(单词翻译:单击)
The Mayflower sailed from England on September 6, 1620, heading for the New World.
1620年9月6日，五月花号从英国启航，驶向新大陆。
Though the Pilgrims' journey is an iconic one, not much is known about the ship that made it possible.
虽然那些朝圣者的旅程具有标志性意义，但人们却对这艘船只知之甚少。
Few records exist prior to its purchase by English merchant Christopher Jones in 1608.
在1608年被英国商人克里斯托弗·琼斯(Christopher Jones)购买之前，几乎没有关于这艘船的记录。
While historians can make assumptions based on similar ships from the time period--it likely weighed about 180 tons and measured 90 feet long, for instance--the original ship no longer exists to prove those guesses right or wrong.
虽然历史学家可以根据这一时期的类似船只做出假设-例如，它可能重约180吨，测量长度为90英尺-但原始船只不复存在，无法证明这些猜测是对还是错。
The fate of the Mayflower after its North American voyage is another mystery lost to time.
北美航行后，五月花号的命运是另一个遗忘在时间长河中的谜团。
Some theorize that after it returned to England, it was scrapped for timber and used in construction projects.
一些人推测，在它回到英国后，变成了废弃木材，用来搭建建筑物。
Still, the original beams have never shown up.
尽管如此，大船原始的船梁却从未出现过。
The Mayflower's journey to fame began when it was chartered by a group of English investors called the Merchant Adventurers, who hoped to make their fortune in the fur trade.
五月花号的成名之旅始于一群名为“商人冒险家”的英国投资者的租用，他们希望在毛皮贸易中发财致富。
When some members of their group dropped out, they offered to sell passage to the Pilgrims--devout Christians who disapproved of the Church of England and intended to found their own religious community elsewhere.
当该团体中的一些成员退出时，他们向朝圣者打开了大门，朝圣者是虔诚的基督徒，他们不赞成英格兰教会，打算在其他地方建立自己的宗教社区。
Both parties intended to settle near the Hudson River, a site now in New York state, where the English government had already approved their claims.
双方都打算在现位于纽约州的哈德逊河附近定居，当时英国政府已经批准了他们的主张。
However, bad weather pushed the Mayflower off course.
然而，恶劣的天气导致五月花号偏离了航线。
After a 66-day voyage, the ship landed hundreds of miles north of its intended destination.
经过66天的航行，这艘船在预定目的地以北数百英里处靠岸。
The company had reached Plymouth: a cold and inhospitable spot they would now call home.
船上的人们到达了普利茅斯：一个他们现在称之为家的寒冷且不宜居住的地方。
