Passage Twenty-five (Exploration of the Titanic¹)

   After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder² and rusting³, for nearly three-quarters of a century, a great ship seemed to cone⁴ alive again. The saga⁵ of the White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg⁶ and sank on its maiden⁷ voyage in 1912, carrying more than 1,500 passengers to their death, has been celebrated⁸ in print and on film, in poetry and song. But last week what had been legendary⁹ suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie¹⁰ quiet and the ruined splendor¹¹ of a lost age.

Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. (J.J.) as they toured the wreckage¹² of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded¹³ bollards, peering into the officer’s quarters and through rust-curtained portholes. Views of the railings where doomed¹⁴ passengers and crewmembers stood evoked¹⁵ images of the moonless night 74years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves.

The two-minute videotape and nine photographs, all in color and shot 12,500ft.under the North Atlantic, were a tiny sample of 60 hours of video and 60,000 stills garnered¹⁶ during the twelve-day exploration. They are released at a Washington press conference conducted by Marine¹⁷ Geologist¹⁸ Robert Ballard, 44, who led the teams from the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution that found the Titanic last September and revisited it this July.

Recounting the highlights of what has already become the most celebrated feat¹⁹ of underwater exploration, Ballard revealed some startling new information. His deep-diving craft failed to find the 300-ft. gash²⁰ that, according to legend, was torn in the Titanic’s hull²¹ when the ship plowed²³ into the iceberg. Instead, he suggested, the collision had buckled²⁴ the ship’s plates, allowing water to pour in. He also brought back evidence that the ship broke apart not when she hit bottom, as he had thought when viewing the first Titanic images last September, but as she sank: the stern, which settled on the bottom almost 1,800ft. from the bow, had swiveled 180 on its way down.

 

1.       What is the best title for this passage?

[A]. New Information about the Sunken Ship.

[B]. Exploration of the Titanic.

[C]. To watch the Videotape.

[D]. To explore the Titanic with High Tech.

2.       How did the viewers feel when watching the videotape?

[A]. They felt rather sad, and felt they themselves took part in the exploration.

[B]. They felt keenly for it.

[C]. They felt rather bad about it.

[D]. They felt out of spirits.

3.       When did the great ship sink?

[A]. In 1912.

[B]. She sank in its maiden voyage in 1912.

[C]. She sank in its second voyage in 1912.

[D]. She sank in its first voyage in 1912.

4.       What did Robert reveal at a press conference?

[A]. He revealed some startling information.

[B]. He said nothing.

[C]. He complained the exploration was very hard.

[D]. He revealed the success of their work.

 

Vocabulary

1.       split asunder                         向不同方向裂开，散开

2.       saga                               英雄传说，冒险故事

3.       maiden voyage                       处女航

4.       celebrate                            赞美，庆祝。这里指大肆宣传

5.       leviathan                            巨型远洋轮

6.       eerie                               可怕的，怪异的

7.       splendor                            美妙的景象

8.       vicariously                          产生共鸣的，代理的

9.       luxury liner                          豪华巨轮

10.   bollard                              系揽柱

11.   porthole                             舷窗

12.   railing                              栏杆

13.   evoke                               唤起，引起，（招）魂

14.   still                                 静物摄影照片

15.   garner                               收集，积累

16.   highlight                             最精彩场面，最重要部分

17.   feat                                 功绩

18.   gash                                裂缝

19.   hull                                 船体

20.   plow²² into= plough into                 撞上，干劲十足的投入

21.   buckle                              使弯曲

22.   stern                                船尾

23.   bow                                船头

24.   swivel                               旋转

 

难句译注

1.       The saga of the White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, carrying more than 1,500 passengers to their death, has been celebrated in print and on film, in poetry and song.

[结构简析] 被动语态，中插定语从句which struck 和分词短语carrying more than 都是修饰 liner.

[参考译文] 白星级定期轮班泰坦尼克号于1912年的首航中因撞上冰山而沉没，船上一千五百多名乘客全部罹难。此后关于它的种种传说一直为各种刊物，电影，诗歌和歌曲广泛宣传。

2.       Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. (J.J.) as they toured the wreckage of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded bollards, peering into the officer’s quarters and through rust-curtained portholes.

[结构简析] 主从句，主句前有分词短语watching, 修饰主句中的they （观众），而从句中（as）they 是指Alvin 和Jason Jr. 后面的分词短语都是说明从句中的they。

[参考译文] 观众们看着电视，就像亲临其境似的参与深水工作船阿尔文号和机器人探测器小贾森的工作。随他们巡视这艘豪华举轮残骸，漫游甲板，经过侵蚀的系栏柱，凝视高级船员舱，穿过满是铁锈的舷窗。

3.       Views of the railings where doomed passengers and crewmembers stood evoked images of the moonless night 74years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves.

[结构简析] 主从句，主句中定从where修饰railings。

[参考译文] 看到那些栏杆使人想起七十四年前就在这艘巨轮沉入汪洋的那个暗无星月的夜晚，罹难的旅客和水手们也曾站在栏杆旁。

4.       He also brought back evidence that the ship broke apart not when she hit bottom, as he had thought when viewing the first Titanic images last September, but as she sank: the stern, which settled on the bottom almost 1,800ft. from the bow, had swiveled 180 on its way down.

[结构简析] 结构复杂。That clause 是evidence 的同位语。That 从句中用了not…but 句型。 Not句中为主从句加状从 as he had though …，but 句中为主从句，中插入定语从句which settled 修饰the stern。

[参考译文] 他还带回证据说明船不是撞在海底时断裂的，而是在下沉时断裂的。船尾下沉时旋转一百八十度，它在海底几乎离船头一千八百英尺远。而在他去年九月第一次见到泰坦尼克号时，还以为船是撞到海底才断裂的。

 

写作方法与文章大意

   文章描述了对沉没巨轮（泰坦尼克号）探测的情况，也是一篇三段式模式的文章：先时间，地点，所发生沉轮的事实，再引了录像带把进行探测的全过程呈现，最后是惊人的结果。

 

答案祥解

1.        D. 用高技术探测泰坦尼克号。第一段最后一句“当世界上千百万人观看这艘沉没巨轮的录像带说，他们都会觉察到她的巨大的船体，她周围可怕的沉寂和岁月流失那种凄惨的景象。”这里已说明是探测的录像片。第三段“这两分钟彩色录像带和九张照片是在被大西洋12500英尺深处拍摄的，它们只是十二天探测期间拍摄的60小时录像带和60000静物照中的一小部分。这些录像带和照片是44对的海洋地质学家罗伯特巴拉德领导的伍德霍尔海洋研究所科学探险队，于去年九月发现了泰坦尼克号并于今年七月重访了它。”第二段中点明用“深水工作船和机器人小贾森……”高科技。

A. 有关沉船的新消息。这只是罗伯特在记者招待会上宣布的一条消息。作为标题不合适。   B. 探测泰坦尼克号，接近标题，但没有D确切。   C. 看录像带。

2.        A. 他们黯然神伤，有身临其境在探测之感。见第1题中第一段最后一句注译和难句译注2。

B. 他们很同情这艘船；  C. 他们感到不愉快。    D. 他们感到很消沉。这三段文内都没有提到。

3.        B. 她于1912年首航中沉没。见难句译注1。

A. 1913。      C. 1912。第二次航行。       D. 1913年首航。这三项都不对。

4.        A. 他宣布一个惊人的消息。见最后一段第二句起：“他的探潜工作船没找到泰坦尼克号船上那三百英尺长裂缝，据说这裂缝是巨轮撞冰山时在船体上留下的。相反，巴拉德认为与冰山相撞造成船体弯曲变形，使海水大量涌入船内”后面译文见难句译注4。

B. 他没有说什么。       C. 他抱怨探测工作非常艰难。      D. 他宣布探测成功。这三项文内没有涉及。

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