TitanicⅡ|又见铁达尼号

On April 14, 2012, many people and media outlets around the world took time to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It seemed that every news station aired specials that looked back on the tragic events surrounding the famous ship. What's more, movie director James Cameron even re-released his 1997 movie Titanic in 3-D theaters for those that have only seen the love story between Jack and Rose on the small screen. One of the most surprising and interesting revelations came from an Australian billionaire who plans on building a modern version of the Titanic that would set sail in 2016.

Clive Palmer, one of Australia's richest men, announced that he was commissioning a Chinese company to build the Titanic II, a 21st-century version of the ill-fated ocean liner. His plan is to have a ship as similar as possible to the original built, but it would be updated with a more fuel-efficient design, gyms, saunas, swimming pools, libraries, high-class restaurants, and luxury cabins. Palmer said that his vessel would be different below the waterline. Rivets, one of the reasons why the Titanic started leaking when it hit the iceberg, will be replaced by welding. A bigger rudder will be built for improved maneuverability. Also, the Titanic II will come equipped with the best navigation and safety equipment available in case lightning strikes twice.

At the press conference, Palmer answered a testy reporter's question about the replica of the Titanic suffering the same fate as its predecessor. "Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it,'' Palmer said. "It is going to be designed so it won't sink. But of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen."

    1.     Why was the Titanic in the news recently?

(A) Some new survivors were found.

(B) A new movie was made about the tragedy.

(C) A movie director announced a sequel to his first movie about the ship.

(D) It has been 100 years since its tragic demise.

    2.     What does the phrase lightning strikes twice in the second paragraph mean?

(A) The same thing happening again.

(B) A bad storm causing ships trouble.

(C) Lightning hitting the top of an ocean liner.

(D) Learning from one's mistakes.

    3.     What is the best title for this article?

(A) The Sinking of the Titanic

(B) Historical Holiday

(C) Titanic II: Recreating the Past

(D) Remembering Those That Died on the Titanic

又见铁达尼号

世界各地许多民众及媒体都在 2012 年 4 月 14 日抽空以纪念铁达尼号沉没一百周年。似乎每一家新闻台都在播出特别节目来回顾发生在这艘著名船只上的不幸事件。而且电影导演詹姆斯‧卡麦隆甚至将那部 1997 年发行的影片《铁达尼号》翻拍成 3D版本重新在戏院上映，目的就是要让那些只在电视上看过杰克和萝丝间爱情故事的影迷能有机会在戏院一饱眼福。其中一件令人既惊讶又有趣的事是，一名澳洲的亿万富翁计划建造一艘现代版的铁达尼号，要在 2016 年起航。

克利夫‧帕尔墨是澳洲最富有的人之一，他宣称他委托了一家中国公司来建造铁达尼号二代，该船将是那艘命运多舛的远洋轮船 21 世纪版。他计划要建造一艘和铁达尼号原型尽可能相似的船只，但要更新配备以结合省油的设计、健身房、桑拿浴、游泳池、图书馆、一流的餐厅以及豪华的客舱。帕尔墨表示铁达尼号二代船身从吃水线以下将会有所不同。铁达尼号在撞上冰山时会开始漏水的原因之一就是铆钉，造船时他们就会被以焊接所取代。他们也会造更大的船舵，以提高机动性。此外，铁达尼号二代将配备最优良的导航及安全设备以免不幸的事再度发生。

帕尔墨在记者会上回答了一位不耐烦的记者关于铁达尼号复刻版是否会遭逢和前身相同的命运。帕尔默表示：『如果你在船身上打个洞，船当然会沉。』『这艘船就是要设计成不会沉没的，但当然啦，如果你很迷信的话，世事难预料啊。』

答案：    D   A   C

铁达尼号（英语：RMS Titanic）是一艘奥林匹克级邮轮，于 1912年 4 月处女航时撞上冰山后沉没。

有人认为是当时的炼钢技术不成熟，所炼出来的钢铁在现代的标准并不能造船，不过冶金专家提姆．费克于 1998 年将那些由残骸中取得的船身样本进行检验后，表示钢铁质量在当时并没有问题，即使在低温下亦没有异常脆弱。最致命的关键，就是那些用作接合船身的铆钉。

有几根铆钉从铁达尼号残骸中取出，经检验后发现有高含量的矿渣，矿渣含量超标的铆钉不能承受强大的撞击力，它们遭受挤压破坏之后，船身接合处就出现裂缝，使海水涌入船舱。（数据源：维基百科）