foods and spices: pineapples, tomatoes, bananas, coconuts, peppers and chilies.
Spices were very important because they preserved food and improved its taste.
English colonization in North America began in 1584. Sir Walter Raleigh,
a courageous soldier and explorer, was one of Elizabeth's favorites. He sailed to North America and set up the Virginia colony in honor of Elizabeth,
the Virgin Queen.
Three years later 117 men, women and children arrived on Roanoke Island,
in the Virginia colony. Living conditions were very difficult and many Indians were unfriendly. By 1590 the colony was abandoned. No one knew what happened to the colonists .
Sir Walter Raleigh brought back potatoes and tobacco from the Virginia colony. He introduced pipe smoking to the Elizabethan court and it soon became popular. This was the beginning of the tobacco trade and industry.
格列佛游记
Part Three: The War of the Eggs
I now asked the Emperor for permission to visit the capital city of Lilliput,
which is called Mildendo. The Emperor allowed me to go, but he told me to be careful when I was there. He did not want me to frighten the people. I was very happy to see the city, and particularly to see the Emperor's palace . I could not enter the palace, of course, because J was too big. I could look in through the windows, however, and I was delighted by what I saw.
I stayed in Mildendo about two weeks. One of the Emperor's ministers came to see me one day. He looked very worried, and he said he needed my help. Then he told me that there was going to be a war with the country of Blefuscu. He explained the reasons for the war.
They seemed very strange reasons to me, because they concerned the correct way to eat eggs. In the past, the people of Lilliput and the people of Blefuscu had agreed about this. They had both believed that eggs should be broken at the bigger end.
One day, however, the Emperor's grandfather had an accident while he was opening an egg. He cut his finger. He ordered all Lilliputians to open eggs from the smaller end in the future. The people did not like this order,
and many of them refused to obey the Emperor. There was a civil war in Lilliput, and many people were killed. The Emperor's minister explained to me that Blefuscu supported the rebels in the civil war—many rebels went to live in Blefuscu.
The situation was now very serious because Lilliput and Blefuscu were at war. Thousands of people had been killed in the war of the eggs. The government minister told me that Blefuscu was planning to attack Lilliput.
The Emperor wanted my help. I told the minister that I was ready to help the Emperor.
The Blefuscu navy was planning to invade Lilliput by sea. The distance between the two countries is about three hundred metres by sea. All the Blefuscu ships were ready, and they were sure they would be victorious in the war. I told the Emperor of Lilliput that I had a plan of my own to help him defeat the enemy. I waited until it was dark. Then I took some rope with me, and walked into the sea that separated the two kingdoms . The water was not deep.
While I was walking in the sea, I put on my glasses to protect my eyes from the arrows of the enemy. I tied a piece of rope to each of the Blefuscu ships. The Blefuscu sailors were terrified when they saw me. They jumped into the sea, and swam away. I took the pieces of rope in my hands, and pulled the Blefuscu navy towards Lilliput.
When the people of Lilliput saw the Blefuscu navy, they thought the invasion had started. They were very frightened now!
Then they saw that I was pulling the ships, and they were happy. It was a great victory for Lilliput, and the Emperor said I was a hero.
The Emperor of Lilliput asked me to go on with the war against Blefuscu,
I did not want to go on with the war, because I did not want lots of people to be killed, The Emperor listened to what I said, but he was very angry with me. Now he did not like me.
Some government ministers from Blefuscu came to Lilliput. I spoke to them, and they invited me to visit their country, I thanked them for their invitation, and I decided to ask the Emperor for permission to go there.
'The Blefuscu ministers have asked me to visit their country,' I told him,
'May I go there?'
The Emperor looked at me very coldly before he replied. Then he said, 'Of course. You're free to go.'
I was surprised at the Emperor's coldness towards me, because I thought we were good friends. Soon I had an opportunity to help him once again.
One night I was woken by a great noise in the city. Many people were shouting and calling for me. Several of the government ministers came to me,
and they told me there was a fire in the palace, I ran to the palace, and I saw flames everywhere, People were trying to extinguish the flames with buckets of water - but the fire was a big one. It seemed that the whole palace would be destroyed.
Then I had an idea, I had drunk a large quantity of wine that evening, I
urinated over the palace, and extinguished the flames. This act saved the palace from destruction. I was pleased at what I had done.
Then I remembered one of the most important laws of Lilliput. Urinating in the palace grounds was a crime punished by death! I was now worried,
but the Emperor sent me a message, He said that he would order the court to pardon me for my crime, I learnt later that the Empress hated me for what I
had done - she was very angry, and she decided never to return to the palace.
