Learning English

Mariam
Hello I'm Mariam. Today's story is about the experiences of a man who goes on epic adventure. He sails on a ship whose captain is determined to get revenge on a whale called Moby Dick.

The man is called Ishmael. He's heading to Nantucket to see if he can find work on a whaling ship. On the way he meets Queequeg, a rough and dangerous looking man who works as a harpooner. They become friends and together they find work on a whaling ship called the Pequod.

It sets sail, but it's not until a few days into the journey that they first see the ship's captain, Ahab. He is a bitter and twisted old man with a long white scar down his face. He also has a false leg made from a whale's jaw. You see his real leg had been bitten off by a whale on a previous voyage. He tells the crew  "this whale was the famous Moby Dick" and he makes them all promise to help him hunt the whale down and kill him

It's a long and hard voyage – they sail across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean – they encounter a huge typhoon and their navigational instruments break. Ishmael could not see how they would ever find Moby Dick in such a massive ocean. Then Queequeg the harpooner gets a bad fever and a coffin is made for him in anticipation of his death. But, he recovers and the ship sails on into the Pacific Ocean. Although they catch and kill other whales on the way, there is no sign of Moby. Where can he be?  

You'll have to wait and see. Join me in part two to see if Captain Ahab finally gets his revenge on Moby Dick. See you then.