文章原文：
The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912.
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891. Even by modern standards,
the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship. At that time, however, she was not
only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable,
for she had sixteen watertight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded,
she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will
always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of
life.
Fourdays after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters ofthe North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. After thealarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a directcollision. The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wallof ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly, therewas a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see whathad happened. The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship hadbeen damaged. Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic wassinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had alreadybeen flooded! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of peopleplunged into the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody,1,500 lives were lost.
精读笔记：
1.Theloss of the Titanic
(1)titan:The nountitancomes from Greek mythology, in which theTitanswere a race of gods.Today, a titan is someone who is god-like, or powerful and influential in a certainfield.
例句：Albert Einstein was atitan in the world of science.
(2)titanic:extremely powerful, strong, important, or large.
例句：The world had witnesseda titanic struggle between two visions of the future.
(3)这艘船起名为the
Titanic，从名称上也体现了船的特征。
2.Shewas carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
(1)she:这个词的常见意思是the female being
spoken about, who has already been mentioned，但是还有另外一个特别的用法，She is sometimesused instead of "it" to refer to something, such as a country,vehicle, or ship, that has already been mentioned.
例句：AfterIndia became independent, she chose to be a member of the Commonwealth.
(2)crew:a group of people who work together, especially all those who work on andoperate a ship, aircraft, etc.
3.Evenby modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
(1)by sb's/sth's standards:依照…的标准
例句：At $80,000, the house is a bargain by American standards.
例句：They were asking a colossal amount of money for the house.
4.At that time, however, she was not only the largestship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she hadsixteen watertight compartments.
(1)regard as:to think about someone or something in aparticular way.
例句：Paulseemed to regard sex as sinful and immoral.
(2)unsinkable:由否定前缀un+v.+ -able构成。
(3)watertight:having no openings to allow waterto get in.
例句：They're
doing some repairs to make the roof more watertight.
(4)compartment:oneof the separate areas into which a plane, ship, or train is divided.
5.Evenif two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float.
flood:to cause to fill or become covered with water, especially in a way that causes problems.
6.Thetragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went downon her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
(1)tragic:verysad, often involving death and suffering.
例句：Hisfriends were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news of his death.
(2)liner:a large ship for carrying passengers in great comforton long journeys.
(3)voyage:along journey, especially by ship.
7.Fourdays after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters ofthe North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
(1)water:an area of water such as the sea,
a lake etc
(2)spot:to notice someone or something, especially when they are difficult to see orrecognize.
例句：If you spot any mistakes in the article just mark them with a pencil.
(3)lookout:someonewhose duty is to watch carefully for something, especially for danger.
8.Afterthe alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a directcollision.
(1)sharply:quickly and suddenly.
例句：Graham looked up sharply, startled by a noise behind him.
(2)collision:theviolent coming together of two or more moving objects, such as vehicles.
9.TheTitanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice whichrose over 100 feet out of the water beside her.
(1)narrowly:by only a small amount.
例句：One bullet struck his
car, narrowly missing him.
(2)immense:extremely large in size or degree.
例句：Heinherited an immense fortune.
10.Suddenly,there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to seewhat had happened.
(1)trembling:shakingor quivering, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement, or frailty.
(2)captain:the sailor in charge of a ship, or the pilot in charge of an aircraft.
例句：Thecaptain and crew welcome you aboard.
11.Theorder to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icywater.
plunge:tomove or fall suddenly forward, down, or into something:
例句：Heplunged into the crowd, smiling and shaking hands.
对文章的理解：
泰坦尼克号是当时最大的船，被认为是不可能沉水的（unsinkable），但是最终还是沉没了，促进了国际海上人命安全公约(International
Convention for Safety of Life at Sea 简称 SOLAS) 的诞生。此外，文章还告诉我们一个道理，在我们做一个即便很有把握的事情的时候，也要提前做好最坏的打算，万一不成功会怎么样以及怎么应对，这样才能让我们遇到事情时更加游刃有余
