Sailing the oceans 航海
Zheng He 郑和
In the summer of 1405, Zheng He, one of China’s greatest 1. (explore), set sail from Taicang on his first voyage. A fleet of over 200 ships navigated the blue seas, with almost 28,000 people on board, 2. was a splendid scene. It would take 500 years before a 3. (large) fleet sailed the seas. According to some records, the largest ships were over 140 metres in 4. (long), demonstrating the advanced technology and special skills 5.
(use) in constructing ships.
1405 年夏天，郑和中国最伟大的探险家之一，从太仓启航，开始了他的第一次航行。一 支拥有 200 多艘船
只的舰队在蓝色的海洋上航行，船上有近 28, 000 人，一派壮丽的景象。直 到 500 年后，才有更大的舰队在海上航行。根据一些记录，最大的船只长度超过 140 米，展示 出当时用于建造船舶的先进技术和特殊技艺。
Between 1405 and 1433, on behalf 6. the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He made a total of seven voyages. His ships were loaded with china, silk, tea and other treasures as gifts for foreign rulers, and the fleet 7. (pay) friendly visits to more than 30 countries and regions. He even sailed as far as the east coast of Africa. As they sailed, the navigators took compass 8. (read), kept logs of their voyages and charted the coast. Later the detailed maps became Zheng He’s Navigation Map.
1405 年至 1433 年间，郑和代表明朝共出航七次。他的船上满载着瓷器、丝绸、茶叶和其 他珍宝作为礼物
送给外国统治者，舰队对 30 多个国家和地区进行了友好访问。他甚至远航到 非洲东海岸。当他们航行时，领航员记录罗盘读数、记录航行日志并绘制海岸图。后来这些祥 细的地图就成了《郑和航海图》。
Zheng He’s seven voyages had a far-reaching impact on China and 9. (it) neighbours. In the countries and regions Zheng He set foot, legends have been passed on about this great explorer. Zheng He’s efforts helped develop and strengthen 10. (harmony) relations with these countries and regions, exposing foreign people 11. Chinese culture, and allowing the Chinese to better understand overseas lands.
郑和七下西洋对中国及其周边国家产生了深远的影响。在郑和到过的国家和地区，关于这 位伟大探险家的
传说代代相传。郑和的努力有助于发展和加强与这些国家和地区的和谐关系， 让外国人接触中国文化，也让中国人更好地了解国外。
For many years, some 12. (history) dismissed the records of these voyages as legends. The final 13. (prove) came when an enormous shipyard was discovered in Nanjing, 14. the fleet had been built. Zheng He’s accomplishments are now widely acknowledged, and he is remembered as one of China’s most
15. (influence) explorers.
多年来，一些历史学家把这些航海记录当作传说而不予理会。最终的证据是在南京发现了 一个巨大的造船厂，这支舰队就是在那里建造而成。郑和的成就现在得到广泛认可，他也作为 中国最具影响力的探险家之一被世人铭记。
Christopher Columbus 克里斯托弗-哥伦布
Those 16. make great discoveries must often overcome many challenges along the way—as was the case with the explorer Christopher Columbus. Columbus was born in a port city of Italy in 1451. As a teenager; he loved 17. (sail), and he showed great interest in geography, which inspired him to begin his career as a seaman.
那些得伟大发现的人必然要在这一过程中经常克服许多挑战一一就像探险家克里斯托 弗 哥伦布那样。哥伦布于 1451 年出生在意大利的一个港口城市。十几岁的时候，他就喜欢 航海，对地理表现出了极大的兴趣，这促使他开始了自己的海员生涯。
Columbus insisted 18. searching for a direct sea route to the East Indies by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. After 19. (continue) attempts, he received 20. (finance) support from the King and Queen of Spain. On 3 August 1492, he departed from Spain with three ships 21. (carry) about 90 crewmen. The journey was full of challenges: it took longer than 22. (expect), they faced a 23. (short) of food, and one of the ships was leaking badly, which put everyone on this ship in grave danger. The men on board were in panic. Regardless of all the challenges, Columbus managed to keep everyone out of danger with his knowledge and 24. (brave) across the ocean. Finally, on 12 October, the crew 25. (spot) land in the distance. Columbus called the natives living on the islands Indians because he 26. (convince) that he was in the East Indies. However; the shores they had reached were of the Caribbean, not the East Indies.
哥伦布坚持通过横渡大西洋寻找通往东印度群岛的直接航线。经过不断的努力，他得到了 西班牙国王和王
后的资金支持。1492 年 8 月 3 日，他带着三艘船离开西班牙，船上约有 90 名 船员。这趟旅程充满了挑战:花费的时间比预期的要长，他们面临着食物短缺，还有其中一艘 船严重漏水，这让这艘船上的所有人都陷入了极大的危险之中。船上的人都惊惶失措。不顾所 有挑战，哥伦布设法凭借自己的知识和勇敢确保每个人都平安越过了海洋。最后，在 10 月 12 日，船员发现了远处的陆地。哥伦布把居住在这些岛屿上的土著人称为印第安人，因为他确信 自己是到了东印度群岛。然而，他们到达的海岸是加勒比海岸，不是东印度群岛。
Between 1493 27. 1504, Columbus found more land over the course of his three subsequent voyages.
The major contribution of this great explorer is 28. he “discovered” the New World. His
29. (discover) inspired explorers such as Captain James Cook to explore and discover more vast areas of the world. His voyages opened a new chapter of the Age of Exploration, a period which witnessed many important 30. (geography) findings. This period also allowed for an international exchange of ideas and cultures.
1493 年至 1504 年间，哥伦布在随后的三次航行中发现了更多的陆地。这位伟大的探险家 的主要贡献是他
“发现” 了新大陆。他的发现启发了詹姆斯库克船长等探险家去探索和发现世 界上更广阔的地区。他的航行开启了大航海时代的新篇章，这一时期见证了许多重要的地理发 现。这一时期也使思想和文化的国际交流成为可能。
Extended reading
Hell comes to pearl harbor 地狱降临珍珠港
It was Sunday, December 7,1941. As usual, the wake-up call came at 5:45 a.m. The men aboard the warship USS Arizona stretched and 31. (rub) their eyes. Seaman Russell Warriner 32. (awaken) by Quartermaster Louis Conter. Russell made his bed and helped clean the huge, 33. (share) room. The men went to the washroom, dressed in their uniforms and sat down to breakfast. It looked like it would be a normal day on board the ship.
那是 1941 年 12 月 7 日，星期天。和往常一样，起床号在早上 5 点 45 分响起。美国“亚 利桑那号”战列舰上
的人伸了伸懒腰，揉了揉眼睛。军需官路易 孔泰叫醒了海员拉塞尔-沃 里纳。拉塞尔整理了床铺，还帮忙打扫了这个巨大的共用房间。人们走进盥洗室，穿上制服， 然后坐下来吃早饭。看起这将是船上平常的一天。
But nobody ate their breakfast: at that moment, there was a huge crashing sound from above. The ship shook 34. (violent) and the men looked at each other in horror. Above their heads, hundreds of Japanese planes 35. (circle) like eagles. They were diving down to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor. The scream of their engines was 36. (deaf). As bombs thundered all around, clouds of black smoke rose into the sky and 37. (hang) over the sea. Russell felt his blood freeze, but he quickly came to 38. (he) and rushed up to the deck. Moments later; a bomb hit the USS Arizona and Russell was thrown more than 100 meters across the ship. He suffered serious burns on his hands, arms and legs, and watched many of his friends die.
但是没有人吃早饭:就在那时，上面传来一声巨响。船剧烈地摇晃着，船员们惊恐地面面 相觑。在他们头顶
上，数百架日本飞机像鹰一样盘旋，它们俯冲下来把炸弹投到珍珠港。发动 机发出的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。炸弹在各处炸响，黑烟形成云，升上空并笼平着大海。拉塞尔觉得 自己的血都凝固了，但他立马反应过来，冲到甲板上。片刻之后，一枚炸弹击中了美国“亚利 桑那号”战舰，拉塞尔被炸到 100 多米开外。他的手、胳膊和腿被严重烧伤，眼睁睁地看着许 多朋友死去。
Louis, meanwhile, also 39. (standi) on the deck, was lucky not to be thrown into the sea. With only minor injuries, he was able to help others 40. were severely burnt and in terrible pain. After receiving the order to abandon ship, Louis saved more men from the water; 41. (drag) them into the lifeboat. In the chaos and confusion after the attack, the US Navy sent a message to his family that Louis 42. (kill) in the attack. Luckily, he was able to get in touch with them before the message arrived. Despite his 43. (remark) actions, Louis did not think that he was a hero. “The heroes are the ones that gave their lives that day,” he said.
此时，路易也站在甲板上，很幸运没有被炸进海里。他只受了轻伤，还能帮助那些严重烧 伤、病苦不堪的
人。在接到弃船的命令后，路易从水中救出了更多的人，把他们拖上了救生艇。 发生袭击后一片混乱，美国海军给路易的家人发送了条消息，称路易已经在袭击中丧生。幸运 的是，他在这则消息到家之前已经与家人取得了联系。路易虽然做出了非凡的举动，但他并不 认为自己是英雄。“英雄是那些在那天献出生命的人，”他说。 Russell was saved from the water; but he was badly burnt, 44. (blood) heavily. Fortunately, he was taken
to hospital and survived. For many years, Russell refused to talk about 45. happened that morning, describing it simply as “ hell”. His wife Elsa said, “When he opened up later on, he always mentioned the horror of it.”
拉塞尔被从海里救了出来，但他被严重烧伤，大量出血。幸运的是，他被送医院并活了下 来。多年来，拉塞尔一直拒绝谈论那天早上发生的事情，只是简单地把它描述为“地狱”。。 他 的妻子埃尔莎说：“后来他敞开心扉时，总是提到那次袭击多么可怕。”
Louis and Russell would never forget the terrible scene of the attack, but they were fortunate enough to be among the few 46. (survive) from the Arizona. Nobody had expected the bombing. Japan had hatched a plot to launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor; so the attack began without warning and without declaring war on the United States. The attack 47. (destroy) nearly 20 American ships and over 180 airplanes. In total, more than 2,000 American people were killed and over 1,000 others were wounded that day. More than 1,000 people aboard the Arizona lost their 48. (life). Out of 37 sets of brothers, Russell and his brother were the only full pair to survive the attack.
路易和拉塞尔永远不会忘记受袭击时的可怕场面，但他们足够幸运，是“亚利桑那号”的 少数幸存者。没有
人料到会有空袭。日本策划了突袭珍珠港的阴谋，所以对这次袭击没有发出 任何警告，也没有对美国宣战。这次击毁了近 20 艘美国军舰和 180 多架飞机。当天共有超过 2, 000 名美国人死亡，1, 000 多人受伤。“亚利桑那
号”上有 1, 000 多人丧生。在 37 对兄 弟中，拉塞尔和他的兄弟是唯一存下来的完整的一对。
The surprise attack came as a great shock to the whole nation. The next day, President Roosevelt delivered his famous Pearl Harbor Speech, in 49. he described December 7 as “a date which will live in infamy” and asked that the US Congress declare war 50. Japan. In response to the attack and the president’s address, the United States joined the Second World War.
这次突然袭击使美国全国大为震惊。第二天，罗斯福总统发表了著名的《珍珠港演说）， 他称 12 月 7 日为
“一个耻辱的日子”，并要求美国国会对日本宣战。为了回应这次袭击和总 统的演讲，美国加入了第二次世界大战。
Today, the USS Arizona lies 51. it sank: in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Its 52. (locate) is marked with a memorial shaped like a bridge, which crosses the ship’s sunken remains. Each year; more than two million people visit the 53. (memory). They come to see the shadow of the ship at the bottom of Pearl Harbor; to learn about the attack, to show respect for those 54. had lost their lives in the attack and to pray for world peace. Although about eight decades has passed, the attack on Pearl Harbor; one of the darkest episodes in American history, will never 55. (forget).
今天，美国“亚利桑那号”战列舰仍在其沉没的地方:太平洋的中央。人们在它所在的位 置建了一座桥状的纪
念馆，横跨沉船的残骸。每年都有 200 多万人参观这个纪念馆。游容来到 珍港看那艘船在海底的影子，了解袭击的情况，向那些在袭击中丧生的人表示致意，并为世界 和平祈祷。尽管过去了约 80 年，但美国历史上最黑暗的事件之一珍珠港事件永远不会被人们 遗忘。

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