【www.jianqiaoenglish.com--翻译考试】
https://f1.hjfile.cn/file/201005/daxuediyice02.mp3
Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to fly round the world but failed. That was in 1931.
The years passed. He gave up flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo transatlantic sailing race. His old dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors did not think he could do it, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to carry out his plan. In August, 1963, at the age of nearly sixty-five, an age when many men retire, he began the greatest voyage of his life. Soon, he was away in this new 16-metre boat, Gipsy Moth.
Chichester followed the route of the great nineteenth century clipper ships. But the clippers had had plenty of crew. Chicheater did it all by himself, even after the main steering device had been damaged by gales. Chichester covered 14, 100 miles before stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed alone.
He arrived in Australia on 12 December, just 107 days out from England. He received a warm welcome from the Australians and from his family who had flown there to meet him. On shore, Chichester could not walk without help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done enough; he must not go any further. But he did not listen.
After resting in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends" attempts to dissuade him. The second half of his voyage was by far the more dangerous part, during which he sailed round the treacherous Cape Horn.
On 29 January he left Australia. The mext night, the blackest he had ever known, the sea became so rough that the boat almost turned over. Food, clothes, and broken glass were all mixed together.Fortunately, the damage to the boat was not too serious. Chichester calmly got into bed and went to sleep.WWhen he woke up, the sea had become calm again. Still, he could not help thinking that if anything should happen, the nearest person he could contact by radio, unless there was a ship nearby, would be on and island 885 miles away.
After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the followiing radio message to London:" I feel as if I had wakened from a nightmare. Wild horses could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again."
Just before 9 o"clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he received back in England, where a quarter of a million people were waiting to welcome him. Queeh Elizabeth II knigthed him with the very sword that Queen Elizabeth I had sailed round the world for the first time. The whole voyage from England and back had covered 28, 500 miles. It had taken him nine months , of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.
Like many other adventurers, Chichester had experienced fear and conquered it. In doing so, he had undoubtedly learnt something about himself. Moreover, in the modern age when human beings depend so much on machines, he had given men throughout the world new pride.
参考译文：
弗朗西斯·奇切斯特在六十五岁时开始了只身环球航行。本文记述的就是这一冒险故事。
弗朗西斯?奇切斯特在独自驾船作环球航行之前，已有好几次让他的朋友们感到吃惊了。他曾试图作环球飞行，但没有成功。那是1931年。
好多年过去了。他放弃了飞行，开始航海。他领略到航海的巨大乐趣。奇切斯特在首届横渡大西洋单人航海赛中夺魁时，已经五十八岁。他周游世界的宿愿重又被唤起，不过这一次他是要驾船环游。
由于他患有肺癌，朋友们和医生们都认为他不该去，但奇切斯特决意实施自己的计划。1966年8月，在他快满六十五岁的时候—许多人在这个年龄已经退休—他开始了一生中最了不起的一次航海。不久，他就驾着那艘16米长的新船吉普赛·莫思号启程出海了。
奇切斯特沿着十九世纪大型三桅帆船的航线航行。不过，三桅帆船拥有众多船员，而奇切斯特却是独个儿扬帆破浪，即使在主要转舵装置被大风刮坏之后仍是这样。
奇切斯特一直航行了14,100英里，到了澳大利亚的悉尼港才停船靠岸。这段航程比以往单人驾舟航海的最远航程还多一倍多。他于12月12日抵达澳大利亚，这一天正是他离开英国的一百零七天。他受到澳大利亚人和乘飞机专程前去迎接他的家人们的热烈欢迎。奇切斯特上岸后，得由人搀扶着才能行走。大家众口一词，说他已航行得够远了，不要再继续向前航行了。但他却置若罔闻。
在悉尼休息了几周之后，他不顾朋友们的多方劝阻，再次扬帆出航。这后半段航程更为艰险，在此期间，他绕过了险情四伏的合恩角。
1月29日他驶离澳大利亚。第二天夜晚—这是他所经历过的最黑暗的一个夜晚—海面上波涛汹涌，小船几乎被风浪掀翻。食物、衣服还有碎玻璃全都混杂在一起了。幸好小船遭到的损坏还不算太严重。奇切斯特镇静地钻进被窝，睡着了。
等他醒来时，大海又恢复了平静。然而，他仍禁不住想到，要是果真有什么意外，他能借无线电联系上的人最近的也要在885英里外的岛上，除非附近哪儿有条轮船。
奇切斯特成功地绕过合恩角以后，便通过无线电给伦敦发去如下电文：“我觉得好像刚从恶梦中醒来。就是野马也休想再把我拖回到合恩角和那凶险莫测的南大洋去了。
NEW WORDS
single-handed
a & ad. (done) by one person alone 单独的（地）
adventure
n. 冒险（活动）
solo
a. single-handed 单独的
transatlantic
a. crossing the Atlantic Ocean 横度大西洋
lung
n. part of the body with which one breathes 肺
cancer
n. 癌
determined
a. with one"s mind firmly made up 下定了决心的
determine
v.
determination
n.
retire
vi. stop working at one"s job(because of age) 退休
voyage
n. sea journey 航海；航行
route
n. way from one place to another 路线
clipper
n. 快速帆船
crew
n. group of people who work together on a ship or aeroplane 全体船员；全体乘务员
steer
vt. make (esp. a boat or road vehicle) go in a particular direction 为...撑舵
device
n. a piece of equipment 设备；装置
steering device
n. 操舵装置
damage
vt. cause harm or injury to 损坏
ad. harm, injury 损坏
gale
n. very strong wind 大风
cover
vt. travel (a certain distance) 行过（一段距离）
previously
ad. before 以前
previous
a.
attempt
n. try 试图，尝试
dissuade
vt. prevent (sb.) from doing sth. by reasoning 劝阻
treacherous
a. more dangerous than it seems 暗藏危险的；奸诈的
cape
n. 海角
rough
a. (of weather or the sea) stormy; not calm （气候）有暴风雨的；（海）波涛汹涌的
fortunately
ad. luckily 幸运地；幸亏
fortunate
a.
contact
vt. get in touch with 联系，接触
nearby
ad. close by 在附近
following
a. next; to be mentioned immediately 接着的；下列的
waken
v. (cause to) wake 唤醒；醒来
nightmare
n. terrible dream 恶梦
drag
vt. pull along with great effort 拖，拉
sinister
a. 凶恶的，邪恶的
knight
n. 爵士
vt. 封... 为爵士
sword
n. 剑，刀
accomplish
vt. finish successfully 完成
conquer
vt. overcome 征服
undoubtedly
ad. certainly 无疑地
moreover
ad. in addition 此外，而且
human
a. of or concerning people 人们
being
n. a living thing, esp. a person 生物；人
PHRASES & EXPRESSIOMS
set out
begin a course if action 着手，开始
give up
atop doing 放弃
be determined to (do)
have a strong will to (do) 决心（做）
(all) by oneself
(completely) alone
in spite of
not taking notice of; not caring about 尽管；虽然
by far
by a large amount or degree...得多
turn over
(cause to) fall over, upset （使）翻倒，（使）倾覆
can not help
can not keep oneself from 禁不住
PEOPER NAMES
Francis Chichester
弗朗西斯. 奇切斯特
Gipsy Moth
吉普赛. 莫斯
Sydney
悉尼（澳大利亚城市）
Cape Horn
合恩角（智利）
London
伦敦
Elizabeth
伊丽莎白（女子名）
Drake
德雷克（姓氏)
-
相关热点：
疯狂英语
![[每日一句正能量]每日一句：smart ass有什么含义呢？](http://i1.w.hjfile.cn/doc/200811/32502.gif)