The first British attempts to settle

IN THE NEW WORLD*

If anyone were asked " who discovered America", the inevitable answer would be " Christopher Columbus". And this is correct, though the actual pur­pose of his voyage, ordered and financed by Spanish monarchs, was to find a shorter way from Europe to Asia (or, to be more specific, to India) which was known to be rich in silk, spices and, last but not least, gold.

* The Discovery of America and the First British Attempts to Settle in the New World // O'Callaghan B. An Illustrated History of the USA. Longman, 1994.

Unit three

Ten weeks after leaving Spain, on the morning of October 12, 1492, Co­lumbus stepped ashore on the beach of a sandy island, which he named San Salvador - Holy Saviour.

He believed that he was close to the mainland of India, and for this reason he called the friendly brown-skinned people who greeted him Los Indios - In­dians. Only recently have these first Americans been described more accurately as Native Americans or Amerindians.

Europeans would soon name the new continent America in honour of the man who was the first to describe it as a continent.

There are quite a few stories and legends about other adventurous sea­men who had allegedly reached the New World long before Columbus, but only one story and one name has so far been confirmed by archeological evidence. This name is Leif Ericson, " Lucky Leaf", a Viking sailor from Iceland. Well, any­how the question that arises is why the language of the largest and most eco­nomically powerful country in North America is English and not Spanish?

When did the first English-speaking people settle in the New World? Here is the most widely recognized answer:

It only happened in the sixteenth century AD, when England was ruled by a woman - Queen Elisabeth the First.

The reign of Elisabeth the First was a great time for great people. One of such people, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, was Sir Walter Raleigh, who was an adventurer, a traveller and a poet. In July 1585 he sent ships to find a land in the New World where English people might settle. He named the land they found Virginia in honour of Queen Elisabeth who was unmarried and was considered to be a virgin. Raleigh's attempt to found an English colony, how­ever, was not successful, and in less than a year the first British settlers had to go back to England.

It was very important for Europeans, who wanted to have their own land in the New World, to establish settlements of their own people there. So Raleigh made another attempt in 1587, but it turned out to be still more unsuccessful than the previous one. The leader of the expedition, whose name was John White, had to go back to England for supplies. It so happened that he was only able to return to America three years later. He found the place where he had left the colonists completely deserted, and all his attempts to find them ended in failure. The colony was lost and went down in history as 'the lost colony'.

(to be continued)

Names

Christopher Columbus ['knstsfa ka'Lvmbas] San Salvador

Parti

Los Indios (Spanish) [tos'indros] Leif Ericson* [li: f 'eriksan] Elisabeth the First [I'lizabaO дэ f3: st] William Shakespeare ['wiljam 'Jeikspia] Walter Raleigh ['wo: lt9 'ro: h] Virginia [va'dsinis] John White [d3Dn 'wait]

New Words

attempt [a'tempt] л попытка

specific [spi'siftk] adj определенный, точный, специфический, особый

to be more specific точнее говоря, syn. to be more exact

holy ['hauli] adj святой

The Saviour Спаситель (Иисус Христос)

save v 1) спасать, беречь, syn. rescue

2) копить, экономить (время, деньги), syn. economize mainland [rneinland] n материк

friendly [frendli] adj дружелюбный, дружеский, дружественный adventurous [sd'ventfaras] ad/предприимчивый, опасный, рискованный

adventure л приключение, авантюра

adventurer л искатель приключений, авантюрист allegedly [a'lecfeidh] adv якобы, будто бы

allege v утверждать без основания, голословно

evidence f'evidans] л доказательство, улика, свидетельские показания Viking [Vaikin] л викинг rule v царствовать, править страной reign [rein] л царствование

contemporary [kan'tempsran] л, adj современник, современный virgin ['v3: d3in] л, ad/девственница, девственный colony ['kDtani] л колония turn out оказаться previous ['priivias] adj предыдущий supplies [ss'plaiz] n pi. (продовольственные) запасы

deserted [di'z3: tid] adj покинутый, оставленный, заброшенный failure [feilia] л неудача, провал

fail v потерпеть неудачу

fail to do sth не сделать (не выполнить) чего-либо go down in history as войти в историю как / под названием / именем

* A Norwegian (?), who is thought to have sailed to North America around the year 1000 and so is considered by some to be the first European to discover the New World.

-.hree

Questions for discussion.

1. Was Christopher Columbus the first man to describe America as a
continent?

2. When did Columbus finish his journey from Spain? How long did this
journey take?

3. What was the purpose of Columbus's voyage?

4. What is known about Leif Ericson? Where was he from?

5. How is the reign of Elisabeth the First described in the text?

6. Do you know why America was called America?

7. Can you remember any other examples of great geographical disco­
veries?

8. Why do you think the first British attempts to settle in America ended
in failure?

EXERCISES

1. Find English equivalents in the text for the following (you may think of better Russian translations).

1. Если бы кого-нибудь спросили...

2....хотя действительной целью этого путешествия, заказанного и
финансированного испанскими монархами...

3....которая, как известно, была богата шелком, пряностями и, на­
конец, что не менее важно, золотом.

4....в скором времени европейцы назовут новый континент Амери­
кой в честь человека, который впервые описал его как континент.

5. Существует довольно много историй и легенд о других морепла­
вателях - искателях приключений, которые якобы достигли Аме­
рики задолго до Колумба...

6. Это случилось только в XVI веке, когда Англией правила женщи­
на...

7. Время правления Елизаветы I в Англии было великим временем
для великих людей.

8....где англичане могли бы поселиться...

9....и менее, чем через год...

10....но она оказалась еще менее удачной, чем предыдущая.

11. Так случилось, что он смог обратно вернуться в Америку только
через три года.

12....все его попытки разыскать их закончились неудачей.

13. Колония перестала существовать и вошла в историю как «поте­
рянная колония».

Parti

VOCABULARY

Read and translate these sentences into Russian so as to have a better idea of how these words can be used.

attempt n, v, to make an attempt *

1. They made several unsuccessful attempts to solve the problem.

2. His first attempt to write a story was poor.

3. The protestors made no attempt to resist arrest.

4. Every time I attempted to convince them, they just wouldn't listen.

5. They made no attempt to give an explanation.

specific adj

1. The money is intended to be used for specific purposes.

2. I asked you a specific question - please, give me a specific answer.

3. Are you doing anything specific this weekend?

4. The report gives some specific recommendations.

5. 'Specific' also means clear and exact.

6. She was unable to give a specific description of the man who attacked
her.

7. Could you be more specific (= more exact), please?

friendly adj

1. Please, remember that the word 'friendly' is an adjective, not an adverb:
a friendly reception (attitude, smile, etc.)

2. They gave us a friendly reception. (= They received us in a friendly
way.)

3. Our neighbours have always been very friendly to us.

4. The restaurant has such a friendly atmosphere!

5. The teams are playing a friendly match on Sunday.

6. It was just a friendly piece of advice, nothing specific.

adventure n, adventurer n, adventurous adj

" l.'An adventure' is an unusual, exciting and possibly dangerous experience, journey, activity, etc.

2. Robin Hood is described as a man who lived a life full of adventures.

3. We got lost in the forest - it was quite an adventure!

4. Lewis Carroll describes Alice's adventures in a wonderland.

5. 'An adventurer' is someone who enjoys and looks for dangerous and
exciting experiences.

6. 'An adventurer' is also a person who takes risks, acts dishonestly or
uses his / her attractiveness to become rich or powerful.

Unit three

7. There are quite a few books about adventurers, not necessarily
adventure stories. Becky Sharp, the heroine of Thackeray's Vanity Fair
was a typical adventurer.

8. The project is too adventurous to be successful.

allege v, allegedly adv, allegation [.aeh'gei Гэп] n

1. He alleged to illness as a reason for not doing the work.

2. They are alleged to have made enormous profit by some adventurous
methods.

3. The alleged murderer turned out to be innocent.

4. The allegedly adventurous plan proved to be based on very interesting
ideas that were simply new, and that was why it was not appreciated at
once.

5. He managed to prove in court that all the allegations against him were
absolutely groundless.

evidence n, evident adj, evidently adv

1. There isn't enough historical evidence to prove that any Europeans had
stepped on the American mainland before Columbus.

2. People who give evidence in court are called witnesses.

3. " We need more reliable evidence to come to the right conclusion, " said
the judge.

4. He started eating his lunch with evident enjoyment.

5. He was evidently upset when he heard the news.

6. Evidently his attempts to succeed in business turned out to be
unsuccessful.

contemporary n, adj, modern adj, up-to-date adj

1. 'Contemporary' is used to describe people, events, accounts, etc.
which existed or happened during the same time period in the past.

2. What do you think would be a more correct assertion: Shakespeare
was a contemporary of Elizabeth the First or Elizabeth the First was
a contemporary of Shakespeare?

3. Here is a contemporary account (description) of the reign of Peter the
Great.

4. Another meaning of 'contemporary' as an adjective is 'existing' or 'hap­
pening' now rather than in the past. Then its synonyms are 'modern' or
'present-day'.

5. " Today we are going to speak about contemporary (modern) English
literature, " said the lecturer.

6. 'Up-to-date' means the newest thing of its kind that you can get, or the
latest information available.

7.1 wish I had enough money to buy a more up-to-date computer.

Parti

turn out (phrasal verb), turn v sun. prove to be

1. It turned out to be an enjoyable adventure.

2. Their small business turned out (proved) to be quite profitable.

3. Surprisingly enough, his adventurous attempts to solve difficult
problems all by himself turned out to be a success.

4. " Come on, turn out your pockets! " the detective said to the shoplifter.

5. The evidence against her was that she allegedly didn't bother to turn
off the gas when leaving the house.

previous adj, previously adv

1. You will find it on the previous page.

2. As all previous experience shows, a story must be really interesting to
make children understand and appreciate it.

3.1 am sorry but we can't meet today. I have a previous engagement. 4. He was previously a British consul in Karachi, Pakistan.

supplies n pi, supply n, v

1. The travelers ran out of their supplies of food and had to turn back.

2. Oil isn't in short supply any longer.

3. Occasionally supply exceeds demand (= is higher than demand).

4. They keep us supplied with all the books we need.

desert v, desert n, deserted adj

1. He deserted (abandoned) his previous family and married a woman
much younger than himself.

2. The traveller ran out of all his supplies and felt that his courage was
deserting him.

3. This place is a cultural desert - nothing interesting happens here.

4. The village was deserted because of terrorists.

Don't mix up!

desert ['dezst] л пустыня

dessert [di'z3: t] n десерт

Sahara is the largest desert in the world.

Ice cream is my favourite dessert.

fail v, failure n

1. I wonder why he failed to keep his promise.

2. I wish I hadn't failed to discourage you from supporting that adventurous
project. I had felt it would be a failure, and so it turned out to be.

3. If they had found more generous sponsors, their work would not have
ended in failure.

Unit three

4. The play turned out to be a complete failure.

5. Many attempts had been made to irrigate deserts, but most of them
ended in failure.

go down (in history) as... (phrasal verb)

The war for the English Crown between the " Lancastrians", who remained loyal to King Henry VI, and the " Yorkists", who supported the Duke of York went down in history as " the War of the Roses". Though this war took place in the 15^th century, the name was invented much later, in the 19^th century by Walter Scott, because York's symbol was a white rose and Lancaster's a red one.

GRAMMAR