Level 4-Day 41.Australian Origins

词汇提示

1.conqueror 征服者

2.reluctant 不愿意

3.penal 刑罚

4.temporary 临时的

5.theft 偷盗

6.category 类别

7.exile 流放

8.sentence 宣判

9.convicts 囚犯

10.fleet 舰队

11.chained 被锁

12.aggravated 严重的

原文

Australian Origins

In many countries, leading families proudly trace their ancestors back to some significant group of people.

In the U..S.A., prominent families may boast that their family came over on the Mayflower in 1620

In England, ladies and gentlemen are happy to announce that their ancestors came to Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066.

In Australia, however, many leading families are reluctant to talk about their origins.

In fact, many years ago, one Australian city burned its early records, so that no one would know who their ancestors were.

The reason for that is that Australia began its history as a British penal colony.

In eighteenth century England, there was a large gap between the rich and the poor.

To make matters worse, many farmers had been forced off their land by powerful landowners

These homeless people wandered to the cities where employment was often hard to find.

Frequent wars gave temporary employment to young men as soldiers and sailors,but when the war was over, they were no better off than before.

As a result, theft was extremely common.

To protect themselves, the upper classes made theft punishable by hanging.

The problem with this was that juries were often reluctant to hang someone for stealing something small,and might declare the person "not guilty."

For example, if a man or woman stole a loaf of bread to feed their children, the jury might just let them go.

To prevent this, the courts came up with a new category of punishment - exile or "transportation"

If the judge or jury was reluctant to sentence the accused to death,they would ship them far away from England across the seas.

However, if the person was found back in England again, he or she would be hanged

At first, England sent its convicts to America's Thirteen Colonies.

However, when the United States declared its independence in 1776, this was no longer possible.

England considered sending criminals to West Africa, but the land and climate were considered unsuitable.

So finally Great Britain decided to use the huge, almost uninhabited, country of Australia.

At this time, not a single European was living anywhere on the continent.

In the fall of 1786, a fleet of English ships began to take convicts on board.

This process continued till the sailing date of May 13, 1787.

Many British jails had been cleared of both male and female prisoners.

Since the convicts were technically under a sentence of death,there was little concern for making them comfortable.

At first, the convicts were chained below decks but later some were released when well out to sea

One man had been sentenced for the theft of a winter coat;another for stealing cucumbers from a garden; a third for carrying off a sheep.

Among the women, one was guilty of stealing a large cheese; another of taking several yards of cloth.

These ships known as "The First Fleet" carried1,442 convicts, sailors, marines and officers.

The fleet finally arrived at Botany Bay on January 10, 1788.

Later that month, they moved down to Sydney Harbour.

No preparations whatsoever had been made.

The forests came right up to the shore.

Soon, the fleet members were cutting down trees and trying to put up tents.

It was June 1790 before further supplies arrived from England.

Meanwhile, many convicts suffered from sickness, aggravated by lack of good food.

In conclusion, Australians need not be ashamed of their origins.

In time, great things were achieved, in spite of the almost complete lack of help from the English government.

Many ex-convicts became respectable settlers who began prosperous farms and businesses.

The members of the First Fleet, whether convicts or not, deserve to be honored as the founders of Australia.

翻译

澳大利亚的起源

在许多国家，精英家庭自豪地将祖先追溯到一些重要的群体。
在美国美国，显赫的家族可能会吹嘘他们的家族是1620年乘五月花号来的
在英国，女士们和先生们很高兴地宣布，他们的祖先于1066年随征服者威廉来到英国。
然而，在澳大利亚，许多主要家庭不愿谈论他们的出身。
事实上，很多年前，澳大利亚的一座城市烧毁了它的早期记录，以至于没有人知道他们的祖先是谁。
其原因是澳大利亚开始其作为英国刑罚殖民地的历史。
在十八世纪的英国，贫富差距很大。
更糟糕的是，许多农民被强大的地主逼离了土地
这些无家可归的人流落到城市，那里往往很难找到工作。
频繁的战争给年轻人提供了士兵和水手的临时工作，但战争结束后，他们的境况并不比以前好。
因此，盗窃非常普遍。
为了保护自己，上层阶级将盗窃行为处以绞刑。
问题是陪审团通常不愿意因为偷了小东西而绞死某人，并可能宣布此人“无罪”。
例如，如果一个男人或女人偷了一块面包来喂他们的孩子，陪审团可能会让他们走。
为了防止这种情况，法院提出了一种新的惩罚类别——流放或“运输”
如果法官或陪审团不愿判处被告死刑，他们会将他们从英国远渡重洋。
然而，如果此人再次在英国被发现，他或她将被处以绞刑
起初，英国将囚犯送往美国的十三个殖民地。
然而，当美国于1776年宣布独立时，这已经不可能了。
英国曾考虑将罪犯送往西非，但认为那里的土地和气候不适宜。
因此，英国最终决定使用澳大利亚这个几乎无人居住的巨大国家。
此时，欧洲大陆上没有一个欧洲人住在任何地方。
1786年秋天，一支英国舰队开始将罪犯带上船。
这一过程一直持续到1787年5月13日的开航日期。
许多英国监狱已清除了男女囚犯。
由于从技术上讲，这些罪犯被判处死刑，因此人们很少担心让他们感到舒适。
起初，囚犯们被锁在甲板下，但后来一些人在出海时被释放
一名男子因盗窃冬衣被判刑；另一项罪名是从花园里偷黄瓜；第三个只带走一只羊。
在这些妇女中，有一人偷了一大块奶酪；另一种是拿几码布。
这些被称为“第一舰队”的船只载有1442名囚犯、水手、海军陆战队和军官。
舰队最终于1788年1月10日抵达植物学湾。
当月晚些时候，他们搬到了悉尼港。
没有做任何准备。
森林一直延伸到岸边。
很快，舰队成员开始砍伐树木并试图搭建帐篷。
1790年6月，更多的补给才从英国抵达。
与此同时，许多囚犯因缺乏好食物而患病。
总之，澳大利亚人不必为自己的出身感到羞愧。
尽管英国政府几乎完全没有帮助，但最终还是取得了巨大成就。
许多前科犯都成为了值得尊敬的定居者，开始了繁荣的农场和商业。
第一舰队的成员，无论是不是罪犯，都应该被尊为澳大利亚的缔造者。