2. 职称英语
  3. Born in 1451, the son of an Italian weaver, Christopher Columbus took to the

Born in 1451, the son of an Italian weaver, Christopher Columbus took to the

游客2024-01-02  28
问题    Born in 1451, the son of an Italian weaver, Christopher Columbus took to the sea at an early age, making up for his lack of formal education by teaching himself geography, navigation, and Latin. By the 1480s Columbus -- a tall, red-haired, long-faced man with a ruddy complexion, oval eyes, and a prominent nose -- was an experienced seaman. Dazzled by the prospect of Asian riches, he hatched a scheme to reach the Indies (India, China, the East Indies, or Japan) by sailing west. After the courts of Portugal, England, and France showed little interest in his plan, Columbus turned to Spain for backing. He won the support of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish monarchs, and himself raised much of the money needed to finance the voyage. The legend that the queen had to hock the crown jewels is as spurious as the fable that Columbus set out to prove the earth was round.
   Columbus chartered one seventy-five-foot ship, the Santa Maria, and the Spanish city of Palos supplied two smaller caravels, the Pinta and Nina. From Palos this little squadron, with eighty-seven officers and men, set sail westward for what Columbus thought was Asia. The first leg of the journey went well, thanks to a strong trade wind. But then the breeze lagged, the days passed, and the crew began to grumble about their captain’s farfetched plan. To rally flagging morale, he reminded the crew of the dazzling riches awaiting them. Yet skepticism remained rife, and he finally promised that the expedition would mm back if land were not sighted in three days.
   Early on October 12, 1492, after thirty-three days at sea, a lookout on the Santa Maria yelled "Tierra ! Tierra ! [ Land ! Land ! ]" It was an island in the Bahamas that Columbus named San Salvador (Blessed Savior). According to Columbus’s own reckoning he was near the Indies, so he called the island people los Indios. He described the Indians as naked people, "very well made, of very handsome bodies and very good faces." The Arawak Indians paddled out in dugout logs, which they called canoes, and offered gifts to the strangers. Their warm generosity and docile temperament led Columbus to write in his journal that "they invite you to share anything that they possess, and show as much love as if their hearts went with it." Yet he added that "with fifty men they could all be subjugated and compelled to do anything one wishes."
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答案     1451年，克里斯托夫?哥伦布出生在一个意大利织工家庭。他从小就对航海着迷，自学了地理学、航海术和拉丁语，以此弥补没受过正规教育的缺憾。到了15世纪80年代，哥伦布已经是一位经验丰富的水手了，他身材高大，红头发，瘦长脸，面色红润，圆眼睛，高鼻梁。图片上美轮美奂的亚洲风光让哥伦布为之神往，于是他策划向西航行到印度群岛 (包括印度、中国、东印度群岛或日本)。葡萄牙、英格兰和法国朝廷对此没有兴趣，于是哥伦布便转向西班牙求助，得到了国王斐迪南德和王后伊莎贝拉的支持。他自己还筹措了这次航海的很大一部分资金。传说王后抵押了自己王冠上的珠宝来资助他，纯属无稽之谈，这就和说哥伦布航海是为了证明地球是圆的一样荒谬。
   哥伦布自己租了一条75英尺长的船，船名叫“圣玛利亚”号，西班牙城市帕洛斯出了两条稍小的三桅帆船“平塔”号和“尼娜”号。这支75人的队伍就从帕洛斯起航了，朝着哥伦布心目中的亚洲向西进发。起初贸易风强劲，船队顺风顺水，十分顺利。但接着风就不那么帮忙了，日子一天天过去，水手们开始抱怨船长的计划异想天开。为了鼓舞士气，哥伦布向大家描绘了一番金银财宝任取任拿的灿烂前景。尽管如此，大家仍心存疑虑。最后，他承诺，如果三天后还见不到陆地，就打道回府。
    1492年10月12日一大早，在海上整整航行了33天之后，“圣玛利亚”号上的嘹望员突然放声大喊：“啊!陆地!”那是巴哈马群岛的一座岛屿，哥伦布把它命名为圣萨尔瓦多 (意为“神圣的救世主”)。哥伦布自己估算，他差不多到了东印度群岛，所以管那儿的人叫印第安人。在他的描述中，印第安人浑身赤裸，“身体壮实，身材健美，长相标致”。阿拉瓦克印第安人划着挖空树干做成的独木舟，出来迎接，给这群陌生人献礼。他们慷慨热情，性情温顺，哥伦布在《航海日记》中写道，“他们倾其所有，邀君共享，一腔热忱，绝无保留。”他还写道，“只需50人便足以降伏他们，任我差遣。”
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