Gullivers Travels.docx

1、Gullivers TravelsGullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift 1 A voyage to LilliputI was born in Nottinghamshire and was the third of five sonsMy father was not a rich man but he was able to send me to Cambridge Universitywhere I studied for three yearsWhen I left collegeI continued my studies and became a

2、doctorBut I always wanted to traveland so I made several voyages as a ships doctorWhen I married my wife MaryhoweverI planned to stay at home for a whileBut after a few years I discovered I was not earning enough money from my patientsI decided to go to sea againand this time I joined a ship sailing

3、 to the islands in the South Pacific OceanWe started our journey from Bristol on May 4th1699At first our voyage went wellWe sailed across the Atlanticround the coast of Africa and into the Indian OceanBut before we could reach the Pacifica violent storm hit us and drove us to the north-west of Tasma

4、niaThe wind drove our ship on to a rock which broke the ship in halfSome of the sailors and I managed to get a boat into the waterand we rowed away to look for landBut when we were too tired to row any morea great wave hit our small boatand we all fell into the seaI do not know what happened to my c

5、ompanionsbut I suppose they were all drownedThe wind and waves pushed me along as I struggled to keep my head above waterI became very tired and soon felt I could not swim any moreLuckilyjust then my feet touched the groundI walked out of the sea and on to a beachwhere there was no sign of any peopl

6、e or housesI was so exhausted that I lay down and went to sleepWhen I woke up next morning and tried to get upI could not moveI was lying on my back and my whole body my arms and legs were strongly fastened to the groundEven my hairwhich was long and thickwas tied to the groundThe sun began to grow

7、hotand I was very uncomfortableSoon I felt something alive moving along my leg and up my body to my faceand when I looked downI saw a very small human beingonly fifteen centimetres tallHe had a bow and arrow in his handsand there were forty more of these little men following himI was so surprised th

8、at I gave a great shoutThey all jumped backvery frightenedand some hurt themselves by falling off my bodyMeanwhileI was struggling to unfasten myselfbut just as I managed to pull my left arm free of the ropesI felt a hundred arrows land on my free handand more arrows on my face and bodyThis was very

9、 painfuland made me cry aloudI lay quietlyto see what would happen nextWhen they saw I was no longer strugglingthey quickly built a platform next to my headand an official climbed up there to speak to meAlthough I could not understand his languageI understood that they would be friendly towards me-i

10、f I did not try to harm themBy now I was extremely hungryso I used sign language to beg the official for foodHe seemed to understand mebecause immediately ladders were put against my sides and little men climbed up with baskets of food and drinkThey were surprised at how much I could eat and drinkIn

11、 just one mouthful I ate three of their meat dishes and three of their loaves of breadI drank two of their barrels of wineand was still thirstybecause that was only half a litreWhile they were bringing me foodI wondered whether to pick up a handful of the little men and throw them to their deathBut

12、I was afraid they would shoot at me againand anyway I was grateful for their kindness in giving me food and drinkso I did not moveAfter some timeanother official climbed up to the platform and spoke to meFrom his signs I understood that they were going to move meThe King of this countrywhich was cal

13、led Lilliputhad ordered his people to carry me to the capital cityabout a kilometre awayI made signs to ask whether I could be untiedbut the official politely refusedWhile I was eatinga platform had been prepared to carry meThe people of Lilliputknown as the Lilliputiansare very intelligent and clev

14、er with their handsFor mefive hun-dred men built a special wooden platform with twentytwo wheelsNine hundred of the strongest men worked for about three hours to lift me on to the platformand one thousand five hundred of the Kings largest horseseach eleven and a half centimetres highpulled me to the

15、 capitalI did not know about any of thisbecause they had put a sleeping powder in my wine and I was in a deep sleepThe King had decided I would stay in the largest available buildingjust outside the city gatesIts door was only a metre high and half a metre wideso I could only just get inside on my h

16、ands and kneesMy guards put ninetyone chains on my left legso that I could not escapeThen they cut the ropes that tied me and I was able to get to my feetAs I stood upI heard cries of astonishment all around meI felt rather miserablebut at least I could walk about nowin a two-metre cir-cleI was cert

17、ainly an interesting sight for the Lilliputianswho had come out of the city in crowds of several thousand to see meNow I had a good view of the countrysideThe fields looked like flowerbeds in a gardenand even the tallest trees were on-ly two metres highI was soon visited by the King himselfHe has a

18、stronghandsome faceand is very popular among his peopleHe ar-rived with his Queenhis childrenand his lords and ladiesall dressed in beautiful gold and silver clothesIn order to make conversation easierI lay on my side so that my face was close to him I spoke to him in all the languages I knew but we

19、 still could not understand each otherThe King ordered his people to make me a bedusing six hundred Lilliputian bedsIt was not very comfortablebut it was better than sleeping on the stone floorHe ordered the crowds of sightseers to go back to their homes so that the work of the country could continu

20、e and I would not be annoyedFor a long time he discussed with his lords in private what should be done with meI was told all this later by a good friend of mineClearlysuch a large person could be a danger to his small peopleAt last it was decided that as I had behaved so well up to nowI would be kep

21、t aliveFood and drink would be brought to me every day from all the villagessix hundred people would be my servantsthree hundred men would make me a new suitand six teachers would teach me their languageAnd so in about three weeks I began to speak the language of LilliputThe King often visited me an

22、d every time he cameI asked him to take off my chainsHe explained that first I must promise not to fight against Lilliput or hurt Lilliputiansand that I must be searched for weaponsI agreed to both these things and carefully picked up two of his officers in my handsI put them first in one pocketthen

23、 moved them to all my other pocketsexcept two which I kept secretAs they searchedthey wrote down in a notebook details of all the things they foundAfterwards I read some of their reportIn the second coat pocket we found two very large pieces of woodand inside them were great pieces of metalvery shar

24、pIn another pocket there was a most wonderful engineat the end of a long chainThe engine was inside a huge round containerwhich was made half of silver and half of another metalThis second metal was very strange as we could see through it to some mysterious writing and picturesThe engine made a cont

25、inuous loud noiseThe officers could not guess what these things were but they wereof coursemy two pocket knives and my watchThey also found my comba purse with several gold and silver coinsmy gun and bulletsThe King wanted to know what the gun was used forBring it outhe ordered meand show me how it

26、worksI took the gun out and put a bullet into itDent be afraidI warned the King Then I fired the gun into the airIt was the loudest noise the Lilliputians had ever heardHundreds of them thought they were deadand fell downThe King himself was very frightenedAs I gave my gun to the officials to keepI

27、warned them to be careful with itThey allowed me to keep all my other thingsand I hoped that one day soon I would be free 2 Life in LilliputI was careful to behave as well as possibleto persuade the King to give me my freedomLilliputians soon began to lose their fear of meThey called me the ManMount

28、ainSometimes I lay down and let them dance on my handand from time to time children came to play games in my hair By now I was able to speak their language wellOne day the King invited me to watch the regular entertainmentswhich are greatly enjoyed by himhis familyand his lords and ladiesI was most

29、interested in the ropedancing A very thin rope is fixed thirty centimetres above the groundPeople who want to become the Kings most important officials jump and dance on this ropeand whoever jumps highest with-out falling gets the best jobSometimes the King orders his lords to dance on the ropeto sh

30、ow that they can still do itThis sport isof courserather dangerousand there are occasional deaths as a resultIt seems a strange way of choosing officialsThere was another interesting entertainmentThe King holds a stick in front of himand sometimes moves it up and downOne by one people come up to him

31、 and jump over the stick or crawl under itThey go on jumping and crawling as the King moves the stickThe winner is the one who jumps and crawls for the longest timeand he receives a blue ribbon to wear round his waistThe second best receives a red ribbonand the third best gets a green oneMany of the Lilliput lords wear their ribbons proudly at