環(huán)球英語 — 343：Viking Sailors
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Hello. I’m Mike Procter.
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And I’m Rachel Hobson. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Today’s Spotlight story begins a long time ago. The year was 793. The place was a small island off the east coast of Britain. Here lived a peaceful religious community. One day something happened to destroy the quiet life of this community. Foreign raiders sailed to their island. These war-hungry men attacked and killed the holy men. The raiders stole everything of value. These raiders were called Vikings. This was the beginning of Viking attacks all over the British Isles for hundreds of years to come.
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In today’s Spotlight we tell of the Vikings. We talk about who they were. We describe their customs. We also tell of a modern group of people who built a Viking ship. Why did they do it? What did they hope to learn?
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The Vikings were robbers. They travelled by sea from Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Vikings were most active from the ninth [9th] to the eleventh [11th] century. Most Vikings were farmers. They spent their time working on their land and hunting. But often young Viking men wanted to find excitement and wealth. They would go by sea to rob other people groups.
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Viking leaders organized the young men into groups of fighters. They took the fighters on sea trips on longships. Longships were the fastest ships in the world at the time. They were beautiful to look at. And they could hold many fighters. The Vikings planned their attacks before they took a trip. They knew the coasts of Europe very well. They knew where to find villages and churches that they could attack.
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When the Vikings found their target, they searched the coastline for a good place to land. Then, they left the boat quickly and quietly. They surrounded the villages and attacked. The village people were not prepared for them. The Vikings were fierce fighters. Often they killed the men and had sex with the women by force. Then they would return home with many treasures. But not all Vikings returned home. Many of them stayed in the new lands. They brought their families. And they started Viking settlements.
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Experts believe the Vikings attacked other people groups for several reasons. They say that Viking populations were becoming too large. The Vikings needed more resources and more land. Also the people they attacked were such easy targets. The Vikings knew they would have much success on their raids. However, not all Vikings remained violent. The Vikings that settled in new lands often accepted local traditions and beliefs. They brought their knowledge of trading and farming with them. They established some very powerful and wealthy cities - such as York and Dublin.
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Historians do not know very much about the Vikings. Vikings did not write down their history. Instead Viking story tellers told the people their history. They told stories of Viking heroes and important events from the past. The younger generations learned about the past in this way. Later, story tellers in Viking settlements in Iceland wrote down some of these stories. Much of the information we know about Viking customs comes from these Icelandic writings.
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Many people are interested in learning more about the Vikings. Viking ruins have been discovered in many places - even as far away as Canada. Different groups have worked on projects to discover more about them. In 1962, an important event happened in Denmark. Experts recovered the remains of five Viking ships. The ships were at the bottom of the water of the Roskilde Fjord. The largest ship was a warship. It was thirty meters long. Officials named it Skuldelev number Two. Scientists tested the ship. Evidence showed that the Vikings built it in Dublin, Ireland nearly a thousand years ago.
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In the 1990’s, officials at the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark had an idea for an important project. They decided to build a copy of the Skuldelev number Two. They wanted the copy to take a similar trip to the original Skuldelev number Two. They wanted to sail the ship between Denmark and Ireland.
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The project took ten years of careful preparation and planning. The team did not use modern materials or tools to build the new ship. Instead they used the same methods and tools as the Vikings. It took four years to complete the ship. When it was finished, they named it “The Sea Stallion from Glendalough”. They took the ship on a test trip. For four weeks a crew sailed the ship. It survived heavy winds and high waves.
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Finally in the summer of 2007, the ship was ready for its long trip. The ship would sail from Denmark to Dublin. It would stay in Dublin all through winter. Then the next summer the ship would return to Denmark. The team leaders needed a crew of sixty-five [65] people to sail the ship. The crew would experience the same difficulties as the Vikings. They would have to live in a very small space. They would have to sleep in the open air. The leaders carefully chose a crew of people who were ready for such an experience. So the Sea Stallion started its trip.
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The first days of the trip were exciting. Strong winds helped the ship sail over four hundred kilometres. But then there was no wind at all. For ten days the ship did not move much. This was a difficult time for the crew. There was little they could do without the wind. However, the biggest problem happened when they experienced too much wind. The ship was off the southwest of Scotland. Suddenly the wind and waves threatened to overpower the longship. Many of the crew believed the ship was going to sink. But to everyone’s surprise it survived.
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The leader and crew have recorded their experiences. Experts are looking at this information. They are excited by what they are learning. Already, they are surprised that longships move slower than they had expected. And they hope to discover much more! The experts will need a long time to read and process all this information.
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Many people ask the question why the Viking Museum has spent so much time and money on this project. The museum officials say the answer is simple - they want to gain knowledge. They believe this is an important scientific and archaeological project. The trip will help to answer many questions about Vikings - questions from historians, archaeologists and boat builders. The trip will help them to learn more about the past.
