词汇提示

1.mutiny 兵变

2.harsh 严厉地

3.cramped 狭窄的

4.veteran老兵

5.marine 海军陆战队员

6.commissioned 受委托的

7.turmoil 动乱的

8.complexion 肤色

9.seized 夺取

10.tyrant 暴君

11.tactful 圆滑的

12.controversy 争论

原文

Mutiny!!

Mutiny is a word that has brought fear to the most powerful empires in the world.

Mutiny is when soldiers and sailors refuse to obey their commanders, often killing or imprisoning them.

Mutiny can spread through whole armies and navies, throwing governments into crisis.

No wonder that nations have always taken harsh measures to punish mutinous leaders.

The ancient Romans executed every tenth man from an army unit that had mutinied.

However,one of history's most famous mutinies did not happen to a whole army or navy, it happened on a single small ship, H.M.S. Bounty.

H. M.S. Bounty set sail from England in December 1787.

It was a small cramped vessel, uncomfortable during a long voyage.

Its goal was to sail to the South Pacific and bring back Tahitian breadfruit plants.

The government hoped that breadfruit would provide a cheap food for black slaves in the British West Indies.

The captain of the Bounty was William Bligh, a veteran of many voyages.

His crew, however, was largely made up of inexperienced young men.

There was no room on the ship for soldiers or marines, so Bligh, as the only commissioned officer, had the difficult task of maintaining order.

Many of the sailors established relationships with island women.

Meanwhile,the collection of breadfruit plants for the homeward voyage continued.

In April 1789, Captain Bligh decided that it was time to return to England.

The breadfruit plants were loaded on the deck, making the ship cramped indeed.

The Bounty set sail and would no doubt have reached England again, except for the turmoil in the mind of one of its young officers.

Fletcher Christian was 24 years old, of dark complexion, and from a good family.

As the Bounty pulled further from Tahiti, Fletcher seemed to have decided that he didn't want to return to England.

Tahiti had been an earthly paradise, and now long months of discomfort aboard ship awaited him.

He was too far from Tahiti to return by himself.

On April 28, 1789, some of Fletcher Christian's friends seized control of the ship.

Captain Bligh and eighteen sailors who supported him were put in a small open boat with limited food and water.

Meanwhile,Christian and his 24 followers sailed back to Tahiti.

Eventually,Fletcher Christian would sail the Bounty to the uninhabited Pitcairn Islands,far to the south of the shipping lanes.

Meanwhile,Bligh and his loyal followers sailed in their open boat almost the width of the Pacific Ocean.

They suffered from thirst, hunger and sickness, as well as hostile natives.

Finally,they reached Timor in Indonesia in June and eventually made their way to the capital, Batavia.

When they returned to England, Captain Bligh was first greeted as a hero.

Soon,however, public attitudes changed.

The legend began that Bligh was a cruel tyrant who had caused the mutiny by harsh treatment of his men.

Although Bligh had a temper, and was not very tactful, this does not appear to be the whole story.

In fact, it is the controversy over who is to blame for the mutiny - Bligh or Christian -that has kept the story alive for more than 200 years.

翻译

兵变! !

叛变这个词让世界上最强大的帝国感到恐惧。
兵变是指士兵和水手拒绝服从他们的指挥官，通常会杀死或监禁他们。
兵变可以蔓延到整个陆军和海军，使政府陷入危机。
难怪各国总是采取严厉措施惩罚叛变的领导人。
古罗马人每十个叛变的士兵中就有一个被处死。
然而，历史上最著名的兵变之一并没有发生在整个陆军或海军身上，它发生在一艘小船上，英国皇家海军舰艇“赏金”号。
1787年12月，英国军舰“赏金”号从英国启航。
这是一艘窄小的船，在长途航行中很不舒服。
它的目标是航行到南太平洋，带回大溪地的面包果。
政府希望面包果能为英属西印度群岛的黑奴提供一种廉价的食物。
“赏金”号的船长是威廉·布莱，他参加过多次航行。
然而，他的船员大多是没有经验的年轻人。
船上没有士兵或海军陆战队员的位置，所以布莱作为唯一的军官，承担着维持秩序的艰巨任务。
许多水手与岛上的妇女建立了关系。
与此同时，为返航收集面包果的工作仍在继续。
1789年4月，布莱船长决定是时候回到英国了。
面包果栽在甲板上，把船挤得很挤。
“赏金”号启航了，如果不是船上一位年轻军官脑子里的混乱，它无疑又要到达英国了。
弗莱彻·克里斯蒂安24岁，肤色黝黑，出身名门。
随着“赏金号”离塔希提岛越来越远，弗莱彻似乎已经决定不回英国了。
塔希提岛曾经是人间天堂，现在等待他的是船上漫长数月的不适。
他离塔希提岛太远了，不可能一个人回去。
1789年4月28日，弗莱彻·克里斯蒂安的一些朋友控制了这艘船。
布莱船长和支持他的18名水手被安置在一艘小船上，食物和水都很有限。
与此同时，克里斯蒂安和他的24名追随者乘船返回塔希提岛。
最终，弗莱彻·克里斯蒂安将“赏金”号驶向无人居住的皮特凯恩群岛，那里离航道很远。
与此同时，布莱和他的忠实追随者们驾着他们的敞舱船航行了几乎整个太平洋。
他们饱受干渴、饥饿和疾病的折磨，还有充满敌意的当地人。
最后，他们在六月到达了印度尼西亚的帝汶岛，并最终到达了首都巴达维亚。
当他们回到英国时，布莱船长首先受到了英雄般的欢迎。
然而，公众的态度很快就改变了。
传说布莱是一个残酷的暴君，他残酷地对待他的部下，引起了这场兵变。
虽然布莱脾气暴躁，而且不太圆滑，但这似乎并不是事情的全部。
事实上，是关于谁应该为兵变负责的争论——布莱还是克里斯蒂安——使这个故事流传了200多年。

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Level 4-Day 59.Mutiny!