泰坦尼克号――再探钢铁女巨人.docVIP

泰坦尼克号――再探钢铁女巨人历史上曾经出现了多次海难事件,最广为人知的无疑是泰坦尼克号海难。这艘号称“永不沉没”的远洋客轮在1912年的处女航行中撞上了冰山,在短短几小时内沉没于北大西洋,造成1500人罹难。其残骸于1985年被发现。二十几年过去了,这座海底坟墓如今有什么变化呢?让我们跟随当年发现残骸的科学家们重访这艘富有传奇色彩的巨轮。 听力小提示:本文生词较多,只适合作为泛听材料使用。建议先听一遍声音,记下听到的信息点,然后阅读文字,对照一下自己掌握的内容有没有错漏。 Everyones heard dramatic tales about the wreck[失事] of the Titanic, but did you know that this storied[传说上有名的], luxury liner[邮轮] may be on the verge of[濒临于] vanishing[消失] once again? This time its not due to an unyielding[坚硬的] iceberg. Instead, a bizarre[奇异的] rust-eating bacteria[细菌] may be to blame. The scientist Robert Ballard found the famous wreck of the Titanic in 1985. Recently he went back with a team of researchers to see how the ship’s faring[进展] in its deep-sea grave. They discovered the wreckage is decaying[腐烂] a lot faster than expected. Many of the Titanics grand structures have collapsed. Masts[桅杆] and railings[栏杆] have fallen, and some of the ships nine decks[甲板] have caved in[下陷]. One of the main culprits[罪犯]? A strange iron-eating bacteria thats feeding on the ship’s metal skeleton. They produce rust-colored blisters[水泡] that spread out across the promenade deck[散步甲板], orange rivulets[溪流] that flow from the hull into vast, fan-shaped outflows[流出物] and eerie[怪诞的,可怕的]-looking rusticles注 ? icicle[冰柱]-shaped deposits[沉淀物] of iron and bacterial sludge[软泥] that now enshroud[掩盖] much of the wreck. Researchers think the iron-eating bacteria includes at least one strain[一种] thats never been seen before. They thrive[茁壮成长] in extreme environments where we thought no life could survive. Two and a half miles beneath the sea, theres no light or oxygen. It’s freezing cold, and the water pressure reaches a bone-crushing 6,000 pounds per square inch. Yet these bacteria colonize[拓殖] and grow rapidly on the ships steel, devouring[吞吃] the iron inside, which is weakening the structure. Researchers are studying this process and examining photos taken when the wreck was discovered in 1985 to figure