【英文读物】The Life of a Ship.docx

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1、【英文读物】The Life of a ShipChapter One. The Life of a Ship from the Launch to the Wreck.Song of the Sailor Boy. Oh! I love the great blue ocean, I love the whistling breeze, When the gallant ship sweeps lightly Across the surging seas. I watched my first ship building; I saw her timbers rise, Until her

2、 masts were towering Up in the bright blue skies. I heard the cheers ascending, I saw her kiss the foam, When first her hull went plunging Into her ocean home. Her flags were gaily streaming, And her sails were full and round, When the shout from shore came ringing, “Hurrah! for the Outward-bound!”

3、But, alas! ere long a tempest Came down with awful roar And dashed our ship in pieces Upon a foreign shore. But He who holds the waters In His almighty hand, Brought all the sailors safely Back to their native land. Davy was a fisher boy; and Davy was a very active little boy; and Davy wanted to go

4、to sea. His father was a fisherman, his grandfather had been a fisherman, and his great-grandfather had been a fisherman: so we need not wonder much that little Davy took to the salt water like a fish. When he was very little he used to wade in it, and catch crabs in it, and gather shells on the sho

5、re, or build castles on the sands. Sometimes, too, he fell into the water neck and heels, and ran home to his mother, who used to whip him and set him to dry before the fire; but, as he grew older, he went with his father in the boat to fish, and from that time forward he began to wish to go to sea

6、in one of the large ships that were constantly sailing away from the harbour near his fathers cottage. One day Davy sat on a rock beside the sea, leaning on his fathers boathook, and gazing with longing eyes out upon the clear calm ocean, on which several ships and boats were floating idly, for ther

7、e was not a breath of wind to fill their sails. “Oh, how I wish my father would let me go to sea!” said Davy, with a deep sigh. “I wonder if I shall ever sail away beyond that line yonder, far, far away, where the sky seems to sink into the sea!” The line that he spoke of was the horizon. Davy heave

8、d another sigh, and smiled; for, just at that moment, his eyes fell on a small crab that stood before him with its claws up as if it were listening to what he said. “Oh, crab, crab,” cried the little boy, “youre a happy beast!” At that moment he moved the boathook, and the crab ran away in such a de

9、sperate hurry that Davy opened his eyes wide and said, “Humph! maybe yere not a happy beast after all!” While he sat thus, a stout fisherman came up and asked him what he was thinking about. On being told, he said, “Will you come with me, boy, to the building-yard, and Ill show you a ship on the sto

10、cks. Im goin as one of her crew when shes ready for sea, and perhaps by that time your father will let you go too.” You may be sure that Davy did not refuse such a good offer; so the man and the boy went hand in hand to the yard where ships were built. Davy had never been there before, and great was

11、 his surprise when he saw a huge thing standing on dry land, with great pieces of wood of all shapes sticking round it, like the skeleton of a whale; but greater still was his surprise when the fisherman said, “There, lad, thats the ship.” “Well,” exclaimed Davy, opening his large eyes to their wide

12、st, “it dont look like one just now!” The fisherman laughed. “Thats true, lad; but comeIll explain;” and taking Davy by the hand, he led him nearer to the “skeleton” of the ship, and began to explain the names and uses of the different parts. “You see that long thick timber,” he said, “that runs fro

13、m this end, which is the stern, to that end, which is the bowwell, that is the keel. This post or beam that rises out of it here is the stern-post, and that one that rises up at the far end yonder is the stem or cutwater. These are the principal timbers of the vessel, and upon their strength the saf

14、ety of a ship chiefly depends. The sticks that you see branching out from the keel like deers horns are called ribs; they are very strong, and the timbers that fasten them together at the top are called beams. Of course these pieces of wood are some of them far larger than any trees that you have ev

15、er seen; but if you examine them you will find that each timber and rib is made up of two or three separate pieces of wood, fastened very strongly together. When all the beams are fixed they will begin to nail the planks on to the ribs; iron bolts are used for this purpose, but by far the greater nu

16、mber of the nails are made of wood. After this is done the seams between the planks will be filled with oakum and the whole ship covered over with pitch and tar, just in the same way as your father does to his boat when she lets in water. Then the bottom of the ship will be entirely covered with she

17、ets of copper, to prevent the wood worms from destroying it. These little rascals would eat through a ships bottom and very soon sink it, but for the copper. Next, the deck is laid down, and the ship will be ready for launching. A ships masts and rigging are always put in after she is launched. Now,

18、 lad, what dye think of it?” said the fisherman as he walked home again with Davy. “The ships to be a three-master full-rigged, and is to go by the name o the Fair Nancy.” As he said this he smiled, patted the little boy on the head and left him. But Davy replied not a word to his friends remarks. H

19、is curly head was stuffed quite full with the keel, timbers, ribs, beams, stern-post, planks, and cutwater of the Fair Nancy; he could not speak, he found it difficult even to think, so he thrust his hands deep into his pockets, sat down on the shank of an anchor, and stared out to sea. In half an h

20、our he heaved a very deep sigh indeed, and said, “Oh! dear me, I wonder if I shall ever go to sea in the Fair Nancy!” Time flew on, and little Davy fished with his father, and worked for his mother, and paid many a visit to the building-yard, to watch the progress of the shiphis ship, as he called i

21、t. He begged very hard, too, to be allowed to go in her when she should be ready for sea. At first neither father nor mother would hear of it, but at last they began to think that Davy would make a very good sailor, for certainly he was an active obedient boy; so, although they did not say Yes, they

22、 were not nearly so determined as they used to be in saying No. The day of the launch was a great day at the seaport where Davy lived. The launch of a large ship is always a very interesting and wonderful sight indeed; so that thousands and thousands of people flock from all directions to see it. Wh

23、ichever way Davy looked he saw crowds of people, some on foot, some on horses, some on donkeys, and some in carriages, all streaming towards the one great pointthe ship-builders yard. It seemed quite like a holiday or a fair, and was such a bright, warm, sunny day that peoples hearts felt far lighte

24、r than usual. Davy saw all this at a glance the moment he left home; and, throwing his red nightcap into the air, he gave one long loud hurrah! and ran away as fast as his heavy fishing-boots would let him. The ship was very different now from what it had been when he first saw it. There were four l

25、ittle masts put up in it, on which were hoisted gay and gaudy flags. Her “hull,” or body, was now coppered and neatly painted, while all the rubbish of the building-yard was cleared away, so that everything looked neat and clean. The stocks, or framework on which she had been built, sloped towards t

26、he water, so that when the props were knocked away from the ship, she would slide by her own weight into the sea. Ships are always built on sloping stocks near to the waters edge; for you can fancy how difficult it would be to drag such a great thing into the water by main force. In order to make he

27、r slip more easily, the “ways,” down which she slides, are covered with grease. Very soon the crowds of people stood in silence, expecting the great event of the day; and, as the moment drew nigh, the band, which had been playing all morning, suddenly stopped. Davy became very anxious, because he wa

28、s so little that he could not see in the crowd; but, observing a post near at hand, he struggled towards it and climbed to the top of it. Here he saw famously. The workmen had begun to knock away the props; there was just one remaining. At this moment a lady stepped forward with a bottle of wine in

29、her hand to christen the ship. This she did by breaking the bottle against the cutwater; just at that instant she began to move. Another second and the Fair Nancy rushed down the incline, plunged heavily into the water like some awful sea-monster, and floated out upon her ocean home amid the deafeni

30、ng cheers of the people, especially of little Davy, who sat on the top of the post waving his red cap and shouting with delight. After the launch Davy and all the people returned home, and the Fair Nancy was towed to the “shear-hulk” to have her masts put in. The shear-hulk is a large ship in which

31、is placed machinery for lifting masts into other ships. Every one who has looked at the thick masts of a large vessel, must see at a glance that they could never be put there by any number of men. Machinery is used to do it, and the shear-hulk contains that machinery; so that when a ship has to get

32、her masts put up she is dragged alongside of this vessel. In the meantime Davy renewed his prayer to his father to let him go to sea, and at last the old man consented. His mother cried a good deal at first, and hoped that Davy would not think of it; but his father said that it would do him good, an

33、d if he became tired of it after the first voyage he could give it up. Davy was overjoyed at this, and went immediately to his friend the fisherman, Ben Block, who was very much delighted too, and took him to a shop to buy clothes and a sea-chest for the voyage. “You see, lad,” said Ben, “the ship i

34、s bound for Quebec with a mixed cargo, and is to come back loaded with timber; and as the season is coming on, youll need to get ready quick.” “That I shall,” replied Davy, as they entered a shop. “Ho! shopman, give me a straw hat, and a blue jacket, and a pair o duck trousers, and” “Stop! stop!” cr

35、ied Ben, “youre sailing too fast. Take in a reef, my lad.” Ben meant by this that he was to proceed a little slower. “Youll want a sou-wester,” (an oilskin hat), “and a dread-nought,” (a thick, heavy coat), “and things o that sort.” After Davy had bought all he wanted, and ordered a sea-chest, he we

36、nt home to his mother, who was very sad at the thought of parting with him. When the day of departure came she gave him a great deal of good advice, which Davy promised, with tears in his eyes, to remember. Then she gave him a little Bible and a kiss, and sent him away. His father took him to the be

37、ach, where the ships boat was waiting for him; and, as the old man took off his cap, and raising his eyes to heaven, prayed for a blessing on his little son, Davy, with watery eyes, looked around at the big ships floating on the water, and, for the first time, wished that he was not going to sea. In

38、 a few minutes he was on board the “outward-bound” ship. This is what we say of ships when they are going out to sea; when they return from a voyage we say that they are “homeward-bound.” The Fair Nancy was a noble ship, and as she hoisted her snow-white sails to a strong wind, (a stiff breeze, as B

39、en Block called it), she looked like a white cloud. The cloud seemed to grow smaller and smaller as Davys father and mother watched it from the shore; then it became like a little white spot on the faraway sea; then it passed over the line where the water meets the sky, and they saw it no more! Afte

40、r Davy had cried a great deal, and wished very often that he had not been so determined to leave home, he dried his eyes and began to take great interest in the curious things he saw around him. What surprised him most of all was, that although he actually was at sea, he could not see the sea at all

41、! This was because the sides of the ship, which are called “bulwarks,” were so high that they quite prevented the little boy from seeing overboard. Davy soon found an opening in the bulwarks, however, which his friend Ben called the “gang-way,” through which he could see the water and the ships and

42、boats that were sailing there. And when he mounted the high part of the deck in front of the ship, which is called the “forecastle,” or when he went upon the high deck at the stern of the ship, which is called the “poop,” then he could see all round. And what a wonderful and new sight it was to Davy

43、! His cottage was gone! The beach, and the pier where the nets used to hang, were gone. The trees and fields were all gone, and there was nothing but sea, sea, sea, all round, so that the Fair Nancy seemed the only solid thing in the whole wide world! But poor Davy did not look or wonder long at thi

44、s, for the breeze freshened, and the waves rose, and the ship plunged, and Davy felt very queer about the stomach! There is a man in every ship called the “steward,” and everybody loves that man, because he goes about from morning till night trying to do people good and to make them happy. He looks

45、after breakfasts, dinners, teas, and suppers. He answers every one who calls, and gets for everybody anything that they want. He is never ill, never in a hurry, never in a bad temper; in fact, he is a very charming man. Now, when the steward saw Davy with a pale face, and red eyes, and awfully seasi

46、ck, he went up to him with a smile, and said, “Sick, my lad? youll soon get used to it. Always sick when you first go to sea. Come below and Ill give you summat to do you good, and tumble you into your hammock.” By going below the good steward meant going below the deck into the cabin. A ship is jus

47、t like a large house, divided into a number of roomssome of which are sitting rooms, some store and provision rooms, some kitchens and pantries, closets and cupboards; and there are two or three flats in some ships, so that you can go up or down stairs at your pleasure. When Davy went down the ladde

48、r or stair, which is called the “companion,” and followed the steward through many rooms full of all kinds of things that seemed to be all in confusion, and saw the sailors sitting, and smoking, and laughing, and talking on chests and tables, he almost believed that he was in a house on shore; but then he remembered that houses on shore dont dance about and roll, first on one side and then on the other, and plunge forwards and then backwards; so he sighed and put his han