Practice 1: English – Vietnamese - TOURISM

Suggested Translation

Saving Lives and Guiding Ships Along US East

Coast

1. Lighthouses are built along coasts to signal

to passing ships. Lighthouses are tall buildings of
wood or stone or brick with large bright lights on
top. Every night they shine lights to warn ships
about dangerous areas where there are rocks, low
water levels, or strong currents. The lighthouses
along North Carolina’s coast are recognized as signs
of safety for travelers at sea.

2. Over the years, fierce ocean storms have

sent many ships crashing into the North Carolina
coast. Other boats have been lost in wars. During
World War Two, for example, German submarines
sank many allied transport ships in that area. History
experts say more than six hundred ships have been
wrecked near the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Storms still uncover the ruins of wrecked ships along
the Outer Banks.

3. The lighthouses shine their signals to

prevent more wrecks. Many ships and lives have
been saved because of the United States Life Saving
Service and workers at lighthouses along the coast.

The Outer Banks is a group of narrow islands

stretching along the North Carolina coast in the
Atlantic Ocean. The islands shelter North Carolina’s
inland’s water passages. For thousands of years,
these barrier islands have survived severe weather.
Every few years, an ocean storm in the North
Atlantic Ocean will move through the Outer Banks
with destructive force.

4. Each island of the Outer Banks has its own

lighthouse with a special design and history. In
addition, each lighthouse has its own signal, which
boats see from a distance. The different light signals
help sailors identify their position from the land.
This helps them judge if they are close to dangerous
water passages. Today, the light signals work on an
electrical timing system. In the past, workers living
in the lighthouses had to turn the lights on and off.
 5. North Carolina’s simplest lighthouse is on
Ocracoke island in the southern Outer Banks.
Ocracoke lighthouse was built in 1823. It is
considered the oldest lighthouse on the Carolina
coast. Its signal is a continous white light which can
be seen almost 25 km out at sea. Although the plan
used to build Ocracoke lighthouse appeared normal,
the building was built off center. As a result, it rises
more sharply on one side. Ocracoke island is said to
be the place where the pirate Black Beard lost his
head in the early 1700s. This famous Ocean robber
was killed in a battle with the British officer more
than a century before Ocracoke lighthouse was built.
Lieutenant Robert Maynard was protecting England
colonial interest in the New World. Historians said
he tricked Black Beard into battle and then cut off
his head. Stories passed down to the years said that
the spirit of Black Beard still walks around Ocracoke
island searching for his head.

6. Many people agree that the most

recognized lighthouse in America is at Cape Hatteras
North Carolina. The building stretches 58 meters in
the air making it the tallest brick lighthouse in the
country. It was completed in 1870. Its signal shines a
wide light every seven and a half seconds. Ships 37
km from land are able to see the signal. Historians
believe more people have read about painted or taken
pictures of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse than any
other lighthouses in North America. It is the picture
on the official documents of the United States
lighthouse service. It is also a memorial to hundreds
of men and women who work to make North
Carolina coast safe for sea travellers.

7. In 1999 the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was

moved more than 900 meters. Officials wanted to
protect the building by moving it further away from
the ocean. Huge lift equipment picked up the more
than four thousand ton building and carried it inland.
The lighthouse was then lowered onto a new 18-m2
concrete support structure. Engineers inspected the
repositioned building, they declared that it’s distant,
tall and strong on this new foundation. Visitors can
climb to the top of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. But
they need to be in good physical condition. This is
because 268 steps lead to the top of the North
America tallest brick lighthouse.
 8. Another lighthouse along North Carolina’s
Outer Banks is the Bodie lighthouse. Its history is
quite interesting. The fifth financial inspector of the
United States Treasury department built the first
Bodie lighthouse in 1848. Stephen Blecinton’s main
concern while building the structure was to save
money. As a result, his workers weren’t not
permitted to spend enough money to build the safe
base. In addition, the building was fitted with a light
system that was not considered effective even then.
Shortly after its open, Bodie island lighthouse started
sinking on one side. Workers soon had to leave it.
Several years later, the United States Congress
ordered a new lighthouse be built. In 1852 work
began on a new and improved structure. The second
Bodie lighthouse was to be representitive of a new
look in lighthouses. It was shaped like circular cone
made of earthen brick made hard in a fire. Its base
was built on a supporting bar driven into the earth.
The second Bodie lighthouse was destroyed in the
American’s Civil War. Confederate soldiers from
the South wrecked the building to prevent the Union
navy of the North from gaining a position to help the
ships. The structure was finally rebuilt and
completed in 1872. It rises 48 meters in the air.
Today, the Bodie lighthouse needs several repairs.
This is why the building is not open to the public to
climb. However, the lighthouse signal is still
recognized by passing ships. It is on, off and on
again for two and one half seconds each time. Then
off for twenty-two and one half seconds. Boats up to
33 km out at sea are able to recognize the Bodie
lighthouse signal.

9. The most northern lighthouse on North

Carolina’s Outer Bank is at Currituck beach. Like
the other lighthouses along the coast, the Currituck
beach lighthouse still serves as an aid to sailors. The
lighthouse runs its light signal from sunset to sunrise.
The signal is three seconds on seventeen seconds off.
The light can be seen as far away as 33 km. The
Currituck beach lighthouse remains unpainted to
help tell it apart from other lighthouses along the
coast. This also gives visitors a strong sense of the
one and a half million bricks used to build the
building which stands fourty seven meters in the air.
The Currituck beach lighthouse was completed in
1875. It was the last major brick lighthouse built on
the Outer Banks. Visitors are permitted to climb to
the top.
 10. Wild horses run free near the Currituck
beach lighthouse. Horses are not native to North
America, yet for more than 400 years, these animals
have run unrestricted along the north on Outer
Banks. Historians are not sure how the horses first
arrived in America. They believe either English or
Spanish settlers transported them. The wild horses
are called barbs. They are known for their size, their
ability to work hard, their easy movement and their
long lives. Historians say there were nothing but sea,
sand and grass when the barb horses first arrived in
the Outer Banks. A continual increase in summer
visitors over the past 40 years has made survival for
the horses more difficult. Because of this, a group of
concerned citizens has built a fence to separate the
horses from people. This gives them about 6000
hectares of land to live on. The group is trying to
make sure the animals will be permitted to stay on
Currituck beach. Like the lighthouses, the wild barb
horses are traditional part of life on the Outer Banks
of North Carolina.