Entertaining maritime english. Учебное пособие

THE SWEDISH SHIP

I had jumped ship in New Zealand and was deported after two years. On my arrival back in Cardiff I reported to the shipping pool hoping to get another ship, however I was told that I had been thrown off the pool and would not longer be able to get a job on a British ship. I kept going to the pool but without success. Then I was offered a job on a Swedish ship and joined her at Newport docks along with another AB who I did not know. His name was Frank Sage. I really enjoyed my time on this ship as conditions and wages were far better than those on the British ships I had been on. There were many nationalities, but everyone seemed to speak Norwegian. In those days they did not speak any English. I bought a book to learn the language and with some help from the crew I learned a little and at the same time I taught them English. Frank showed no interest in learning and always thought they were talking about him. One day he said to me "BLOODY FOREIGNERS, WHY DON’T THEY LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH"? I said to him “WE ARE THE FOREIGNERS”. He replied “DON’T BE STUPID, HOW CAN WE BE FOREIGN, WE ARE BRITISH".

Exercises

1.Read the text and answer the following questions:

a)Why wasn’t the seaman able to get a job on a British ship?

b)Where did he join a Swedish ship?

c)What were the conditions and wages on board the ship?

d)Did every member of the crew speak English?

e)What language did he teach the crew?

f)Did Frank learn English?

g)Why didn’t he want to learn it?

2.Agree or disagree:

a)He could get a job everywhere.

b)He was offered a job on a Norwegian ship.

c)There were many nationalities on board the ship.

d)He bought a book to learn Swedish.

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e)He taught the crew English.

f)Frank could speak English.

3.Retell the text.

“Is there anybody in the world who’d like to listen to my story?...”

THE BLACK BOX

Once upon a time, there was a captain of a cruise ship, and once a day, at the same time every day, he would lock himself in his cabin and look inside a mysterious black box. He did this every day, but told no one what was inside the box. Then one day he died and in his will he gave the crew permission to open the box. They opened it and found a piece of paper: «Starboard is right, port is left».

Exercises

Read the joke, translate it and explain what was inside the mysterious black box.

“Is there any other way of catching sharks?”

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WHY IS SHIP CALLED SHE!

A ship is called a She because:

there is always a great deal of bustle around her;

there is usually a gang of men about;

she has a waist and stays;

it takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking;

it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep;

she can be all decked out but it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable;

she shows her topsides, hides her bottom end when coming into port, always

heads for buoys.

Love her, take good care of her, and she shell take good care of you!

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Exercises

Translate it into Russian.

“He is regularly informed of the world news.”

WHAT ARE THE SEVEN SEAS?

When we talk of the "Seven Seas", we use a phrase that old-time sailors used to describe all the seas and oceans of the world. Some people think that the Seven seas are the North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, the Arctic, the Antarctic and the Indian Oceans. But the phrase doesn't really describe these oceans. In ancient times, people called the following the Seven Seas: the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Exercises

Translate the text.

“A death dive should be done into something bigger”

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DIALOGUE

A candidate went to a Nautical Surveyor for his Masters ticket orals.

Surveyor – You are at anchor. Wind picks up and anchor starts dragging. Action? Candidate – Sir, I will pay out more cable.

Surveyor – Wind picks up even more. Anchor not holding. Vessel continues to drag anchor. Action?

Candidate – Sir, I will pay out even more cable. Surveyor – Still not holding. Wind gets stronger. Action? Candidate – Sir, I will pay out some more cable. Surveyor – Still not holding. Action?

Candidate – Sir, I will pay out yet some more cable.

Surveyor – Hey, you just keep saying that! How many shackles does your anchor cable have , Huh? Where are you getting all this cable to pay out from?

Candidate – Sir, from the same place where you are getting the wind from!

Exercises

1.Read the dialogue.

2.Find in the text:

a)ветер поднимается;

b)вытравить цепь;

c)начать волочиться (травить, якорь крадет);

d)якорь не держит;

e)сколько смычек у якорной цепи.

3.Reproduce this dialogue with your partner, then change your parts.

“Could you kindly turn your VHF a little bit?”

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A LOVE LETTER BY A NAVIGATOR

My Dear Miss Nickey, With Love in bulk

Truly, I was Not under Command when my scanner took your first bearing at LMT 0830 hrs, when you were making way through the passengers at the stations. You were looking so beautiful and coloured, that I fell flat in love with you. Your beautiful eye, flashing from behind the awning, created a deep impression in my heart, thus causing my hull to list towards you. From noon to noon, my heart kept rolling and pitching at VHF and I could't sleep even after the last post. I myself don't know how I drifted towards you.

The next day, I kept on steering for you, beacon after beacon, constellation after constellation, till the last point of Aries. At last I plotted your tumblehome address with the assistance of the lady of the gunroom. Your occulting glimpses from your porthole are scanty for me and I don't want to be lashed by your father. Therefore, I not longer will be anchored within the visible horizon of the old man, and will sail off soon.

So, please berth alongside me. I really love you from the keel of my heart. My love is so spliced to you that if you fail to muster with me, the link of my heart will be chaffed and I will be forced to commit suicide by jumping overboard from the Bridge.

Therefore, please don't keep me in doldrums and set your course towards me. Hoping that by paying out the cable of your love, you won't let me capsize, With shackles of love,

Captain Haddock

Exercises

Translate this letter into Russian in a written form.

CASTAWAY COMPUTER CONSULTANT

An ambitious IT consultant finally decided to take a vacation. He booked himself on a Caribbean cruise and proceeded to have the time of his life, at least for a while. A hurricane came up unexpectedly. The ship went down and was lost in a matter of minutes. The man found himself swept up on the shore of an island with no other people, no supplies, nothing. Only bananas and coconuts. Accustomed to four-star hotels, this chap had no idea what to do. So for the next four months he ate bananas, drank coconut juice, longed for his old life, and fixed his gaze on the sea, hoping to spot a rescue ship. One day, as he was lying on the beach, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. It was rowboat, and in it was the most gorgeous women he had ever seen. She rowed up to him. In disbelief, he asked «Where did you come from? How did you get here?» «I rowed from the other side of the island,» she said. «I landed here when my cruise ship sank.» «Amazing,» he said. «I didn't know anyone else had survived. How many of you are there? You were really lucky to have a rowboat wash up with you.» «It's only me,» she said, «and the rowboat didn't wash up, nothing did.» He was confused, «Then how did you get the rowboat?» «Oh, simple» replied the woman. «I made the rowboat out of raw material that I found on the island. The oars were whittled from branches, I wove the bottom from palms, and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree.» «But-but, that's impossible,» stuttered the man, «you had no tools or hardware, how did you manage?» «Oh, that was no problem». replied the woman, «on the south side of the island there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed. I found that if I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools, and used the tools to make the hardware. But, enough of that,» she said. «Where do you live?» Sheepishly he confessed that he had been sleeping on the beach the whole time. «Well, let's row over to my place, then,» she said. After a few minutes of rowing, she docked the boat at a small wharf. As the man looked onto shore he nearly

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fell out of the boat. Before him was a stone walk leading to an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white. While the woman tied up the rowboat with an expertly woven hemp rope, the man could only stare ahead, dumbstruck. As they walked into the house, she said casually «It's not much, but I call it home. Sit down please; would you like to have a drink? «No, no thank you» he said, still dazed, «can't take any more coconut juice.» «It's not coconut juice,» the woman replied. «I have a still. How about a Pina Colada?» Trying to hide his continuing amazement, the man accepted, and they sat down to talk. After they had exchanged their stories, the woman announced, «I'm going to slip into something more comfortable. Would you like to take a shower and shave, there is a razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom.» No longer questioning anything, the man went into the bathroom. There in the cabinet was a razor made from a bone handle. «This woman is amazing!» he mused, «what next?» When he returned, she greeted him beckoned for him to sit down next to her. «Tell me», she began, suggestively, slithering closer to him, «we've been out here for a very long time. You've been lonely. There's something I'm sure you really feel like doing right now, something you've been longing for all these months? You know...» She stared into his eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing: «You mean...?» he replied, «I can check my e-mail from here?»

Exercises

1.Read the text.

2.Translate into Russian:

a)a matter of minutes;

b)accustomed to four-star hotels;

c)to fix smb’s gaze;

d)gorgeous woman;

e)to melt into iron;

f)an exquisite bungalow;

g)to hide amazement;

3.Find the answers to the questions:

a)Why did IT consultant find himself on the shore of an island with no other people?

b)What did he do there?

c)Whom did he meet?

d)Where did they row?

e)What did he see in the bungalow?

f)What did she offer him?

g)Was he glad to have a good time in her bungalow?

h)What was his request?

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4.Correct the following wrong statement:

a)an IT consultant went to the country during his vacations;

b)the weather was fine and the sea was calm;

c)there were many people on the shore;

d)he could find everything there;

e)a woman rowed from the mainland;

f)she found a bungalow full of furniture;

g)she wanted to work at the computer;

h)he proposed to drink a Pina Colada;

5.retell the text from the point of view of

a)an IT consultant;

b)a woman.

Приложение

ШАНТЫ

Шанты - рабочие песни лесорубов и рабочих железнодорожных верфей Америки, а также доков и судов начала 1800-ых. В любом случае, шанты использовались, чтобы облегчить тяжѐлую работу и побороть скуку монотонной деятельности. Прежде, чем появились паровые или приводимые газом двигатели, тяжѐлая работа делалась водой, ветром, мускулами и потом. Как кузнец, сельхозрабочий или ткач приспосабливали песни для ритмов, специфических к их работе, так и морские шанты приспособлены к работам моряка. В дальнейшем речь пойдѐт только о последних.

Шанта, поющаяся на судах существовала с 1493 до 1920. Наиболее широко была распространена среди моряков с 1820 до 1920. Пар и приводимые дизелем суда убили искусство shanteyman. Теперь только поющие группы любителей продолжают традицию.

Цель шанты состояла в том, чтобы облегчить задачу моряков на борту корабля. Лирика была второстепенна. Характер оригинальных дошедших до нашего времени шант прежде всего негритянско-кельтский. И это можно легко объяснить. Именно эти две расы, два музыкальных источника, встречались и прослушивали друг друга в районе Антильских островов – на этом большом и оживлѐнном перекрѐстке между Америкой и Европой на палубах парусников, которые отправлялись в дорогу на Горн. Естественно, происходило смешение и людей, и музыкальных жанров. Слова шант обычно были очень простыми, можно даже сказать, примитивными, хотя именно благодаря своей, порой,

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грубости и неотѐсанности довольно достоверно передают суровую атмосферу, царившую на палубах парусников тех времѐн. Сам shanteyman мог приспосабливать песню под необходимую в данный момент задачу. Стихи могли быть спеты в любом порядке или ритме. Хороший shanteyman был на вес золота.

В основном, имеются два вида шант. Первый - рабочие: Short Drag Shanty,

Long Drag Shanty, фаловые, брашпильные или кабестановые. Второй –

песни полубака или fo'castle (песни кубрика). Они вообще – баллады, рассказывающие о некоторых исторических случаях. Они получают название от части судна, где пение обычно имело место: полубак или кубрик.

Short Drag Shanty были предназначены для задач, требующих быстрой и напряжѐнной работы в течение относительно короткого времени, к примеру, рифление или разворачивание парусов.

Long Drag Shanty или фаловые шанты были для более длительной и тяжелой работы, которая требует значительных перерывов между напряжениями. Например, для поднятия тяжѐлого паруса на мачту служила шанта, которая давала людям отдых в паузах между напряжениями. Та же самая шанта могла также использоваться, чтобы зарифить паруса. Такие шанты обычно имеют хор в конце каждой строки.

Кабестановые (или брашпильные) шанты использовались для длительных, монотонных работ, нуждающихся в поддержании ритма. Подъем или отдача якоря были их главным применением. Эта нелѐгкая работа выполнялась при помощи кабестана - вертикального деревянного шпиля, в головку которого вставлялись специальные рычаги-вымбовки. Матросы, налегая грудью, ритмично их толкали, двигаясь по кругу и вращая таким образом кабестан, на который накручивался якорный канат. При этом самым опасным был момент, когда якорь неожиданно вырывался из грунта в момент очередного рывка, и тогда матросы могли получить травмы, особенно если ктонибудь падал в этот момент.

Шанты Полубака. Вечером, когда работа была сделана, приходило время расслабиться. Пение было любимым среди моряков методом расслабления. Пелись песни о посещенных местах, о доме, о родных или о невиданных землях. Естественно, песни любви, приключения, пафоса, об известных людях, сражениях или просто забавные весѐлые песни стояли первыми в списке.

Шанты Охотников на китов. Жизнь на китобойном судне была худшая, чем на любом другом типе судна, кроме, возможно, пиратского судна (в смысле выживания). Рейсы китобоев обычно продолжались от двух до трех лет и всѐ на китобойных судах пропитывалось вездесущим зловонием китового жира.

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