AEAS阅读题1课件课件.doc

PIRATES, SEPAREATING FACE FROM FICTION What image springs to mind when you hear the word ‘pirate’? A rough looking man with a big beard and unkempt hair, wearing a funny hat and waving a big sharp sword? Possibly a parrot on his shoulder? A hook for a hand or a peg for a leg? Perhaps a black flag with a skull and cross bones? Buried treasure? These are all stereotypical features, most of which come from fiction rather than fact. Many of these ideas about pirates are quite different from the facts. For example, it would be unlikely that pirates would actually bury treasure. Historically, pirates were more likely to steal goods such as food, medical supplies or clothing than chests full of gold, and these would either be uses immediately or sold as soon as possible. Also, the skull and cross bone flag known as the Jolly Roger was not fin common use amongst pirates. The flag typically used by pirates was plain black, designed to frighten ships into surrender without fighting. As a result, pirates were usually less violent than most popular stories suggest. Still, if you did chance upon some pirates in the middle of the ocean, you’d probably want your boat to be quicker than theirs. Pirates in the Caribbean from the 1680s to the 1720s, a period known as the Golden Age of Piracy, have captured the popular imagination in books, songs and movies. However, the Caribbean was not the only or even the first place to have pirates. Pirates have been around for as long as boats with something worth stealing have sailed the seas. After all, a sea pirate is by definition a person aboard a private boat who commits criminal acts target at another person or their property on board a ship. The earliest reports of pirates in Europe come from the 13th century BC around the Mediterranean Sea. There is also evidence of piracy in India, according t the ancient Vedic scripts. During the early 1800s, pirates in China joined forces to create a fleet of ships with over ten thousand men that cou