(单词翻译:单击)
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PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in Special English on the Voice of America.
She lived four hundred years ago in what became the American state of Virginia. She was the first Native American to marry a white person. I'm Shirley Griffith.
And I'm Ray Freeman. Today, we tell about Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian tribe.
Pocahontas was born in fifteen ninety-five. She was one of twenty children of Chief Powhatan. Powhatan ruled a group of more than twenty Indian tribes in territory that is now the eastern state of Virginia.
In sixteen-oh-seven, the Virginia company in England sent colonists to settle the land that later became the United States of America. The leader of the English settlers was John Ratcliffe. He claimed the land for King James of England. He named the new colony Jamestown, Virginia. The English colonists did not know that the area already was settled by Indians.
The Powhatan Indians lived in the area where the English colonists landed. They were part of a large group of American tribes who spoke the Algonquian language. The Powhatans had lived in the area for almost one thousand years. They built villages. They grew beans, corn, squash and melons. They created a strong political system, led by powerful chiefs like Powhatan. His power and wealth were evident.
Women of the tribes controlled the houses and the fields. They made clothing of animal skins and containers of clay. Men hunted and fished for food. Both men and women wore earrings and other objects made of shells, pearls and copper.
The young Pocahontas often visited Jamestown during the colony's first months. She was about twelve years old. The colonists knew her well. She became an important link between the colonists and her father, Powhatan.
The Indians' culture was very different from that of the English settlers. The two groups did not understand each other. The misunderstandings led to hostile incidents between the colonists and the Indians.
John Smith was an explorer, soldier and a leader of the Jamestown colony. He was captured in sixteen-oh-seven by followers of Powhatan. Captain Smith wrote about this incident in a book that was published in sixteen twenty-four. He wrote that Pocahontas saved him from being executed by Powhatan. This story has been repeated for hundreds of years. This is what most people know about Pocahontas.
Most historians, however, do not believe that Pocahontas saved the life of John Smith. Some believe that Captain Smith invented the story after reading about a similar event that took place in Florida. That event involved a captured Spanish explorer, an Indian chief and the chief's daughter.
Some historians do not believe that John Smith's life was in danger. They say that what Captain Smith thought was to be his execution was really an Indian ceremony. The ceremony was meant to show that Powhatan accepted Smith as part of his tribe. Historians say the Indian chief wanted to make the English colonists his allies.
After Captain Smith's capture, the Indians and the colonists agreed to a truce. Pocahontas visited Jamestown more often. She may not have really saved John Smith's life. But most experts agree that Pocahontas helped the colonists. She brought them corn when they were starving. She once was said to have warned the colonists about a surprise attack by the Indians.
John Smith had been wounded during his capture. He returned to England. Hostilities once again broke out between the Indians and the English settlers. In sixteen eleven, Thomas Dale became acting governor of the colony. He started a new aggressive policy toward the Indians. Two years later, an English soldier, Samuel Argall, kidnapped Pocahontas. She was about eighteen years old. The colonists kidnapped her because they wanted to prevent more attacks by the Indians. They also wanted to force chief Powhatan to negotiate a peace agreement.
Pocahontas lived as a hostage in the Jamestown settlement for more than a year. A colonist, John Rolfe, taught her English. He also taught her the Christian religion. Pocahontas was the first Native American to become Christian. She changed her name to Rebecca.
In sixteen fourteen, she married John Rolfe in the church in Jamestown. She was the first Indian woman to marry a white man. Her husband believed that their marriage would be good for the colony. John Rolfe said he married Pocahontas "for the honor of our country, for the glory of God. "
Governor Dale immediately opened negotiations with Powhatan. The result was a period of peace that lasted for about eight years.
Pocahontas' husband was a tobacco grower. She taught him the Indian way of planting tobacco. This method improved the tobacco crop. Tobacco later became America's first successful crop.
In sixteen fifteen, Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son. They named him Thomas. The next year Pocahontas and her family sailed to England for a visit. In London, she was treated like a famous person. She was officially presented to king James the First. She also met John Smith again.
The Virginia Company said her visit proved that it was possible to have good relations between the English colonists and the Indians. The company urged more people to move from England to the Virginia colony.
Pocahontas had her picture painted while visiting England. She is wearing the clothes she wore when she met the King. They are the kind of clothes that were popular in England in the sixteen hundreds. This picture is the only one that really is of her.
Pocahontas and her family stayed in England for seven months. They prepared to return to Jamestown. But Pocahontas became sick with smallpox. She died from the disease. She was buried in Gravesend, England. She was twenty-two years old.
Her son, Thomas Rolfe, was raised in England. When he was twenty, he returned to Virginia. He lived as a settler in his mother's native land. He married and had a daughter. Through Thomas Rolfe, a number of famous Virginians have family ties to Pocahontas. These families are proud to claim their ties to Pocahontas. They call her "Virginia's First Lady. "
Pocahontas left no writings of her own. The only reports about her from the time were written by John Smith. His reports may not all have been true. Yet the story of her rescue of Captain Smith became a popular folk story.
Americans know that Pocahontas played a part in the early history of Virginia. They remember her bravery and friendship. Americans also remember her for what she represented as a Native American: the hope of close relations between the white people and the Indians.
Pocahontas is honored in the United States Capitol building in Washington, D. C. There are three art works of her in the large, round, main hall of the capitol. There are more representations of her than any other American except for the nation's first president, George Washington. The three art works show the popular stories about Pocahontas. One is a painting of Pocahontas taking part in a religious ceremony in which she became a Christian. Two others show her saving the life of Captain John Smith.
Many different American groups have used the name and some version of a picture of Pocahontas. Whale hunters in the nineteenth century named ships after Pocahontas in honor of her bravery. They also put small statues of her on their ships.
Both the confederate forces in the South and the Union forces in the North used her name or picture during the American Civil War. A picture of Pocahontas was on the flag of a division of Confederate forces called the Guard of the Daughters of Powhatan. Union forces named a warship after the Indian woman.
Many American writers have written about Pocahontas. The Walt Disney company produced a popular children's movie about her.
Today, visitors to the Jamestown settlement in Virginia can see what life was like there in the sixteen hundreds.
They can see copies of the ships that brought the English settlers. And they can see statues of three of the people important in early America: John Smith, Chief Powhatan, and his daughter -- Pocahontas.
重点解析
1.lead to 导致
Because some choices lead to health and joy, while others lead to illness and suffering.
因为，有些选择会使你更健康，更快乐，而其他的会导致疾病和痛苦。
2.take place发生
Some of my most peaceful moments take place in my garden.
我的一些最和平的时刻发生在我的花园里。
3.break out 爆发
When the Trojan War was about to break out he led his forces from Salamis army at Aulis.
当特洛伊战争即将爆发时，他率领军队从萨拉米斯到达奥尔墨斯加入了希腊军队。
4.die from 死于
How can he love someone that is going to die from cancer?
但是，他怎么可能爱一个即将死于癌症的人呢？
5.take part in 参与
Join one of our craft classes. Then you can take part in these very enjoyable hobbies.
参加其中的一门工艺课程，然后你能加入这些令人愉快的兴趣爱好活动。
6.in danger在危险中
But I'm not for kids putting themselves in danger.
但是我不支持孩子们把自己投入危险中。
参考译文
这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。
她生活在四百年前，生活的地域是当今美国的弗吉尼亚州。她是第一个嫁给白人的美国原住民。我是雪莉·格里菲斯。
我是雷·弗里曼。今天我们讲述波瓦坦印第安部落首领的女儿波卡洪塔斯的故事。
波卡洪塔斯出生于1595年。她是波瓦坦酋长的二十个孩子之一。波瓦坦统治着一个由20多个印第安部落组成的部落，其领土现在是东部的弗吉尼亚州。
1607年，英国的弗吉尼亚公司派遣殖民者在这块土地上定居，后来这里成为美利坚合众国。这群殖民者的领袖是约翰·拉特克利夫。他声称这片土地归英国国王詹姆斯所有。他把新殖民地命名为弗吉尼亚的詹姆斯敦。英国殖民者不知道印第安人已经在这片土地定居了。
波瓦坦印第安人居住在英国殖民者登陆的地区。他们是说阿尔冈琴语的一个很大的美国部落的一部分。波瓦坦印第安人已经在这片区域居住了将近1000年了。他们建立了村庄。他们种豆子、玉米、南瓜和甜瓜。他们创立了强大的政治制度，由像波瓦坦这样有权势的酋长领导。他的权利和财富是显而易见的。
部落的女性负责家务和种植。他们用兽皮做衣服，用黏土制作容器。男性负责打猎和捕鱼来获取食物。男性和女性都戴耳环和其他由贝壳，珍珠和铜币制成的饰品。
在殖民者刚来的几个月里，年轻的波卡洪塔斯经常参观詹姆斯敦。当时她12岁了。那些殖民者很了解她。她成为了殖民者和自己父亲波瓦坦之间重要的桥梁。
印第安人的文化和英国殖民者的文化大不相同。他们两个群体互相不理解。误解导致了殖民者和印第安人之间敌对事件的发生。
约翰·史密斯是一个殖民者，士兵和詹姆斯敦的一个领袖。他于1607年被波瓦坦的追随者们俘获。史密斯船长在1624年出版的一本书中写到了这个事件。他写道，波卡洪塔斯救了他，使他免于被波瓦坦处死。这个故事重复了上百年。这就是大多数人对波卡洪塔斯的了解。
但是，大多数历史学家认为波卡洪塔斯没有拯救约翰·史密斯的生命。有些人认为史密斯船长是在读了一个发生在弗罗里达州的相似的事件后编造的这个故事。那个事件涉及到了一个被俘获的西班牙探险者，还有一个印第安酋长和他的女儿。
一些历史学家认为约翰·史密斯的生命并没有处于危险当中。他们认为，史密斯船长认为的执刑其实是一个印第安仪式。这个仪式是用来表明波瓦坦接受史密斯作为他们的一份子。历史学家称，印第安酋长想让英国殖民者成为他的盟友。
史密斯船长被俘获后，印第安人和殖民者同意休战。波卡洪塔斯去詹姆斯敦的次数更频繁了。她可能并没有真正救过约翰·史密斯的命。但是大多数专家同意波卡洪塔斯帮助了殖民者。在殖民者饥饿的时候，她带了玉米给他们。据说，有一次她曾提醒殖民者印第安人将发动一次突然袭击。
约翰·史密斯在被俘期间受了伤。他回到了英国。印第安人和殖民者之间再次爆发了战争。1611年，托马斯·戴尔成为了殖民地的代理统治者。他开始了一项新的针对印第安人的侵略政策。两年后，英国士兵塞缪尔·阿格尔绑架了波卡洪塔斯。当时她大约十八岁。殖民者绑架她是因为他们想阻止印第安人发动更多的袭击。他们想迫使波瓦坦酋长进行和平谈判。
波卡洪塔斯作为人质在詹姆斯敦殖民地生活了超过一年的时间。一个殖民者约翰·罗尔夫教她英语。他也教她基督教方面的知识。波卡洪塔斯是第一个成为基督徒的美国原住民。她改名为瑞贝卡。
1614年，她在詹姆斯敦的教堂嫁给了约翰·罗尔夫。她是第一位嫁给白人的印第安女性。她丈夫认为他们的婚姻对殖民者来说是好事。约翰·罗尔夫说，他娶波卡洪塔斯是“为了我们国家的荣誉，为了上帝的荣耀”。”
统治者戴尔立即开启了与波瓦坦的谈判。结果是一段持续了大概八年的和平。
波卡洪塔斯的丈夫是一名烟草种植者。她教丈夫印第安人种植烟草的方式。这种种植方法改良了烟草作物。后来烟草成为了美国第一种种植成功的作物。
1615年，波卡洪塔斯有了一个儿子。他们给他取名为托马斯。第二年，波卡洪塔斯和她的家人乘船去英国进行了一次游览。在伦敦，人们把她当做名人对待。他被正式介绍给詹姆斯一世。她也再次遇到了约翰·史密斯。
弗吉尼亚公司认为她的拜访证明了英国殖民者和印第安人之间是可以拥有良好的关系的。公司敦促更多人从英国搬到弗吉尼亚殖民地生活。
在拜访英国期间，波卡洪塔斯请人给自己画了画像。她穿的是会见国王时穿的衣服。衣服是17世纪英国流行的衣服。这幅画是唯一一幅真正是她本人的画作。
波卡洪塔斯和家人在英国住了7个月。他们打算回詹姆斯敦。但是波卡洪塔斯病了，她患上了天花。她因此丢了性命。她被埋葬在英国的格雷夫森德。当时她年仅22岁。
他的儿子托马斯·罗尔夫在英国长大。他20岁的时候返回了弗吉尼亚。他以移民的身份生活在母亲的故乡。他结了婚，生育了一个女儿。通过托马斯·罗尔夫，许多著名的弗吉尼亚人都与波卡洪塔斯有家庭关系。这些家庭都自豪地宣称与波卡洪塔斯有家庭关系。他们称她为“弗吉尼亚第一夫人”。
波卡洪塔斯没有留下自己的作品。关于她仅有的记录是由约翰·史密斯写作的。这些故事或许不全都是真的。但是她拯救史密斯船长的故事成为了一个流行的民间故事。
美国人知道波卡洪塔斯在弗吉尼亚的早期历史上扮演了一个角色。他们记得她的勇敢和友善。美国人也记得她作为一个印第安人所代表的东西：白人和印第安人之间建立密切关系的希望。
波卡洪塔斯在华盛顿特区的美国国会大厦受到表彰。在国会大厦的圆形大厅里，有关于她的三件艺术作品。除了美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿之外，人们对她的描绘比其他任何美国人都多。这三件艺术品展示了关于波卡洪塔斯的受欢迎的故事。其中一幅是波卡洪塔斯参加宗教仪式的画像，在仪式上她成为了一名基督徒。另外两张是她救了约翰·史密斯船长的生命。
许多不同的美国团体都用过波卡洪塔斯这个名字和她的一些版本的画作。19世纪的捕鲸者为了向波卡洪塔斯的勇敢致敬，以她的名字命名了船只。他们还把她的小雕像放在船上。
在美国内战期间，南方的邦联军队和北方的联邦军队都使用了她的名字或照片。波卡洪塔斯的画像挂在南部邦联一个叫做波瓦坦女儿卫队的师的旗帜上。联邦军队以这位印第安女性的名字命名了一艘军舰。
许多美国作家都写过关于波卡洪塔斯的作品。华特迪士尼公司制作了一部关于她的儿童电影。
今天，来到弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯敦殖民地的游客可以看到那里17世纪的生活是什么样的。
他们可以看到当时英国移民者来这里时乘坐的船只的复制品。他们也可以看到早期美国的三个重要人物的雕像：约翰·史密斯，波瓦坦酋长和他的女儿-波卡洪塔斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
