The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.
巨轮“泰坦尼克”号1912年4月10日从南安普敦起锚驶向纽约。
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
船上载有1,316名乘客与891名船员。
Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
却使用现代标准来衡量，45,000 吨的“泰坦尼克”号与算得上一艘巨轮了。
At that time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built,
当时，这艘轮船不仅是造船史上建造的最大的一艘船，
but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen watertight compartments.
而且也被认为是不会沉没的。因为船由16个密封舱组成，
Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.
即使有两个舱进水，仍可漂浮的水面上。
The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
然而，这艘巨轮首航就下沉，造成大批人员死亡。人们将永远记着这艘巨轮的沉没惨剧。
Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
“泰坦尼克”起航后的第4天，它正行驶在北大西洋冰冷的海面上。
a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
突然，了望员发现一座冰山。
After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision.
警报响过不久，巨轮急转弯，以避免与冰山正面相撞。
The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.
“泰坦尼克”这个弯拐得及时，紧贴着高出海面100英尺的巨大的冰墙擦过去。
Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened.
突然，从船舱下部传来一声微颤音，船长走下船舱去查看究竟。
The noise had been so faint that no one though that the ship had been damaged.
由于这个声音非常轻，没人会想到船身已遭损坏。
Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly,
在下面，船长惊恐的地发现“泰坦尼克”号正在急速下沉，
for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded!
16个密封舱已有5个进水。
The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water.
于是，他发出弃船的命令，几百人跳进了冰冷刺骨的海水里。
As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.
由于没有足够的救生艇运载所有乘客，结果，1,500 人丧生。
New words and expressions生词和短语
Southampton
n. 南安普敦（英国港市）
colossal
adj. 庞大的
watertight
adj. 不漏水的
compartment
n. （轮船的）密封舱
flood
v. 充满水
float
v. 漂浮，飘浮
tragic
adj. 悲惨的
liner
n. 班船
voyage
n. 航行
iceberg
n. 冰山
lookout
n. 了望员
collision
n. 碰撞
narrowly
adv. 刚刚，勉强地
miss
v. 避开
slight
adj. 轻微的
tremble
v. 震颤
faint
adj. 微弱的
horror
n. 恐惧
abandon
v. 抛弃
plunge
v. 投入，跳入
lifeboat
n. 救生船
Notes on the text课文注释
1 sail for，驶往……。
2 even by modern standards，即使依照现代标准来衡量。by作“依照”、“按照”讲。
3 regarded as unsinkable，被认为是不会沉没的。 regard… as…当“把……当作……”讲。
4 she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life，她首航就下沉，造成大批人员死亡。go down是“下沉”的意思。
5 narrowly missing，勉强避开。
6 Below, the captain realized to his horror，在下面，船长惊恐地发现。 below是个副词。
Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days,
现在的海关官员往往相当宽容。
but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare.
但是，当你通过绿色通道，没有任何东西需要申报时，他们仍可以拦住你。
Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty.
甚至是最诚实的人也常弄得觉得有罪似的，
The hardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase.
而老练的职业走私犯却使手提箱里藏着500只金表，却也处之泰然。
When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.
最近一次，我也出国归来，碰上一位特别好管闲事的年轻海关官员，他显然把我当成走私犯。
\'Have you anything to declare?\' he asked, looking me in the eye.
“您有什么需要申报的吗?”他直盯着我的眼睛问。
\'No\', I answered confidently.
“没有。”我自信地回答说。
Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please?
“请打开这只手提箱好吗?”
\'Not at all,\' I answered.
“好的。”我回答说。
The Officer went through the case with great care.
那位官员十分仔细地把箱子检查了一遍。
All the things I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess.
所有细心包装好的东西一会儿工夫就乱成一团。
I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again.
我相信那箱子再也关不上了。
Suddenly, I saw the Officer\'s face light up.
突然，我看到官员脸上露出了得意的神色。
He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
他在我的箱底发现了一只小瓶，高兴地一把抓了起来。
\'Perfume, eh?\' he asked sarcastically.
“香水，嗯?”他讥讽地说道，
You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty.
“你刚才应该申报，香水要上进口税的。”
\'But it isn\'t perfume,\' I said.
“不，这不是香水，”我说，
\'It\'s hair gel.\' Then I added with a smile,
“是发胶。”接着我脸带微笑补充说：
\'It\'s a strange mixture I make myself.\'
“这是一种我自己配制的奇特的混合物。”
As I expected, he did not believe me.
他不相信我
\'Try it!\' I said encouragingly.
“你就闻一闻吧！”我催促说。
The officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils.
海关官员拧开瓶盖，把瓶子放到鼻子底下。
He was greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth.
一股怪味袭来，使他相信了我说的真话。
A few minutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.
几分钟后，我终于被放行，手提划着宝贵的粉笔记号的行李，匆匆离去。
guilty
adj. 犯罪的，违法的
tolerant
adj. 宽容的
declare
v. 申报
hardened
adj. 有经验的
professional
adj. 职业的，专业的
smuggler
n. 走私者
officious
adj. 爱管闲事的
confidently
adv. 自信地
dreadful
adj. 可怕的，一团糟的
pounce
v. 猛抓，扑住
perfume
n. 香水
sarcastically
adv. 讽刺地
exempt
adj. 被免除的
duty
n. 税
gel
n. 凝胶
mixture
n. 混合物
unscrew
v. 拧开
nostril
n. 鼻孔
chalk
n. 粉笔
baggage
n. 行李
1 the Green Channel，绿色通道，指海关专供没有携带征税物品进关的旅客所走的通道。
2 hidden in his suitcase是过去分词短语作定语，修饰watches，它相当于一个定语从句：which were hidden in his suitcase.
3 looking me in the eye，直盯着我的眼睛，这是分词短语作状语，表示方式，修饰 asked。
4 The officer went through，这里go through作“检查”讲。
5 in a dreadful mess （或 in a mess），乱七八糟，混乱透了。
6 I saw the Officer\'s face light up．我看到那位官员的脸上露出了得意的神色。
7 You should have declared that．你早该申报了。“should +不定式的完成式”表示本该做而未做之事。
After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and went upstairs to her bedroom.
理查兹夫人等丈夫上班走后，把孩子送去上学，然后来到楼上自己的卧室。
She was too excited to do any housework that morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress party with her husband.
那天上午，她兴奋得什么家务活都不想做，因为晚上她要同丈夫一起参加一个化装舞会。
She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she was impatient to try it on.
她打算装扮成鬼的模样。头天晚上她已把化装服做好，这时她急于想试试。
Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very effective.
尽管化装服仅由一个被单制成，却十分逼真。
After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs.
理查兹夫人穿上化装服后下了楼，
She wanted to find out whether it would be comfortable to wear.
想看穿起来是否舒服。
Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room, there was a knock on the front door.
理查兹夫人刚刚走进餐厅，前门就传来敲门声。
She knew that it must be the baker.
她知道来了一定面包师。
She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table.
她曾告诉过面包师，如果她不去开门，他可直接进门，把面包放在厨房的桌上。
Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid in the small storeroom under the stairs.
理查兹夫人不想吓唬这个可怜人，便赶紧躲到了楼梯下的小储藏室里。
She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps in the hall.
她听见前门被打开，走廊里响起重重的脚步声。
Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and a man entered.
突然贮藏门开了，一个男人走了进来。
Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the metre.
理查兹夫人这才想到一定是供电局来人查电表了。
She tried to explain the situation, saying \'It\'s only me\', but it was too late.
她说了声“是我，别怕！”然后想进行一番解释，但已来不及了。
The man let out a cry and jumped back several paces.
那人大叫了一声，惊退了几步。
When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled, slamming the door behind him.
理查兹夫人朝他走去，只见他“砰”的一声关上门逃走了。
costume
n. 化装服
consist
v. 由……组成
sheet
n. 被单
effective
adj. 有明显效果的，有作用的
metre
n. 电表
pace
n. 一步
lee (fled, fled)
v. 逃走
slam
v. 砰地关上
1 would be going, 是过去将来进行时，用来表示过去预计将要发生的动作。
2 fancy-dress party化装舞会。
3 dress up as, 化装成……。
4 try it on, it指costume, try on是“试穿”、“试戴”。
5 just as…, 正当……的时候。
6 She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. 她曾告诉过他，如果她没去开门，他可直接进来，把面包放在厨房的桌子上。if ever在条件句中表示强调，可译作“任何时候”。to come straight in指
“直接进来”。
7 Not wanting to frighten the poor man, 不想去吓唬这个可怜的人。这是现在分词短语的否定形式，作目的状语。
There was a time when the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago had to pay large sums of money to gangsters in return for \'protection.\'
曾经有一个时期,芝加哥的店主和商行的老板们不得不拿出大笔的钱给歹徒以换取\'保护\'。
If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
Obtaining \'protection money\' is not a modern crime.
榨取\'保护金\'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
\'人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
600年前,约翰.霍克伍德爵士带着一队士兵来到意大利,在佛罗伦萨附近驻扎下来,
He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
和平时期,当生意萧条时,霍克伍德便带领士兵进入某个城邦,
after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
纵火烧毁一两个农场,然后提出,如向他们缴纳保护金,他们便主动撤离。
Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of \'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.\'
并为他画像以纪念这位\'骁勇无比的战士、杰出的领袖乔凡尼.阿库托先生.\'
gangster
n. 歹徒,强盗
Chicago
n. 芝加哥(美国城市)
protection
n. 保护
promptly
adv. 准时地
destroy
v. 毁掉;消灭
remarkable
adj. 不寻常的
hand
n. 帮,团伙
Florence
n. 佛罗伦萨(意大利城市)
city-state
n. (古代)城邦
hire
v. 租出,雇给
prince
n. 君主,诸候
Florentine
n. 佛罗伦萨人
funeral
n. 葬礼
dedicate
v. 奉献,题献给
memory
n. 纪念
valiant
adj. 英勇的
1 in return for…，作“作为……的报答”讲。
2 out of business, 倒闭，破产。
3 as long ago as, 作“追溯到”、“早在”讲。注意要与as long as分开，后面这个短语作“只要”或“长达……之久”讲。
4 people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters,
人们情愿支付一大笔钱，也不愿自己毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手。
楼主
