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Chapter One: I Leave England
I was born in 1632 in the English city of York. I came from a good family who were from Holland1. My father was a Dutch2 merchant who left Holland when he was young. His business did very well in England. First he worked in the city of Hull3, and then in York. In York, he met and married my mother. Before she married my father, her name was Miss Robinson, and I was named Robinson Kreutznaer, after her.
Unfortunately, the English people in York thought it was too difficult to pronounce our Dutch name “Kreutznaer”, so they began to call our family “Crusoe,” and so today I am Robinson Crusoe.
I was the third son of the family, but at the time my story begins I was the only one left. My eldest4 brother was a soldier and was killed fighting the Spanish. My other brother disappeared—we do not know what happened to him.
Although my father’s business was doing well, I felt that the life of a merchant was not very interesting. I wanted to go to sea and have a life of adventure, sailing5 the oceans and exploring new countries.
“Robinson, you can’t go!” my father cried when I told him my plans.
“But Father, there is nothing for me to do here. I want to see the world.” I said.
“How can you say that there is nothing for you to do here?” my father replied. “You could go into trade, as I did. And look how well I have done!”
“Father, I am not good at business.” I said. I didn’t want to tell him that being a merchant was boring.
“Robinson,” said my father, “wait for a year. I’ll do all I can to teach you how to be a good business man. If after one year, you still want to go to sea, I will let you go.” It seemed as though he was begging me to stay. Perhaps he was afraid to lose another son.
At that time, I was seventeen years old, young and full of energy. A year seemed like a long time to me, but I agreed to stay, because I did not want to upset my father.
During that year, I studied hard and tried to learn about business, but it was no use. Perhaps I was born with ocean water in my veins6 instead of blood! I simply had to go to sea.
But after a year had passed my father still would not let me go. Father was a quiet and serious man, and he had many strong opinions. He told me that life at sea was dangerous and only for very poor or very rich men, who were probably all crazy anyway. “It is likely,” he said, “that if you go to sea you’ll be drowned or a drunk7 man before a month is gone!”
My family was in a middle position, neither very poor nor very rich. My father thought this was the best kind of family to belong to. I decided8 to ask my mother for help. She was a wonderful woman, and had always understood me. “Mother,” I said, “I still want to go to sea. Please help me to convince9 Father that I’ll be all right.
“Please, mother,” Icried. I was desperat. “Ask him to let me go for just one year. If after a year I don’t like the life at sea, I’ll come home and become the best business man in the family, I promise!”
Mother looked at me for a moment. “Robinson,” she said, “I will tell your father what you have told me, but you must understand that I cannot change his mind.”
Three weeks after this, my nineteenth birthday came. Just after this, I decided to go to the city of Hull for a few days. I wanted to get away from my life of business in York.
I sat by the town’s harbor12, watching the ships go out to sea. The ocean shone brightly in the golden13 sunlight14. How I wished I could have been one of the sailors! I dreamed of standing15 at the front of a ship, feeling the wind on my face as we traveld to strange and mysterious lands. It seemed it would never happen now.
I was feeling sadder than ever when a voice interrupted16 my thoughs. “Why, it’s Robinson Crusoe! What are you doing here in Hull?”
I looked around and saw Tom Bentley, an old friend of mine, standing before me.
“Tom!” I said, jumping up to shake his hand. “How are you?”
“I’m better, Robinson, now that we”ve met!” he said.
“We should celebrate our meeting with a glass of beer! Come on, there’s an inn17 over there,” I said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t,” said Tom. “I’m sailing to London on my father’s ship!”
“Your father’s ship? That sounds exciting!” I said.
Tom smiled. “Robinson,you should come with me! You look like you have nothing to do , and it won’t cost any money. What do you say?”
And so I wrote my father and mother a letter telling them what I was about go do, and in September, 1651 I left England to go to sea.
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点击收听单词发音
1 Holland | |
n.荷兰(欧洲) | |
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2 Dutch | |
adj.荷兰(人)的;荷兰语(或文化)的;n.[the~]荷兰人;荷兰语 | |
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3 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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4 eldest | |
adj.最年长的,最年老的 | |
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5 sailing | |
n.航行,航海术,启航 | |
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6 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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7 drunk | |
adj.醉酒的;(喻)陶醉的;n.酗酒者,醉汉 | |
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8 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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9 convince | |
vt.使确认,使信服;使认识错误 | |
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10 sternly | |
adv.严厉地;严肃地 | |
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11 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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12 harbor | |
n.海港,港口;vt.庇护,藏匿;心怀(怨恨等) | |
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13 golden | |
adj.金的,含金的,可贵的,金色的,贵重的,繁盛的 | |
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14 sunlight | |
n.日光,阳光,日照 | |
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15 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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16 interrupted | |
adj. 中断的 动词interrupt的过去式和过去分词 | |
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17 inn | |
n.小旅馆,客栈;小酒店,小饭店 | |
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