Blackbeard the Pirate

Blackbeard the Pirate. Written by Kate Follett. Illustrated by John Walker.

《海盗黑胡子》 作者：凯特·福利特 绘者：约翰·沃克

The man behind the myth. Picture a pirate in your mind. Do you think of a man with an eye patch, a parrot, and black hat? That colorful picture is not just from cartoons or the movies. In the early 1700s, a pirate with a dark beard and wild eyes really did sail the seas. His name brought fear to the hearts of sailors. He was known as Blackbeard.

传说背后的男人 你在脑海里想象一下海盗的样子 你会不会想到一个戴着眼罩、带着鹦鹉、头戴黑帽子的男人？ 这种鲜活的形象可不只来自卡通或者电影哦。 在18世纪初，真的有一个留着黑胡子、眼神凶狠的海盗在海上航行。 他的名字能让所有水手心里发慌。 他就是大名鼎鼎的黑胡子。

Becoming Blackbeard. Not many facts are known about the man who was called Blackbeard. He may have been born in Bristol, England around 1680. His real name was Edward Teach. Sometimes his name was spelled T -H -A -T -C -H or T -E -A -C -H -E.

黑胡子的成长史 关于这个叫黑胡子的男人，我们知道的真实事迹不多。 他大概1680年出生在英国的布里斯托尔。 他的真名叫爱德华·蒂奇。 有时候他的姓氏会被拼写为T-H-A-T-C-H或是T-E-A-C-H-E。

Edward Teach became a sailor, a very hard life that paid little money. He soon became an English privateer, robbing enemy ships for England. That led to a job with Captain Benjamin Hornigold, a famous English pirate.

爱德华·蒂奇成了一名水手，这份工作辛苦极了，赚的钱还很少。 没多久他就成了英国的武装民船船员，替英国打劫敌国的船只。 这也让他得到了为著名英国海盗本杰明·霍尼戈尔德船长工作的机会。

Edward was fearless and bold. Captain Hornigold put him in charge of a captured ship. The two worked as a team, attacking ships and stealing cargo. Soon, they were the most feared pirates on the ocean. In November 1717, Edward took command of a large captured French ship named Le Conchord. He named it the Queen Anne's Revenge and added more cannons to it. His ship was now heavily armed. When Hornigold retired, Edward took over. Within a year, Edward the sailor had become Blackbeard, the pirate.

爱德华胆识过人，天不怕地不怕。 霍尼戈尔德船长把一艘缴获来的船交给他管。 两个人组队一起袭击船只、抢夺货物。 很快就成了海上最让人闻风丧胆的海盗。 1717年11月，爱德华接手了一艘缴获的大型法国船只“协和号”。 他把这艘船改名为“安妮女王复仇号”，还加装了好多大炮。 现在他的船火力十分强悍。 霍尼戈尔德退休后，爱德华接管了他的势力。 不到一年，水手爱德华就变成了海盗黑胡子。

Blackbeard ruled the sea. The Queen Anne's revenge was large, fast, and had all that cannon power. Blackbeard himself was also a fearful sight to face. He was a huge man. He wore beads and ribbons twisted into his thick black beard. He even stuck lit fuses in it, so his beard looked as if it was on fire. Most of his victims were so scared of him that they gave up without a fight.

黑胡子称霸了整片海域。他的“安妮女王复仇号”体型庞大， 速度飞快，还配备了强大的火力。黑胡子本人的样子也十分吓人。 他个子很高大，浓密的黑胡子里编着珠子和丝带。 他甚至还会把点燃的引信插在胡子里，看起来就好像胡子在着火一样。 大部分被他打劫的人都怕得要死，根本不敢反抗就直接投降了。