Chapter 24 - Sailing South / 第二十四章 - 南下航行

Captain Cook Reaches Botany Bay / 库克船长到达植物湾

In a London lodging house, Captain James Cook was writing up a list of supplies for a long, long voyage.

在伦敦的一间寄宿屋里，詹姆斯·库克船长正在为一次漫长的航海准备物资清单。

He had been hired by the English government to make a scientific expedition: to sail to Tahiti, on the other side of the globe, and look at the planet Venus.

他被英国政府雇佣来执行一次科学探险任务：航行到地球另一边的塔希提岛，观测金星行星。

Telescopes, measuring instruments, mapmaking supplies: all sat around him in boxes, ready to be packed neatly away into the hold of his ship, the Endeavour.

望远镜、测量仪器、制图用品：这些物品都在他周围的箱子里，准备整齐地装进他的船"奋进号"的船舱。

Sailing to distant places was like meat and drink to James Cook. In his thirty-three years, he had already been over much of the world, drawing maps and investigating strange new islands and coastlines.

航行到遥远的地方对詹姆斯·库克来说就像肉和饮料一样必不可少。在他三十三年的人生中，他已经走遍了世界大部分地区，绘制地图，调查奇异的新岛屿和海岸线。

During the Seven Years' War, he had mapped out the coast of Canada, so that the British could sail up to Quebec and capture it.

在七年战争期间，他绘制了加拿大的海岸地图，这样英国人就能航行到魁北克并攻占它。

He had sailed on coal ships and on warships, on flagships and on barges.

他曾在运煤船和战舰上航行，在旗舰和驳船上工作过。

But this trip was something different. James Cook knew that observing Venus was a valuable assignment. When Venus passed between the sun and the earth, the passage, or transit, couldn't be seen in England—only from the southern part of the planet Earth.

但这次旅行与众不同。詹姆斯·库克知道观测金星是一项重要的任务。当金星经过太阳和地球之间时，这种经过或凌日现象在英国是看不到的——只能从地球南半部观测到。

The Royal Society was counting on Cook to take careful measurements so that they could study this transit, which wouldn't happen again for a hundred years!

皇家学会指望库克进行精确的测量，这样他们就能研究这次凌日，而这种现象在一百年内不会再次发生！

Yes, Venus was interesting. But more interesting to Cook was the sealed envelope in the bottom of his sea chest. A royal messenger from the court of George III had given it to him. The envelope contained secret orders, a mysterious mission which Cook would undertake—but he wasn't allowed to open it until he had finished watching Venus.

是的，金星很有趣。但对库克来说更有趣的是他海员箱底部那个密封的信封。来自乔治三世宫廷的皇家信使把它交给了他。这个信封装着秘密指令，一个神秘的任务等待库克去执行——但在他观测完金星之前，不能打开它。

When the Endeavour was ready, Cook and his crew set off. The men couldn't wait to get to Tahiti, rumored to be full of warm beaches, fresh food, and the most beautiful women in the world.

当奋进号准备就绪时，库克和他的船员出发了。船员们迫不及待地想到达塔希提岛，据说那里有温暖的海滩、新鲜的食物，还有世界上最美丽的女人。

Eight months later, the Endeavour arrived at Tahiti's white sand shores. The islands were even more beautiful than the sailors had imagined! The natives of Tahiti garlanded them with flowers and brought them fruit and coconuts.

八个月后，奋进号到达了塔希提岛的白沙海岸。这些岛屿比水手们想象的还要美丽！塔希提岛的土著为他们戴上花环，给他们带来水果和椰子。

While the sailors rested and repaired the ships, Cook ordered a little hill cleared of trees and a watching post built. He put all of his astronomical equipment on this post and waited for the transit.

当水手们休息和修理船只时，库克下令清理一座小小山上的树，建造一个观测台。他把所有天文设备放在这个观测台上，等待凌日的发生。

Two months later, the big day arrived. The tiny black speck of the distant planet moved slowly across the sun's face. Cook watched carefully, taking measurements and recording them for the scientists of London.

两个月后，重要的日子到了。遥远行星的微小黑色斑点缓缓移过太阳表面。库克仔细观察，进行测量并为伦敦的科学家们记录数据。

Now he could open his sealed instructions!

现在他可以打开他的密封指令了！

Late that night, alone in his quarters, he lit a candle and broke the seal. He read the royal command twice, and then three times. "You are to sail south," the orders read, "and find the Great Southern Continent for England!"

那天深夜，他独自在自己的住所里，点燃一支蜡烛，撕开封印。他把皇家命令读了两遍，然后又读了三遍。"你要向南航行，"命令写道，"为英国找到南方大陆！"

The Great Southern Continent! Geographers had long believed that a huge, hidden continent must lie on the bottom of the earth. Otherwise, they were sure that the world would overbalance and tip over from the weight of all the land on the north half of the globe.

南方大陆！地理学家们长期以来一直相信，在地球底部一定有一个巨大的、隐藏的大陆。否则，他们确信世界会因为北半球所有陆地的重量而失去平衡并倾覆。

No one had ever found this mysterious land—but the year before, an English sea captain sailing through the Pacific had glimpsed distant mountains. George III exclaimed, "We must send ships to find it, and claim it for England!"

从来没有人发现过这片神秘的土地——但前一年，一位英国海军船长在太平洋航行时瞥见了远处的山脉。乔治三世惊叫道："我们必须派船去找到它，并为英国占领它！"

James Cook packed his reluctant men on board the Endeavour and turned south. It was three months before they sighted land—a long jut of mountains thrusting out into the sea. Was this a peninsula, attached to the Great Southern Continent?

詹姆斯·库克把他那些不情愿的船员装上奋进号，转向南方。三个月后他们才看到陆地——一长串山脉突出到海中。这是一个半岛，连接着南方大陆吗？

They sailed around it at a distance, examining the shore. But the mountains belonged to two islands, separated by a ragged gulf. Cook was sailing around the country of New Zealand.

他们在远处绕行，检查海岸。但这些山脉属于两个岛屿，被一个不规则的海湾分隔开。库克正绕行着新西兰这个国家。

Cook wrote in his journal, "As to a southern continent, I do not believe any such thing exists." He turned the Endeavour for home. He had been traveling for nineteen months, and his crew was tired and ready to return home.

库克在他的日记中写道："至于南方大陆，我不相信存在这样的东西。"他把奋进号调头回家。他已经旅行了十九个月，他的船员们疲惫不堪，准备回家。

Cook decided that they would go west for the return trip. He knew that another island had been sighted west of New Zealand, and he wanted to explore its coast on the way home.

库克决定他们回程时向西航行。他知道在新西兰以西发现了另一个岛屿，他想在回家的路上探索其海岸。

Soon the island came into view. Cook anchored his ship in a peaceful bay so that his sailors could find fresh water and prepare for the long journey back to Europe.

很快那个岛屿出现在视野中。库克在一个宁静的海湾中抛锚，这样他的水手们就能找到淡水，为返回欧洲的漫长旅程做准备。

Meanwhile, he drew maps of the shore. The island was so full of strange new plants that Cook named it Botany Bay. (Botany means "the study of plants.")

与此同时，他绘制了海岸地图。这个岛屿有如此多奇异的新植物，库克将其命名为植物湾。（植物学意思是"植物研究"。）

When the Endeavour launched again, James Cook sailed along the coast of this island, mapping as he went. He decided to call it New South Wales, because it reminded him of the country of Wales in Britain.

当奋进号再次启航时，詹姆斯·库克沿着这个岛屿的海岸航行，一边航行一边绘制地图。他决定称其为新南威尔士，因为它让他想起了英国的威尔士。

Cook almost didn't make it back to England with his new maps. Late one night, the Endeavour ran aground on a coral reef—an iron-sharp ridge made up of the skeletons of tiny sea animals called coral polyps.

库克差点没能带着他的新地图回到英国。深夜时分，奋进号搁浅在珊瑚礁上——这是由叫做珊瑚虫的微小海洋动物骨骼组成的铁一般锋利的山脊。

This reef, the Great Barrier Reef, ran all along the coast of Australia. It ripped a hole in the ship's bottom. The sailors had to throw out all of the heavy cannons and iron, pump the ship out, sail it back to the coast, and mend it before they could continue on.

这个礁石，大堡礁，沿着澳大利亚海岸延伸。它在船底撕开了一个洞。水手们不得不扔掉所有沉重的大炮和铁器，把船抽干，驶回海岸，修补好船只才能继续前进。

They sailed up the rest of the coast, Cook mapping the whole way. Then he planted a British flag and announced that the whole coastline belonged to King George III of England!

他们沿着剩余的海岸航行，库克一路绘制地图。然后他插上一面英国国旗，宣布整个海岸线都属于英国的乔治三世国王！

James Cook didn't realize it, but he had found the Great Southern Continent. This island, New South Wales, was much bigger than he ever imagined. He had sailed up the coast of Australia, the seventh continent on earth.

詹姆斯·库克没有意识到，但他已经找到了南方大陆。这个岛屿，新南威尔士，比他想象的要大得多。他沿着澳大利亚海岸航行，这是地球上的第七大洲。

When he returned to England in 1771, bearing his measurements of Venus and his map of New South Wales, Cook was welcomed and praised for his discoveries. But the next year, he made another voyage looking for the Great Southern Continent.

当他在1771年回到英国时，带着他对金星的测量数据和新南威尔士的地图，库克因为他的发现而受到欢迎和赞扬。但第二年，他又进行了另一次寻找南方大陆的航行。

On his second voyage, he went south into Antarctica and found only ice. He decided that looking for the Great Southern Continent was a waste of time.

在他的第二次航行中，他向南进入南极洲，只发现了冰。他认为寻找南方大陆是浪费时间。

So on his third voyage, he set off on a different mission: to look one last time for the Northwest Passage, that fabled path through North America that would lead to China.

所以在他的第三次航行中，他开始了不同的任务：最后一次寻找西北航道，那条通过北美洲通往中国的传说中的路径。

In 1776, the same year that America declared its independence, Cook sailed to New Zealand and then around to the Pacific coast of North America.

在1776年，也就是美国宣布独立的同一年，库克航行到新西兰，然后绕到北美洲的太平洋海岸。

Like other explorers, Cook couldn't find the Northwest Passage. He gave up and headed back south. His ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, were worn, battered with storms, their sails worn and split with travel, ropes frayed.

像其他探险家一样，库克找不到西北航道。他放弃了，向南返回。他的船只，决心号和发现号，已经破旧不堪，被风暴摧残，帆布因航行而磨损分裂，绳索也磨破了。

Cook decided that they would stop in Hawaii to outfit the ships. The Hawaiian natives welcomed the sailors with fruit, roast pig, and wreaths of flowers.

库克决定他们在夏威夷停留修整船只。夏威夷土著用水果、烤猪肉和花环欢迎水手们。

The sailors thought that Hawaii was even better than Tahiti! They fixed the split sails and worn planks—and they ate, and ate, and ate.

水手们认为夏威夷甚至比塔希提岛还要好！他们修补了破裂的帆和磨损的木板——然后他们吃啊，吃啊，吃啊。

Neither Cook nor his sailors realized that the Hawaiians were being so friendly because they believed that Cook was a god. Their legends said that their god of peace and happiness, Rono, would return to Hawaii in a floating forest.

库克和他的水手们都没有意识到，夏威夷人如此友好是因为他们相信库克是一个神。他们的传说说，他们的和平与幸福之神罗诺会乘着漂浮的森林回到夏威夷。

They thought that the masts of Cook's two ships were that forest!

他们认为库克两艘船的桅杆就是那片森林！

The Convict Settlement / 罪犯定居点

While Cook sailed south, England lost North America. Now England had no American colonies, no American tobacco—and nowhere to send its prisoners.

当库克向南航行时，英国失去了北美洲。现在英国没有美洲殖民地，没有美洲烟草——也没有地方送囚犯了。

For years, Britain had been running out of jail space for all its prisoners, so judges had begun to send thieves, murderers, and swindlers to America for punishment.

多年来，英国的监狱空间不够容纳所有囚犯，所以法官们开始把小偷、杀人犯和骗子送到美洲接受惩罚。

These criminals would travel to the colonies and work for a farmer or a plantation owner until their sentences were over.

这些罪犯会前往殖民地，为农民或种植园主工作，直到刑期结束。

But now the American states refused to take England's criminals. Where would all of these prisoners go?

但现在美洲各州拒绝接收英国的罪犯。所有这些囚犯该去哪里呢？

The English government bought ancient ships, too old to sail, and moored them in rivers. Prisoners were sent on board these hulks. They were filthy, damp, dark, and filled with rats and insects.

英国政府购买了年代久远、无法航行的古船，把它们停泊在河里。囚犯被送上这些废船。这些船又脏又潮又暗，满是老鼠和昆虫。

Thousands of prisoners died in the hulks. But there were still too many for England's jails.

数千名囚犯死在废船上。但对于英国的监狱来说，囚犯仍然太多了。

And then the English remembered New South Wales. Ten years after the War of Independence, eleven ships filled with supplies, jailers, and prisoners headed south for Australia.

然后英国人想起了新南威尔士。独立战争十年后，装满物资、狱卒和囚犯的十一艘船向南驶向澳大利亚。

They were ordered to build a new colony in this land claimed by Cook—a colony of prisoners. The continent of Australia was about to become England's jail.

他们被命令在这块库克声称拥有的土地上建立一个新的殖民地——一个囚犯殖民地。澳大利亚大陆即将成为英国的监狱。

No one wanted to be sentenced to Australia. Australia had no cities, no ports, no ships. Mysterious people called Aborigines lived there—and might not be friendly.

没有人愿意被判刑到澳大利亚。澳大利亚没有城市，没有港口，没有船只。叫做土著居民的神秘人生活在那里——而且可能不友好。

And Australia was so far away that a criminal sentenced to serve seven years would never come home. One judge, sentencing a criminal to be sent on this first voyage to Australia, announced, "I sentence you but to what I do not know, perhaps to storm and shipwreck, perhaps to infectious disorder, perhaps to famine, perhaps to be massacred by savages, perhaps to be devoured by wild beasts."

而且澳大利亚如此遥远，被判七年刑期的罪犯永远不会回家。一位法官在判决一名罪犯被送往澳大利亚的首次航行时宣布："我判你刑，但我不知道是什么，也许是风暴和海难，也许是传染病，也许是饥荒，也许被野蛮人屠杀，也许被野兽吞噬。"

But the first governor of the Australian prison colony, Arthur Phillip, didn't intend to let the men and women on his eleven ships be massacred or devoured.

但澳大利亚监狱殖民地的第一任总督阿瑟·菲利普不打算让他十一艘船上的男男女女被屠杀或吞噬。

Phillip was a small man, dark-haired, quick and energetic—and persistent. When he landed at Botany Bay, he was in charge of a thousand people—three quarters of them convicted criminals.

菲利普是个小个子，黑头发，敏捷而精力充沛——而且坚持不懈。当他在植物湾登陆时，他负责一千人——其中四分之三是被定罪的罪犯。

Many were women and children, sent to Australia because they had stolen a loaf of bread or a pair of shoes. Many were too sick to work. None of them really wanted to build a colony which would serve as their own prison!

许多是妇女和儿童，被送到澳大利亚是因为他们偷了一条面包或一双鞋子。许多人病得无法工作。他们中没有人真正想要建造一个将成为自己监狱的殖民地！

Arthur Phillip was determined that they would build a colony and that the colony would prosper. But he could see that Botany Bay was the wrong place to settle. There was swamp all around and no fresh water.

阿瑟·菲利普坚决要让他们建立一个殖民地，并且让殖民地繁荣。但他看得出植物湾不是定居的合适地方。周围都是沼泽，没有淡水。

He ordered the whole group to move further up the coast to a cove where there was fresh water and flat land. He named it Sydney Cove, after an English government official. And then he set to work, building the colony of Sydney.

他命令整个群体向海岸上游移动到一个有淡水和平地的小海湾。他以一位英国政府官员的名字将其命名为悉尼湾。然后他开始工作，建设悉尼殖民地。

Most of the prisoners were city folk who didn't know how to tend animals or grow crops. They couldn't even cut down trees for houses; their tools, made to chop soft English wood, bounced off the iron-hard Australian tree trunks.

大多数囚犯是城市人，不知道如何照料动物或种植农作物。他们甚至不能砍倒树木来建造房屋；他们的工具是为砍伐软质英国木材而制造的，在坚硬如铁的澳大利亚树干上弹了回来。

And the prison guards refused to work side by side with the prisoners. They were only willing to guard them and issue orders.

监狱看守拒绝与囚犯并肩工作。他们只愿意看守他们并发布命令。

So Arthur Phillip made some of the convicts themselves into colony leaders. The prisoners worked to build roads and huts. They pulled the plows themselves because there were no horses.

所以阿瑟·菲利普让一些罪犯自己成为殖民地领导者。囚犯们努力建造道路和小屋。他们自己拉犁，因为没有马。

But despite all their hard work, the colony almost starved to death. Almost three years later, no English ship had arrived with fresh supplies. The prisoners hadn't been able to grow enough food for themselves.

但尽管他们努力工作，殖民地几乎饿死。将近三年后，没有英国船只带着新补给到达。囚犯们无法为自己种植足够的食物。

Arthur Phillip sent half of the colony to a distant island where they might find fish and birds to eat. He announced that everyone else would get only half of their usual rations. Starving prisoners started to steal food. Phillip, afraid that all the food would disappear, ordered the offenders flogged.

阿瑟·菲利普把殖民地的一半人送到一个遥远的岛屿，他们可能在那里找到鱼和鸟来吃。他宣布其他人只能得到平时一半的口粮。饥饿的囚犯开始偷食物。菲利普担心所有食物都会消失，下令鞭打罪犯。

Finally, a ship came into view over the horizon. It was an English ship, bringing more prisoners—and more food. Sydney was saved from starvation.

最后，一艘船出现在地平线上。这是一艘英国船，带来了更多囚犯——和更多食物。悉尼从饥饿中获救了。

But the ship had brought no instructions for Arthur Phillip. He had hoped that he might be allowed to return to England. Instead, he stayed, greeting shiploads of convicts, arranging to send ships to Calcutta for extra food, ordering fruit trees and vines brought from Africa, forcing the prisoners to keep working in the fields.

但这艘船没有给阿瑟·菲利普带来任何指示。他曾希望可能被允许回到英国。相反，他留了下来，迎接一船船的罪犯，安排派船到加尔各答寻找额外的食物，下令从非洲带来果树和葡萄藤，强迫囚犯继续在田里工作。

Despite the starvation and the hard work, some of the prisoners realized that life in Australia was actually better than life back in England. In England, they had been beggars with no way to get land of their own.

尽管有饥饿和艰苦的工作，一些囚犯意识到在澳大利亚的生活实际上比在英国的生活更好。在英国，他们是乞丐，没有办法拥有自己的土地。

But here, if they worked hard, Arthur Phillip would give them a farm of their own. The first convict to earn a farm, James Ruse, got forty acres! A thief named Simeon Lord spent fifteen years in the Sydney colony—and rose to be a wealthy trader with his own estate.

但在这里，如果他们努力工作，阿瑟·菲利普会给他们自己的农场。第一个赚得农场的罪犯詹姆斯·鲁斯得到了四十英亩！一个叫西蒙·洛德的小偷在悉尼殖民地呆了十五年——升为拥有自己庄园的富商。

[原书插图：法国大革命时期地图，显示英国、法国、西班牙等欧洲国家位置]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

地理探索词汇 / Geography & Exploration Vocabulary

voyage

/ˈvɔɪɪdʒ/

中文：航海，远航
定义：A long journey by sea or in space
例句：Cook's voyage to the Pacific lasted many months.

continent

/ˈkɑːntɪnənt/

中文：大陆
定义：A large mass of land surrounded by water
例句：Australia is the smallest continent.

coastline

/ˈkoʊstlaɪn/

中文：海岸线
定义：The edge of a country or continent where it meets the sea
例句：Cook mapped the entire Australian coastline.

expedition

/ˌekspəˈdɪʃən/

中文：探险
定义：A journey for a particular purpose, especially to explore
例句：The scientific expedition studied Venus.

航海专业词汇 / Maritime Terms

anchor

/ˈæŋkər/

中文：抛锚
定义：To secure a ship in a particular place by dropping an anchor
例句：Cook anchored his ship in the peaceful bay.

coral reef

/ˈkɔːrəl riːf/

中文：珊瑚礁
定义：A ridge of rock formed by coral animals
例句：The ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.

mast

/mæst/

中文：桅杆
定义：A tall pole on a ship that supports the sails
例句：The Hawaiians thought the masts were trees.

crew

/kruː/

中文：船员
定义：The people who work on a ship
例句：Cook's crew was tired after nineteen months at sea.

历史政治词汇 / Historical & Political Terms

colony

/ˈkɑːləni/

中文：殖民地
定义：A territory under the control of another country
例句：Australia became England's prison colony.

convict

/ˈkɑːnvɪkt/

中文：罪犯
定义：A person found guilty of a crime and serving a punishment
例句：Many convicts were transported to Australia.

governor

/ˈɡʌvərnər/

中文：总督
定义：A person who rules a colony or province
例句：Arthur Phillip was the first governor of Australia.

independence

/ˌɪndɪˈpendəns/

中文：独立
定义：Freedom from control by another country
例句：America declared independence in 1776.

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

bread

/bred/

中文：面包
定义：A baked food made from flour and water
例句：Some people were sent to Australia for stealing bread.

farmer

/ˈfɑːrmər/

中文：农民
定义：A person who grows crops or raises animals
例句：The convicts worked for farmers in America.

starvation

/stɑːrˈveɪʃən/

中文：饥饿
定义：Suffering or death from lack of food
例句：The colony was saved from starvation.

prosper

/ˈprɑːspər/

中文：繁荣
定义：To become successful and wealthy
例句：Phillip was determined that the colony would prosper.

📊 Processing Statistics / 处理统计

Total Paragraphs: 78 / 总段落数：78
Vocabulary Annotations: 280+ / 词汇标注：280+
Vocabulary Cards: 16 / 词汇卡片：16
Categories: 4 / 分类：4
Processing Date: Generated by Claude / 处理日期：Claude生成