Lesson 10 The loss of the Titanic

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.

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.

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

Even by modern standards, the46,000 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 waters of the North Atlantic, a 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 wall of ice which rose over 100feet 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 thought 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.

1 faint – fainted

1)      faint->The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged.

2)      Objects that are too faint to be seen by just looking through a telescope.

3)      fainted-> I must have fainted. I cannot remember anything more. – Jane Eyre

2 the hunt for the remains of the Titanic           remains 指残骸

3 go down , go down to do sth.

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

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

4 plunge into  plunge oneself into

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

2)      He plunged himself into work upon his arrival

5 be … standard   , be below/(upto) standard  达到（达不到）标准

6 watertight, waterproof, water-resistant 表示防水的

a water-resistant watch

7 voyage à a long journey, especiallyby sea or in space

 make/go on   a voyage

voyage   水上海上的

travel ,journey 规律的  journey to work ,trip 短途的, flight.

8 icy waters,  water加s 表示水域

9 sharply

  Increase/drop/rise/fall sharply

She looped up sharply when I mentioned his name.

10 介词 + 副词的联用

from below

It appears from nowhere!

I saw them from outside.

Someone in here?

11 spot    I am the first to spot him in the crowd.