The Golden Age Of Piracy双语文本

The Golden Age of Piracy海盗事业的黄金时期

Piracy, or thievery on the high seas, is a problem that has popped up on several different occasions in history, including the present. Certain conditions must be met for piracy to thrive, and these conditions were never more evident than during the so-called "Golden Age" of Piracy, which lasted roughly from 1700 to 1725. This era produced many of the most famous pirates of all time, including Blackbeard, "Calico Jack" Rackham, Edward Low, and Henry Avery.

海盗，即公海上的盗窃行为，在历史上已经出现过好几次了，包括现在。海盗事业繁荣的出现需要满足一定的条件，这些条件在海盗活动所谓的“黄金时代”(大约从1700年持续到1725年)最为明显。这个时代产生了许多最著名的海盗，包括黑胡子，“印花布杰克”拉克姆，爱德华·洛和亨利·艾弗里。

重点词句：

high seas n. [地理] 公海；远海

例句：

At present, the vessel is carrying out relevant activities on the high seas.

目前该科学考察船正在公海海域开展相关活动。

pop up v. 突然出现

例句：

A window will pop up that lets you play with the results and see them visually.

弹出的窗口则会让您处理这些结果并可视地查看它们。

of all time 一直，始终；有史以来

例句：

Many rated him the best singer of all time.

许多人认为他是有史以来最优秀的歌手。

Conditions for Piracy to Thrive

海盗业繁荣的背景

Conditions have to be just right for piracy to boom. First, there must be many able-bodied young men (preferably sailors) out of work and desperate to make a living. There must be shipping and commerce lanes nearby, full of ships that carry either wealthy passengers or valuable cargo. There must be little or no law or government control. The pirates must have access to weapons and ships. If these conditions are met, as they were in 1700 (and as they are in present-day Somalia), piracy may become common.

当各方面条件恰到好处的时候就能促进海盗事业的繁荣。首先，必须有许多身强力壮的年轻人(最好是水手)失业，拼命谋生。附近一定要有航运和商业航线，满载着富有的乘客或贵重货物的船只。必须缺少或没有法律或政府控制。海盗必须能轻松获得武器和船只。如果这些条件得到满足，就像1700年那样(以及现在的索马里)，海盗行为可能会变得猖狂起来。

重点词句：

able-bodied adj. 强壮的，健全的

例句：

The gym can be used by both able-bodied and disabled people.

该健身房既可以让体格健全的人使用也可以让残疾人使用。

I have never really thought of myself as disabled because I grew up in an able-bodied family.

我从来没有真正将自己作为残疾人，因为我从小生活在一个健全的家庭。

have access to 使用；接近；可以利用

例句：

Students must have access to good resources.

学生必须可以接触到好的资源。

We must ensure that all patients have access to high quality care.

我们必须确保所有的病人都能够得到高质量的护理。

Pirate or Privateer?海盗与持证海盗

A privateer is a ship or individual who is licensed by a government to attack enemy towns or shipping during times of war as a private enterprise. Perhaps the most famous privateer was Sir Henry Morgan, who was given a royal license to attack Spanish interests in the 1660s and 1670s. There was a great need for privateers from 1701 to 1713 during the War of Spanish Succession when Holland and Britain were at war with Spain and France. After the war, privateering commissions were no longer given out and hundreds of experienced sea rogues were suddenly put out of work. Many of these men turned to piracy as a way of life.

私掠船是指获得政府许可的船只或个人，在战争时期以私人企业的形式攻击敌方城镇或航运。也许最著名的私掠船是亨利·摩根爵士，他在1660 - 70年代获得了皇家执照去掠夺西班牙的财富。在1701年到1713年西班牙王位继承战争期间，荷兰和英国与西班牙和法国交战，对私掠船的需求很大。战后，私掠船只不再被委以重任，数百名经验丰富的海上流氓突然失去了工作。为了谋生，这些人中的许多人转过身投入了海盗事业。

重点词句：

as a way of 以一种方式

例句：

The Indian government sees aid as a way of improving miserable ties with neighbours.

印度政府视援助为改善与邻国糟糕关系的方式。

Merchant and Navy Ships商船和军舰

Sailors in the 18th century had a choice: they could join the navy, work on a merchant ship, or become a pirate or privateer. Conditions on board the naval and merchant vessels were abominable. The men were routinely underpaid or even cheated of their wages completely, the officers were strict and harsh, and the ships were often filthy or unsafe. Many served against their will. Navy "press gangs" roamed the streets when sailors were needed, beating able-bodied men into unconsciousness and putting them on board a ship until it sailed.

在18世纪，水手们可以自由选择:他们可以加入海军，或在商船上工作，或者成为一名海盗或在掠夺船工作。海军和商船上的情况非常恶劣。船员们的工资一直很低，甚至薪水被克扣，军官们严厉而苛刻，船只经常肮脏而不安全。许多人是被迫去服役的。当水手需要的时候，海军的“强征队”就会在街上游荡，把强壮的人打昏，然后把他们扣押到船上，直到船只启航。

重点词句：

abominable

adj. 讨厌的；令人憎恶的；糟透的

例句：

We were served the most abominable coffee

给我们喝的是最劣质的咖啡。

The judge described the attack as an abominable crime.

法官称那次袭击为令人发指的罪行。

Comparatively, life on board a pirate ship was more democratic and often more profitable. Pirates were extremely diligent about sharing the loot fairly, and although punishments could be severe, they were rarely needless or capricious.

相比之下，海盗船上的生活更民主，通常也更有利可图。海盗们非常热衷于公平地分享战利品，虽然也存在严厉的惩处规定，但都是有理有据的。

"In honest work, the food is bad, the wages are low and the work is hard. In piracy, there is plenty of loot, it's fun and easy and we are free and powerful. Who, when presented with this choice, would not choose piracy? The worst that can happen is you can be hanged. No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto."——Blackbeard

“正规工作，食物差，工资低，劳动强度大。在海盗事业中，有大量的战利品，我们的生活简单有趣，我们自由而强大。当面临这种选择时，谁不会选择海盗呢?最坏的结果就是你会被绞死。不，快乐而短暂的人生将是我的座右铭”——黑胡子语录

Safe Havens for Pirates海盗的避风港

For pirates to prosper there must be a safe haven where they can go to restock, sell their loot, repair their ships and recruit more men. In the early 1700s, the British Caribbean was just such a place. Towns like Port Royal and Nassau thrived as pirates brought in stolen goods to sell. There was no royal presence, in the form of governors or Royal Navy ships in the area. The pirates, possessed of weapons and men, essentially ruled the towns. Even on those occasions when the towns were off-limits to them, there are enough secluded bays and harbors in the Caribbean that finding a pirate who did not want to be found was nearly impossible.

海盗业要想繁荣，就必须有一个安全的避风港，在那里他们可以重新进货，出售他们的战利品，修理他们的船只和招募更多的人。在18世纪早期，英属加勒比海就是这样一个地方。像皇家港和拿骚这样的城镇因海盗走私赃物而繁荣起来。该地区没有皇家管理的存在，也没有总督或皇家海军船只的存在。海盗拥有武器和人力，基本上统治着城镇。即使是在城镇禁止他们进入的情况下，在加勒比地区也找得到足够多隐蔽的海湾和港口，所以在加勒比地区想找一个不愿露面的海盗几乎是不可能的。

重点词句：

possess of 拥有；占有

例句：

It is vital for soldiers to possess of morale; the weapon is comparatively secondary.

士兵上战场打仗时，士气最为重要，武器的精良与否都还是次要的。

Some animals possess the characteristic of humans.

有些动物具有人类的特征。

off-limits

adj. 禁止进入的，禁区的

例句：

The subject was ruled off-limits.

规定禁止谈论这个话题。

The site is off-limits to the general public.

这个场所不对公众开放。

The End of the Golden Age海盗事业黄金时代的结束

Around 1717 or so, England decided to put an end to the pirate plague. More Royal Navy ships were sent and pirate hunters commissioned. Woodes Rogers, a tough former privateer, was made governor of Jamaica. The most effective weapon, however, was the pardon. A royal pardon was offered for pirates who wanted out of the life, and many pirates took it. Some, like Benjamin Hornigold, stayed legit, while others who took the pardon, like Blackbeard or Charles Vane, soon returned to piracy. Although piracy would continue, it was not nearly as bad a problem by 1725 or so.

大约在1717年左右，英国决定终结海盗这颗毒瘤。越来越多的皇家海军舰艇被派遣，越来越多的海盗猎人被委任。强硬的前私掠船船长伍德·罗杰斯被任命为牙买加总督。然而，最有效的武器是赦免。皇家赦免了那些愿意金盆洗手的海盗，于是许多海盗都做了这样的选择。有些人，如本杰明·霍利格尔德，转行做着合法的事，而另一些获得赦免的人，如黑胡子和查尔斯·文，很快又回到了海盗的行列。尽管海盗行为仍在继续，但到1725年左右，这个问题已经不那么严重了。

重点词句：

put an end to 结束；终结

例句：

I flatter myself that this campaign will put an end to the war.

我自以为这次战役将结束这场战争。

There have been continual demands to put an end to this situation.

我自以为这次战役将结束这场战争。