The loss of the Titanic
原文
Lesson 10
The loss of the Titanic
What'd have happened if only two of the 16 water-tight compartments had been flooded?
The great ship, Titanic sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.
She was carrying 1, 316 passengers and a crew of 891.
Even by modern standards, the 46, 000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen water-tight compartments.
Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.
The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.
The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.
Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below,
and the captain went down to see what had happened.
The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged.
Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly,
for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded!
The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.
As there were not enough life-boats for everybody, 1, 500 lives were lost.
译文
第10课
泰坦尼克号的沉没
如果16个防水隔舱中只有两个进水，会发生什么？
这艘巨轮泰坦尼克号于1912年4月10日从南安普顿出发，驶向纽约。
船上载有1,316名乘客和891名船员。
即便以现代标准来看，这艘46,000吨的泰坦尼克号也是一艘巨轮。
然而在当时，它不仅是建造过的最大船只，而且被认为永不沉没，因为它有16个防水隔舱。
即使其中两个隔舱进水，它仍然能够漂浮。
这艘巨轮的悲剧性沉没将永远被人们铭记，因为它在首航中沉没，造成了重大生命损失。
出发四天后，当泰坦尼克号正航行在北大西洋的冰冷水域时，
瞭望员突然发现了一座巨大的冰山。
警报发出后，这艘巨轮急转弯以避免直接相撞。
泰坦尼克号及时转向，勉强避开了那座高出水面100英尺的巨大冰墙。
突然，从船底传来一阵轻微的颤动声，
船长走下船舱去看发生了什么事。
声音非常微弱，以至于没人认为船体受损了。
在船舱里，船长惊恐地发现泰坦尼克号正在迅速下沉，
因为它的16个防水隔舱中已经有5个进水了！
弃船命令下达后，数百人跳入冰冷的海水中。
由于救生艇的数量不足以容纳所有人，因此有 1,500 人失去了生命。