第 10 课 · The Loss of the Titanic

The loss of the Titanic

泰坦尼克号的沉没

The great ship, Titanic sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.

1912年4月10日，巨轮“泰坦尼克”号从南安普敦启航，驶往纽约。

She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.

船上载有1,316名乘客和891名船员。

Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.

即使按照现代标准，这艘46,000吨的泰坦尼克号也是一艘巨轮。

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.

然而在当时，她不仅是有史以来建造的最大轮船，而且被视为“永不沉没”，因为她拥有16个水密舱。

Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.

即使这些水密舱中有两个进了水，她也仍能浮在水面上。

The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.

这艘巨轮的悲惨沉没将永远为人们所铭记，因为她首航即沉没，造成了重大的人员伤亡。

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.

出发四天后，当泰坦尼克号正航行穿越北大西洋冰冷的海域时，一座巨大的冰山突然被瞭望员发现。

After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.

警报发出之后，巨轮急剧转向，以避免正面相撞。

The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.

泰坦尼克号转得非常及时，险险避开了那堵巨大的冰墙——冰墙就矗立在船旁，高出水面100多英尺。

Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened.

突然，船体下方传来一阵轻微的颤动声，船长走下船舱去查看发生了什么事。

The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged.

这响声非常微弱，以至于没有人想到船体已经受损。

Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded!

在下面，船长惊恐地发现，泰坦尼克号正在迅速下沉，因为她16个水密舱中已有5个进水！

The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.

弃船的命令下达了，数百人跳进了冰冷的海水。

As there were not enough life-boats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.

由于救生艇不够全员使用，1,500人丧生。