The author, by a lucky accident, finds means to leave Blefuscu; and, after some difficulties, returns safe to his native country.

Three days after my arrival, walking out of curiosity to the north-east coast of the island, I observed, about half a league off in the sea, somewhat that looked like a boat overturned. I pulled off my shoes and stockings, and, wailing¹ two or three hundred yards, I found the object to approach nearer by force of the tide; and then plainly saw it to be a real boat, which I supposed might by some tempest have been driven from a ship. Whereupon, I returned immediately towards the city, and desired his imperial majesty² to lend me twenty of the tallest vessels³ he had left, after the loss of his fleet, and three thousand seamen⁵, under the command of his vice-admiral. This fleet sailed round, while I went back the shortest way to the coast, where I first discovered the boat. I found the tide had driven it still nearer. The seamen were all provided with cordage, which I had beforehand twisted to a sufficient strength. When the ships came up, I stripped myself, and waded⁶ till I came within a hundred yards off the boat, after which I was forced to swim till I got up to it. The seamen threw me the end of the cord, which I fastened to a hole in the fore-part of the boat, and the other end to a man of war; but I found all my labour to little purpose; for, being out of my depth, I was not able to work. In this necessity I was forced to swim behind, and push the boat forward, as often as I could, with one of my hands; and the tide favouring me, I advanced so far that I could just hold up my chin and feel the ground. I rested two or three minutes, and then gave the boat another shove, and so on, till the sea was no higher than my arm-pits; and now, the most laborious⁷ part being over, I took out my other cables, which were stowed in one of the ships, and fastened them first to the boat, and then to nine of the vessels which attended me; the wind being favourable⁸

点击收听单词发音  

1 wailing
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱
参考例句：
A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。 The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

2 majesty
n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权
参考例句：
The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。 Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

3 vessels
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人
参考例句：
The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》 All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 vessel
n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管
参考例句：
The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。 You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 seamen
n.海员
参考例句：
Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。 In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

6 waded
（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。 He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

7 laborious
adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅
参考例句：
They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。 Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

8 favourable
adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的
参考例句：
The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。 We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

9 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 prodigious
adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的
参考例句：
This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。 He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

11 license
n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许
参考例句：
The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。 The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

13 privately
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。 The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

14 treasurer
n.司库，财务主管
参考例句：
Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。 The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

15 cabal
n.政治阴谋小集团
参考例句：
He had been chosen by a secret government cabal.他已被一个秘密的政府阴谋集团选中。 The illegal aspects of the cabal's governance are glaring and ubiquitous.黑暗势力的非法统治是显而易见的并无处不在。

16 envoy
n.使节，使者，代表，公使
参考例句：
Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。 The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

17 monarch
n.帝王，君主，最高统治者
参考例句：
The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。 I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

18 traitor
n.叛徒，卖国贼
参考例句：
The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。 He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

19 amity
n.友好关系
参考例句：
He lives in amity with his neighbours.他和他的邻居相处得很和睦。 They parted in amity.他们很友好地分别了。

20 majesties
n.雄伟( majesty的名词复数 )；庄严；陛下；王权
参考例句：
Their Majesties will open the new bridge today. 国王和王后陛下今天将为新桥落成剪彩。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He beseeched me to entreat your Majesties to hear and see the matter. 他拜托我一定请陛下二位也来看戏。 来自辞典例句

21 encumbrance
n.妨碍物，累赘
参考例句：
Only by overcoming our weaknesses can we advance without any encumbrance;only by uniting ourselves in our struggle can we be invincible.克服缺点才能轻装前进，团结战斗才能无往不胜。 Now I should be an encumbrance.现在我成为累赘了。

22 humbly
adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地
参考例句：
We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。 "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

23 monarchs
君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。 Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

24 displeased
a.不快的
参考例句：
The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

25 linen
n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的
参考例句：
The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

26 oars
n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。 The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 rams
n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输
参考例句：
A couple of rams are butting at each other. 两只羊正在用角互相抵触。 来自辞典例句 More than anything the rams helped to break what should have been on interminable marriage. 那些牡羊比任何东西都更严重地加速了他们那本该天长地久的婚姻的破裂。 来自辞典例句

28 diligent
adj.勤勉的，勤奋的
参考例句：
He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。 She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

29 northward
adv.向北；n.北方的地区
参考例句：
He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。 I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

30 descried
adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的
参考例句：
He descried an island far away on the horizon. 他看到遥远的地平线上有个岛屿。 来自《简明英汉词典》 At length we descried a light and a roof. 终于，我们远远看见了一点灯光，一所孤舍。 来自辞典例句

31 refreshment
n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点
参考例句：
He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。 A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。

32 conjectured
推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The old peasant conjectured that it would be an unusually cold winter. 那老汉推测冬天将会异常地寒冷。 The general conjectured that the enemy only had about five days' supply of food left. 将军推测敌人只剩下五天的粮食给养。

33 steered
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导
参考例句：
He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。 The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 steering
n.操舵装置
参考例句：
He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。 Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

35 cargo
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句：
The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。 A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

36 latitude
n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区
参考例句：
The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。 The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

37 raving
adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地
参考例句：
The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。 When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。

38 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

39 veracity
n.诚实
参考例句：
I can testify to this man's veracity and good character.我可以作证，此人诚实可靠品德良好。 There is no reason to doubt the veracity of the evidence.没有理由怀疑证据的真实性。

40 ashore
adv.在(向)岸上，上岸
参考例句：
The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。 He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

41 heartily
adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
参考例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。 The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

42 mingled
混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]
参考例句：
The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。 The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

43 considerably
adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上
参考例句：
The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。 The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

44 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

45 eldest
adj.最年长的，最年老的
参考例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。 The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。