VOA慢速英语2017 风中奇缘

The True Story of Pocahontas

Pocahontas is one of the most famous figures in American history. Many books and films portray 1 her as a beautiful American Indian “princess” who made sacrifices to serve British colonial interests. These stories also suggest that she saved England’s first Virginia settlers from death and starvation.

波卡洪塔斯（Pocahontas）是美国历史上最著名的人物之一。很多书籍和电影都将她描绘为一位美丽的印第安公主，为英国殖民利益作出了牺牲。这些故事还暗示她拯救了英格兰第一批弗吉尼亚殖民者，让他们避免了死亡和饥饿。

Most likely none of that is true.

这些很有可能都不是真实的。

Pocahontas was the daughter of Pamunkey Chief Wahunsenaca. He was leader of an alliance of about thirty Algonquian tribes and bands in Virginia when the British arrived in 1607.

波卡洪塔斯是帕芒基部落酋长Wahunsenaca的女儿。值1607年英国抵达之际，Wahunsenaca是弗吉尼亚30多个阿尔冈基人部族联盟的首领。

This did not make her a “princess” however. Royalty 2 was a European idea. Her family called her Matoaka, “flower between two streams.” This likely referred to their home between Virginia’s Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers.

然而，这并不能使波卡洪塔斯成为公主，因为皇室是一种欧洲概念。她的家人称她为Matoaka，意思是两条溪流之间的花儿。这可能代表着他们家住在马特波尼河和帕芒基河之间。

Tradition has said that her father also called her “Pocahontas.” This has several possible meanings, including “wanton” to “mischievous 3.” The name suggests she had a lively personality.

传说她的父亲也称她为Pocahontas，这个词有多种意思，包括“爱嬉戏的”和“调皮的。”这个名字表明她性格活泼。

Little is known of Pocahontas’ childhood. Linwood “Little Bear” Custalow was a member of the Mattaponi tribe, an ally of Wahunsenaca’s. Dr. Linwood’s book, The True Story of Pocahontas, the Other Side of History reports about Mattaponi oral history. It says Matoakoa married a young Potowomac fighter named Kocoum when she was about 14. They had a child called Little Kocoum, who was raised among the Mattaponi. The book also says that the English murdered the older Kocoum.

人们对波卡洪塔斯的儿时知之甚少。林伍德·卡斯塔洛(Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow)是马特波尼部落的成员，该部落是Wahunsenaca的盟友。林伍德博士在《历史另一面:真实的波卡洪塔斯》一书中报道了马特波尼部落的口述历史，书中称波卡洪塔斯14岁时跟Potowomac部族一位年轻战士Kocoum结了婚。他们生了一个小孩，取名叫Little Kocoum，这个小孩在马特波尼部落长大。这本书还称英国人谋杀了老Kocoum。

Pocahontas’s imprisonment 4

波卡洪塔斯被囚

In 1613, the English took Pocahontas and imprisoned 5 her because they thought it would help influence negotiations 6 with her father. They kept her for a year at the settlement of Jamestown.

1613年，英国人把波卡洪塔斯囚禁了起来，因为他们认为这样能影响到跟她父亲的谈判。他们把她在詹姆斯顿殖民地关押了一年。

?At some point during her imprisonment, Pocahontas was declared a Christian 7 and her British captors gave her a new name: Rebecca. The Mattaponi say at one point the English settlers permitted her sister to visit her. During that visit Pocahontas told her sister that she had been raped 8.

波卡洪塔斯在被囚的某个时期宣布皈依基督教，绑架她的英国人给她取了一个新的名字：丽贝卡。马特波尼族人称，英国殖民者有一次允许她的妹妹去探访她。在那次探访期间，波卡洪塔斯告诉她妹妹，她被强奸了。

During her time at Jamestown, a British farmer named John Rolfe took an interest in her. The details of their relationship are not clear. In his writings, Rolfe said that he loved Pocahontas but also recognized that a marriage alliance between Britain and Virginia tribes would be helpful.

波卡洪塔斯在詹姆斯顿期间，一位名为约翰·罗尔夫（John Rolfe）的英国农民对她产生了兴趣。他们关系的细节并不清楚。罗尔夫在文字表述中写道，他爱着波卡洪塔斯，但是也坦诚英国和弗吉尼亚部落之间的婚姻联盟会有帮助。

Rolfe married Pocahontas in 1614, and she gave birth to a son, Thomas. The Mattaponi say her father did not attend the wedding. However he gave her a necklace made of pearls harvested from Virginia's coastal 9 waters as a gift.

罗尔夫于1614年跟波卡洪塔斯结了婚，她还生下了一个孩子，取名为托马斯。马特波尼族人说，她的父亲没有参加婚礼。然而他送给了波卡洪塔斯一串产自弗吉尼亚沿海水域的珍珠做成的项链作为礼物。

Pocahontas later traveled to England with Rolfe and Thomas to help bring attention to the new Virginia colony. She was presented to the Queen as Virginia’s first Christian. Historical records say she was well-received.

波卡洪塔斯随后跟罗尔夫和托马斯前往英格兰，帮助引发人们对新弗吉尼亚殖民地的关注。她被作为弗吉尼亚第一位基督徒介绍给女王。历史纪录称她受到了欢迎。

However, Pocahontas became sick, and later died before she and Rolfe could return to Virginia. She was buried at St. George’s Church in the Kent town of Gravesend on March 21, 1617. A memorial statue for Pocahontas stands there today.

然而波卡洪塔斯病了，并且在她和罗尔夫能够返回弗吉尼亚之前去世。1617年3月21日，她被葬在肯特郡格莱乌赞得镇的圣乔治教堂。今天那里立起了一座波卡洪塔斯的纪念雕像。

Famous for an unclear story

以一段不明故事而闻名

Pocahontas is most famous for an event that likely never happened: Saving British explorer Captain John Smith from death by Chief Wahunsenaca in 1607.

波卡洪塔斯最著名的是一段可能从未发生过的事件：1607年拯救英国探险家约翰·史密斯上尉免遭Wahunsenaca酋长的毒手。

Smith claimed that he had been taken prisoner by a group of fighters, who brought him before Chief Wahunsenaca. Smith said they were ready to kill him with a club. But, he wrote, Pocahontas threw herself down on top of the prisoner, which saved his life.

史密斯声称他曾被一群士兵俘虏，这些人将他带到Wahunsenaca酋长面前。史密斯说，他们准备将他乱棍打死。但是他写道，波卡洪塔斯趴到了她身上，救了他的命。

Today, the Mattaponi say it could not have happened. They say such behavior would not have been consistent with Virginia Native culture or custom. Non-Native researchers also suspect the truth of this story, taking note that even in his own time, people saw Smith as a liar 10 who had an inflated 11 sense of his own importance.

今天，马特波尼族人表示这不可能发生。他们表示，这样的行为跟弗吉尼亚本土文化或习俗不一致。非本土的研究人员也怀疑这个故事的真相，提出即使是在他的时代，人们也将史密斯视为一个夸大自身重要性的骗子。

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

alliance - n. a union between people, groups, countries, etc.?

baptize - v. to officially make someone a member of a specified 12 Christian church through the ceremony of baptism?

exaggerate - v. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is?

mischievous - adj. causing or tending to cause annoyance 13 or minor 14 harm or damage?

oral - adj. of or relating to the mouth?

pearl - n. a hard, shiny, white ball that is formed inside the shell of an oyster 15 and that is often used as jewelry 16?

royalty - n. members of a royal family?

wanton - adj. showing no thought or care for the rights, feelings, or safety of others