The first French expedition to America was led by an Italian named Verrazano, but he sailed in the service of Francis I, King of France. 法国第一支开往美国的探险队由意大利人韦拉扎诺带领，此人在法国国王弗朗西斯一世的支持下开始航海。

　　He made his voyage in 1524 and sailed along the coast from the Cape Fear River to Nova Scotia. 1524年韦拉扎诺开始航行，他沿着海岸线从菲尔河海角到达诺瓦斯科夏，

　　He entered New York harbor and spent two weeks in Newport harbor. 他开进纽约港并在新港停留了两周，

　　He reported that the country was "as pleasant as it is possible to conceive." 他在报告中认为这个国家“难以想象地令人愉快”。

　　The next French expedition was led by a Frenchman named Cartier. In 1534 he visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 第二支法国探险队由卡迪尔带队，他于1534年到达圣劳伦斯湾，

　　In 1535 he sailed up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. 1535年他沿着圣劳伦斯河到达蒙特利尔，

　　But before he could get out of the river again the ice formed about his ships. He and his crew had to pass the winter there. 但是，他还没有来得及上岸，船就被河里的冰冻住，他们不得不在那里过冬，

　　They suffered terribly, and twenty-four of them perished of cold and sickness. In the spring of 1536 the survivors returned to France. 历尽磨难，24人被严寒和疾病夺去生命，幸存者在1536年春天得以返回法国。

　　18. The French in Carolina, 1562. 18．法国人在卡罗莱纳（1562年）

　　The French next explored the shores of the Carolinas. Ribault was the name of their commander. 第二支法国探险队到了卡罗莱纳海岸，这支队伍的首领是瑞博。

　　Sailing southward from Carolina, he discovered a beautiful river and called it the River of May. 他们从卡罗莱纳向南航行，瑞博发现一条美丽的河流并把它叫做“五月河”，

　　But we know it by its Spanish name of St. Johns. 但是，我们知道的是这条河的西班牙名字——圣约翰斯。

　　He left a few men on the Carolina coast and returned to France. A year or more these men remained. 瑞博在卡罗莱纳海滨留下部分人，然后回到法国。留下的人在那里生活了一年多，

　　Then wearying of their life in the wilderness, they built a crazy boat with sails of shirts and sheets and steered for France. 他们在荒无人烟地区备受生活之苦，以衬衣和被单为帆造成一条看起来非常荒唐的船，开往法国。

　　Soon their water gave out and then their food. Finally, almost dead, they were rescued by an English ship. 这些人很快就用尽了水和食物，最后死得差不多了，只有极少人被一艘英国船救起。

　　19. The French in Florida, 1564-1565. 19．法国人在佛罗里达（1564——1565年）

　　While these Frenchmen were slowly drifting across the Atlantic, a great French expedition was sailing to Carolina. 在这些法国人缓慢地飘过大西洋的同时，一支规模巨大的法国探险队正向卡罗莱纳进发，

　　Finding Ribault's men gone, the new colony was planted on the banks of the River of May. 他们没有见到瑞博的人，便在“五月河”两岸建立了殖民地。

　　Soon the settlers ate up all the food they had brought with them. 他们很快吃光了带来的食物，

　　Then they bought food from the Indians, giving them toys and old clothes in exchange. 然后又从印第安人那里买食物，用一些小玩意和旧衣服与印第安人做交易。

　　Some of the colonists rebelled. They seized a vessel and sailed away to plunder the Spaniards in the West Indies. 后来殖民者中出现了一些叛乱分子，他们抢了一条船离开卡罗莱纳，去掠夺西印度群岛的西班牙人，

　　They told the Spaniards of the colony on the River of May, and the Spaniards resolved to destroy it. 并向西班牙人讲起在“五月河”的殖民地，西班牙人决定摧毁这个殖民地。

　　20. The Spaniards in Florida, 1565. 20．西班牙人在佛罗里达（1565年）

　　For this purpose the Spaniards sent out an expedition under Menendez. 为了实现这个目的，西班牙人派出一支由美内德茨率领的远征军。

　　He sailed to the River of May and found Ribault there with a French fleet. 美内德茨率队到了“五月河”并找到瑞博和他的一艘法国船队。

　　So he turned southward, and going ashore founded St. Augustine. 美内德茨率队南下，在岸上创建圣奥古斯丁，

　　Ribault followed, but a terrible storm drove his whole fleet ashore south of St. Augustine. 瑞博尾随而来，但是，一场可怕的风暴将他的整个舰队推到圣奥古斯丁南部的岸上。

　　Menendez then marched over land to the French colony. He surprised the colonists and killed nearly all of them. 美内德茨在陆地上向法国人的殖民地奔袭，殖民者大吃一惊，美内德茨几乎杀光了殖民者，

　　Then going back to St. Augustine, he found Ribault and his shipwrecked sailors and killed nearly all of them. 然后，他回到圣奥古斯丁，找到瑞博和他的失事船员，并将他们全部杀掉。

　　In this way ended the French attempts to found a colony in Carolina and Florida. 这样法国人试图在卡罗莱纳和佛罗里达找到殖民地的企图以失败告终。

　　But St. Augustine remained, and is today the oldest town on the mainland of the United States. 但是，圣奥古斯丁留下来了，这就是今天美国大陆上最古老的城市。