新托福阅读材料： ubmarine Warfare.docVIP

新托福阅读材料: Submarine Warfare 小马过河为大家准备了“新托福阅读材料：Submarine Warfare”， 供各位备考托福的考生们参考使用，来提高自己的托福成绩！免费咨询电话：400-0123-267 　　Submarine Warfare 　　On February 4, 1915, Germany retaliated by declaring a submarine blockade 　　of the British Isles. The German Admiralty owned only twenty-eight of the 　　new weapons, called U-boats, but was busily building more. (While 140 　　U-boats were available by October 1917, only about 60 were on duty at any 　　one time.) All Allied merchant and warships found within the war zone, it 　　was announced, would be destroyed. Neutral vessels were warned to stay 　　out of the area because the British often disguised their ships with neutral 　　flags. 　　Germany made it clear from the start that its submarines would not fol- 　　low international law by formally warning a vessel of an impending attack 　　and permitting crews and passengers to disembark on lifeboats. The tradi- 　　tional courtesy would be suicidal, for the British armed their merchantmen 　　with cannons and the U-boats lacked protective armor. British vessels often 　　tried to ram as well as blow up submarines when they surfaced. Wilson 　　quickly expressed “grave concern” over this announcement and warned the 　　German government that it would be held to “a strict accountability” for the 　　loss of American lives and vessels. He did not mention, however, the rights 　　of Americans working and traveling on Allied ships. 　　That issue came to a head on May 7, 1915, when a U-boat sank the British 　　liner Lusitania off the Irish coast. Of the 1,959 persons on board, 1,198 　　drowned, including 128 Americans. The Lusitania, although an unarmed pas- 　　senger ship, was carrying munitions to the English, and the German Embassy 　　had warned Americans in newspaper advertisements that they traveled at 　　their own risk. Nevertheless, the killing of defenseless citizens without warn- 　　ing, including hundreds of women and children, caused an uproar in the 　　United States. A small group of enraged citizens, includi