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Exploration of the Titanic
After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder and rusting, for nearly three-quarters of a century, a great ship seemed to cone alive again. 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. But last week what had been legendary suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie quiet and the ruined splendor of a lost age.
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. 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.
The two-minute videotape and nine photographs, all in color and shot 12,r the North Atlantic, were a tiny sample of 60 hours of video and 60,000 stills garnered during the twelve-day exploration. They are released at a Washington press conference conducted by Marine Geologist 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 feat of underwater exploration, Ballard revealed some startling new information. His deep-diving craft failed to find the 300-ft. gash that, according to legend, was torn in the Titanic’s hull when the ship plowed into the iceberg. Instead, he suggested, the collision had buckled 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.
答案詳解：
1.D. 用高技術探測泰坦尼克號。第一段最後一句“當世界上千百萬人觀看這艘沉沒巨輪的錄影帶說，他們都會覺察到她的巨大的船體，她周圍可怕的沉寂和歲月流失那種悽慘的景象。”這裡已說明是探測的錄影片。第三段“這兩分鐘彩色錄影帶和九張照片是在被大西洋12500英尺深處拍攝的，它們只是十二天探測期間拍攝的.60小時錄影帶和60000靜物照中的一小部分。這些錄影帶和照片是44對的海洋地質學家羅伯特巴拉德領導的伍德霍爾海洋研究所科學探險隊，於去年九月發現了泰坦尼克號並於今年七月重訪了它。”第二段中點明用“深水工作船和機器人小賈森……”高科技。
A. 有關沉船的新訊息。這只是羅伯特在記者招待會上宣佈的一條訊息。作為標題不合適。 B. 探測泰坦尼克號，接近標題，但沒有D確切。 C. 看錄影帶。
2.A. 他們黯然神傷，有身臨其境在探測之感。見第1題中第一段最後一句註譯和難句譯註2。
B. 他們很同情這艘船; C. 他們感到不愉快。 D. 他們感到很消沉。這三段文內都沒有提到。
3.B. 她於1912年首航中沉沒。見難句譯註1。
A. 1913。 C. 1912。第二次航行。 D. 1913年首航。這三項都不對。
4.A. 他宣佈一個驚人的訊息。見最後一段第二句起：“他的探潛工作船沒找到泰坦尼克號船上那三百英尺長裂縫，據說這裂縫是巨輪撞冰山時在船體上留下的。相反，巴拉德認為與冰山相撞造成船體彎曲變形，使海水大量湧入船內”後面譯文見難句譯註4。
B. 他沒有說什麼。 C. 他抱怨探測工作非常艱難。 D. 他宣佈探測成功。這三項文內沒有涉及。
詞彙：
1. split asunder 向不同方向裂開，散開
2. saga 英雄傳說，冒險故事
3. maiden voyage 處女航
4. celebrate 讚美，慶祝。這裡指大肆宣傳
5. leviathan 巨型遠洋輪
6. eerie 可怕的，怪異的
7. splendor 美妙的景象
8. vicariously 產生共鳴的，代理的
9. luxury liner 豪華巨輪
10. bollard 系攬柱
11. porthole 舷窗
12. railing 欄杆
13. evoke 喚起，引起，(招)魂
14. still 靜物攝影照片
15. garner 收集，積累
16. highlight 最精彩場面，最重要部分
17. feat 功績
18. gash 裂縫
19. hull 船體
20. plow into= plough into 撞上，幹勁十足的投入
21. buckle 使彎曲
22. stern 船尾
23. bow 船頭
24. swivel 旋轉
難句譯註：
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.
[結構簡析] 被動語態，中插定語從句which struck 和分詞短語carrying more than 都是修飾 liner.
[參考譯文] 白星級定期輪班泰坦尼克號於1912年的首航中因撞上冰山而沉沒，船上一千五百多名乘客全部罹難。此後關於它的種種傳說一直為各種刊物，電影，詩歌和歌曲廣泛宣傳。
hing 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.
[結構簡析] 主從句，主句前有分詞短語watching, 修飾主句中的they (觀眾)，而從句中(as)they 是指Alvin 和Jason Jr. 後面的分詞短語都是說明從句中的they。
[參考譯文] 觀眾們看著電視，就像親臨其境似的參與深水工作船阿爾文號和機器人探測器小賈森的工作。隨他們巡視這艘豪華舉輪殘骸，漫遊甲板，經過侵蝕的系欄柱，凝視高階船員艙，穿過滿是鐵鏽的舷窗。
s 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.
[結構簡析] 主從句，主句中定從where修飾railings。
[參考譯文] 看到那些欄杆使人想起七十四年前就在這艘巨輪沉入汪洋的那個暗無星月的夜晚，罹難的旅客和水手們也曾站在欄杆旁。
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.
[結構簡析] 結構複雜。That clause 是evidence 的同位語。That 從句中用了not…but 句型。 Not句中為主從句加狀從 as he had though …，but 句中為主從句，中插入定語從句which settled 修飾the stern。
[參考譯文] 他還帶回證據說明船不是撞在海底時斷裂的，而是在下沉時斷裂的。船尾下沉時旋轉一百八十度，它在海底幾乎離船頭一千八百英尺遠。而在他去年九月第一次見到泰坦尼克號時，還以為船是撞到海底才斷裂的。
寫作方法與文章大意：
文章描述了對沉沒巨輪(泰坦尼克號)探測的情況，也是一篇三段式模式的文章：先時間，地點，所發生沉輪的事實，再引了錄影帶把進行探測的全過程呈現，最後是驚人的結果。
