Lesson 10 The Loss of the Titanic
第十课泰坦尼克号的失踪
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 watertight compartments had been flooded?
如果十六个水密舱中只有两个被淹没了，会发生什么？
The great ship Titanic sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.
1912年4月10日，泰坦尼克号巨轮从南安普敦驶向纽约。
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
船上载有1316名乘客和891名机组人员。
Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
即使按照现代标准，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,
然而，在那个时候，她不仅是有史以来最大的船，
but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen watertight compartments.
但被认为是不会沉没的，因为她有十六个不漏水的隔间。
Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.
即使其中两个被洪水淹没，她仍然可以漂浮。
The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered,
这艘伟大客轮的悲惨沉没将永远被铭记，
for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
因为她第一次航行就沉没了，生命损失惨重。
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
出发四天后，当泰坦尼克号航行在北大西洋冰冷的水域时，
a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
一个望台突然发现了一座巨大的冰山。
After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.
警报发出后，巨轮急转弯以避免直接碰撞。
The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet after the water beside her.
泰坦尼克号及时转向，差一点撞上了巨大的冰墙，冰墙在她旁边的水后上升了100多英尺。
Suddenly there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened.
突然下面传来轻微的颤抖声，船长下去看看发生了什么事。
The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged.
噪音如此微弱，以至于没有人认为船已经损坏了。
Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly,
下面，船长惊恐地意识到泰坦尼克号正在迅速下沉，
for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded.
因为她的十六个防水隔间中有五个已经被淹没了。
The order to abandon ship was given, and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.
下达了弃船的命令，数百人跳入冰冷的水中。
As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.
由于没有足够的救生艇供每个人使用，1500人丧生。