新概念英语美音版第三册:Lesson 10 The loss of the Titanic

Lesson 10 The loss of the Titanic
“泰坦尼克”号的沉没
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What would have happened if only two of the sixteen water-tight compartments had been flooded?
The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.
巨轮“泰坦尼克”号1912年4月10日从南安普敦起锚驶向纽约。
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
船上载有1,316名乘客与891名船员。
Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
即便用现代标准来衡量，45,000 吨的“泰坦尼克”号也算得上一艘巨轮了。
At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built,
当时，这艘轮船不仅是造船史上建造的最大的一艘船，
but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen watertight compartments.
而且也被认为是不会沉没的。因为船由16个密封舱组成，
Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.
即使有两个舱进水，仍可漂浮在水面上。
The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
然而，这艘巨轮首航就下沉，造成大批人员死亡。人们将永远记着这艘巨轮的沉没惨剧。
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
“泰坦尼克”起航后的第4天，它正行驶在北大西洋冰冷的海面上。
a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
突然，了望员发现一座冰山。
After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.
警报响过不久，巨轮急转弯，以避免与冰山正面相撞。
The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.
“泰坦尼克”这个弯拐得及时，紧贴着高出海面100英尺的巨大的冰墙擦过去。
Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened.
突然，从船舱下部传来一声轻微的颤音，船长走下船舱去查看究竟。
The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged.
由于这个声音非常轻，没人会想到船身已遭损坏。
Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly,^在下面，船长惊恐地发现“泰坦尼克”号正在急速下沉，
for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded!^16个密封舱已有5个进水。
The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.
于是，他发出了弃船的命令，几百人跳进了冰冷刺骨的海水里。
As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.
由于没有足够的救生艇运载所有乘客，结果，1,500 人丧生。