精读10：The loss of the Titanic
第10篇精读
1：精读原文和译文摘自新概念英语；每周更新一篇；
2：新概念英语精读系列旨在通过精读经典教材，夯实英语基础（词汇、长难句、语法点），积攒原汁原味的表达；
精读原文
The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1,316 passengers and 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 watertight 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 water of the North Atlantic, 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 walk 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 though 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 lifeboats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.
精读注解
The lossof the Titanic
loss:the fact of no longer having something, or of having less of it than you used to have, or the process by which this happens失去，丧失，本文指泰坦尼克号在航行中沉没
Titanic：a luxury British liner that struck an iceberg near Newfoundland on its maiden voyage on the night of April 14–15, 1912, with the loss of 1513 lives 泰坦尼克号（泰坦尼克号是一艘英国皇家邮轮，也是白星航运公司旗下的3艘奥林匹克级邮轮之一，在其服役时间是全世界最大的海上船舶，由贝尔法斯特哈兰德与沃尔夫造船厂建造，号称“永不沉没”、“梦幻之船”。）
“泰坦尼克”号的沉没
The great ship, Titanic, sailed forNew York from Southamptonon April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1,316 passengers and crew of 891. Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossalship. At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded asunsinkable, for she had sixteen watertightcompartments. Even iftwo of these were flooded, she would still be able to float. The tragicsinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went downon her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
sail for驶往……，如：The ship sail for Atlantic Ocean.这艘船驶向大西洋
Southampton /sau'θæmptən/ ：南安普敦（英国港市）
【语法小学堂】on April 10th, 1912：关于表示年、月、日前的介词，①只要有日期，无论有年、月与否，用on；②没有日期，无论是只有年，还是只有月，还是年、月都有，用in。
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and crew of 891. ①本句的"she "代指theship Titanic，属于拟人用法。She常用于称谓国家，如：China has decided toincrease her trade with Africa. ②crew :all the people who work on a ship or plane全体船员；〔飞机上的〕全体机组人员，但是动词可以是单数和复数（一艘船一个crew，两艘船则有两个crews），如：The crews of three ships are preparing for the next sail.三艘船的船员在为下一次起航做准备。
【熟词僻义】Even by modern standards…介词by是一个很灵活的词，此处表示“按照，依据”。By:according to a particular rule, method, or way of doing things按照，依据，如：You’ve got to play by the rules. 你必须按规则比赛。
colossal /kə'lɒs ə l/: used to emphasize that something is extremely large巨大的，庞大的，如：This whole holiday was a colossal waste of money. 这次度假浪费了大量的钱财。
At that time：在那时，那时候。此时间短语讲述的内容只能是过去／过去正在进行时态，如：At that time I was doing my homework.
…but was regarded as unsinkable.regard…as…把……当做……，这个搭配在新概念3多处使用，温故而知新。
unsinkable/ʌn'sɪŋkəb(ə)l/: not capable of sinking or being sunk 不会沉没的，如：It was considered unsinkable. 人们都认为它是不沉之船。
watertight /'wɔːtətaɪt/ : a watertight container, roof, door etc does not allow water to get in or out〔容器、屋顶、门等〕不透水的，防水的，水密的，如：The flask is completely watertight, even when laid on its side. 这水瓶即使平放也不漏一滴水。
compartment/kəm'pɑːtm(ə)nt/ : one of the separate areas into which a plane, ship, or train is divided〔飞机、轮船或火车上的〕隔间，舱，如：a first-class compartment 头等舱
even if:即使；虽然，常用于引导让步状语从句，如：Even if I am tired, I still go for work.虽然我累瘫了，但还是去上班了。
flood /flʌd/ : to cover a place with water, or to become covered with water（被）淹没，如：The houses down by the river flood quite regularly. 沿河的房屋常遭水淹。
float /fləʊt/ : to stay or move on the surface of a liquid without sinking 浮，漂，如：I wasn’t sure if the raft would float. 我不能肯定这只木筏是否浮得起来。
tragic /'trædʒɪk/: a tragic event or situation makes you feel very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering悲惨的，不幸的，如：a great tragic actor 一名伟大的悲剧演员
【复杂句分析】The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered,for she went downon her first voyage with heavy loss of life.①liner /'laɪnə/: a large ship for passengers邮轮，大客轮，这里指泰坦尼克号，避免词汇单调；②go down:下沉；③for+句子：表原因（在精读1：A puma at large有详细注解）；④with heavy loss of life为结果状语；⑤voyage /'vɒɪɪdʒ/: a long journey in a ship or spacecraft〔乘船或宇宙飞船的长途〕航行；⑥翻译思维：英文先结果后原因，中文习惯先原因后结果，参考译文：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。
巨轮“泰坦尼克”号1912年4月10日从南安普敦起锚驶向纽约。船上载有1,316名乘客与891名船员。即便使用现代标准来衡量，46,000 吨的“泰坦尼克”号也算得上一艘巨轮了。当时，这艘轮船不仅是造船史上建造的最大的一艘船，而且也被认为是不会沉没的。因为船由16个密封舱组成，即使有两个舱进水，仍可漂浮的水面上。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 sailingacross the icy water of the North Atlantic, huge icebergwas 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,narrowlymissingthe immense walk of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly, there was a slight tremblingsound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faintthat no one though that the ship had been damaged. Below, the captain realizedto his horrorthat the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded! The order to abandonship was given and hundreds of people plungedinto the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboatsfor everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.
【熟词僻义】set out: ①When you set out, you start a journey. 启程; 出发（本文用法），如：I set out for my journey. ②If you set out to do something, you start trying to do it. 开始努力，如：He has achieved what he set out to do three years ago. 他已经完成了3年前开始努力做的事情。③打算，试图：Mary had failded what she had set out to do.玛丽计划做的事情落空了。（词必须放到语境里面去判断意思）
…Titanic was sailing across…使用过去进行时描述过去的事情，加强画面感，生动活泼。
iceberg /'aɪsbɜːg/: a very large mass of ice floating in the sea, most of which is under the surface of the water冰山
lookout /'lʊkaʊt/: someone whose duty is to watch carefully for something, especially for danger监视者，瞭望员
【语法小学堂】After the alarm had been given…：过去完成时的被动语态：①构成：had been+过去分词；②表示过去某一被动动作，如Tony had been punished for his dishonest behavior yeasterday.
collision /kə'lɪʒ(ə)n/: A collision occurs when a moving object crashes into something.碰撞，如：They were on their way to the airport when their van was involved in a collision with a car. 他们正往机场赶路的时候，其货车和一辆小汽车相撞了。
…, narrowly missing the immense walk of ice…勉强避开，现在分词短语作结果状语，后置于句子后部，如：Her husband died in the war, leaving her with 3 children. 她的丈夫战死沙场，给她丢下3个孩子。
slight /slaɪt/: Something that is slight is very small in degree or quantity. 轻微的; 细微的，如：Doctors say he has made a slight improvement. 医生说他已经有些轻微的好转。
tremble /'tremb(ə)l/ : to shake slightly〔轻微地〕摇晃，震颤，如：The whole house trembled as the train went by. 火车开过，整座房子都在震颤。
…there was a slight trembling sound from below…本句from below：从下面，介词短语，作地点状语
faint /feɪnt/:A faint sound, colour, mark, feeling, or quality has very little strength or intensity. 微弱的，如：He became aware of the soft, faint sounds of water dripping. 他开始觉察到水滴下来的轻柔、微弱的声音。
【熟词僻义】realize: ①to know and understand something, or suddenly begin to understand it知道；明白；认识到；顿悟（本文用法），如：The dog realized the danger behind him. ②to achieve something that you were hoping to achieve实现，将…变为现实，如：Finally, I realize my dream.
to one’s horror:使某人恐惧的是。“to one’s + 感情动词”属于一种常见的介词短语结构，如：to my surprise 令我惊奇的是
abandon /ə'bænd(ə)n/ : If you abandon a place, thing, or person, you leave the place, thing, or person permanently or for a long time, especially when you should not do so. 抛弃，如：He claimed that his parents had abandoned him. 他声称他的父母抛弃了他。
plunge/plʌn(d)ʒ/:If something or someone plunges in a particular direction, especially into water, they fall, rush, or throw themselves in that direction. 纵身跳向、猛冲向、投入、跳入，如：At least 50 people died when a bus plunged into a river. 一辆公共汽车冲进了河里，至少有50人死亡。
lifeboat/'laɪfbəʊt/: a boat that is sent out to help people who are in danger at sea(海上)救生艇[船]，如：The captain ordered all passengers and crew into lifeboats. 船长命令所有的乘客和船员上救生艇。
最近，纽约动物医疗中心对132只猫进行了为期5个月的综合研究。所有这些猫有一个共同的经历：它们都曾从高层建筑上摔下来过，但只有其中的8只猫死于震荡或跌伤。当然，纽约是进行这种有趣的试验的一个理想的地方，因为那里根本不缺乏高楼大厦，有的是高层的窗槛从上往下坠落。有一只叫萨伯瑞娜的猫从32层楼上掉下来，但只摔断了一颗牙。“猫就像训练有素的跳伞队员，” 一位医生说。看起来，猫跌落的距离越长，它们就越不会伤害自己。在一个长长的跌落过程中，它们可以达到每小时60英里甚至更快的速度。在高速下落中，猫有时间放松自己。它们伸展四肢，就像飞行中的松鼠一样。这样就加大了空气阻力，并减少了它们着地时冲击力带来的震动。
Summary writing(last paragraph):用不多于80个单词概述泰坦尼克号沉没的过程。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）
The Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic when an iceberg was spoteed by a lookout. After the alarm was given, the ship turned sharply and sailed alongside it. Suddenly, a faint noise was heard from blow, so the captain went down to investigate, only to find that five of the sixteen compartments had been flooded. On hearing the order to abandon ship, people jumped overboard, but 1,500 drowned because there were not enough lifeboats.
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