The loss of the Titanic
泰坦尼克号的损失
What'd have happened if only two of the 16 water-tight compartments had been flooded?
如果16个防水舱中只有两个被淹了，会发生什么？
The great ship,Titanic sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th,1912.
大船泰坦尼克号于1912年4月10日从南安普顿驶往纽约。
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
她载着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大的船。
At that time,however,she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built,
然而，当时，她不仅是有史以来建造的最大的船,
but was regarded as unsinkable,for she had sixteen water-tight compartments.
但被认为是不沉的，因为她有十六个不透水的隔间。
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,
这艘伟大的班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.
因为她在第一次航行中丧生.
Four days after setting out,
出发后四天,
while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
当泰坦尼克号在北大西洋冰冷的水域航行时,
a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
一座巨大的冰山突然被一个瞭望员发现.
After the alarm had been given,
警报发出后,
the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.
大船急转，避免直接相撞。
The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice
泰坦尼克号及时转向，险些错过了巨大的冰墙
which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.
它从她身旁的水面上升了100英尺。
Suddenly,there was a slight trembling sound from below,
突然，下面传来轻微的颤抖声,
and the captain went down to see what had happened.
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.
噪音已经很微弱，没有人认为这艘船已经损坏。
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!
因为她的十六个水密舱中有五个已经被淹没了！
The order to abandon ship was given
命令弃船
and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.
数百人陷入冰冷的水中。
As there were not enough life-boats 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。
