The first sentence is correct. The second sentence might be correct, but I'm not sure. It is very odd and most native speakers wouldn't say something like that. And the proper word ordering is "have never been"

Yes, that is correct. However, there are multiple ways you can say that sentence and still have it mean the same thing. You could say, "Today, I am taking the day off." (technically, this is not grammatically correct, because you should not end a sentence with a preposition, but it is very common to do so in casual speech.) You could also shorten the sentence and say "I am taking the day off." or "I am taking today off." Any native English speaker will know what you mean. At least in the United States.

1. In the context given, "While excitement was high over the depredations of the Barbary pirates" does not really express concern, but more so a feeling of piqued curiosity. Americans were very interested in the pirate attacks. They probably saw them as adventurous and exotic. The previous sentence "In the meantime, however, Americans continued to be fascinated by the remote." is what really implies this. Specifically the part "...Americans continued to be fascinated..." Sorry for my long winded explanation. I hope I didn't confuse you further. Please let me know if you need a different explanation. 2. "for the scurvy" means that the medicine was used to treat a disease called scurvy. Scurvy is a disease that occurs when a person does not have enough vitamin C. It was a very common maritime disease because it was hard for sailors to maintain a healthy diet while on a ship for many months at a time.