【泰坦尼克号沉默的真相】

1912年4月15日，北大西洋一艘邮轮上的2225名乘客遇上了惊天噩梦。这艘世界最大的皇家邮轮泰坦尼克号处女航才107小时，就撞上了新斯科舍东南方四百米处的冰山，所有乘客必须撤离。160分钟后，这艘巨轮沉没海底，带走了1513条人命——船上2/3的乘客遇难了。　　Titanic’s brief life has engendered hundreds of books and songs, more than a dozen films, countless television documentaries, an opera, a Broadway musical, nearly a dozen Titanic organizations on at least three continents, official investigations and courtroom battles, and safety regulations that make sea travel among the safest transportation modes。　　泰坦尼克号的短暂一生缔造了无数小说、歌曲、影视、纪录片、歌剧、百老汇音乐剧，还有遍布三大洲的各种机构、官方调查及法律纠纷。它的罹难也孕育了新的海上安全法规。　　Yet there’s always something to learn about Titanic, her passengers and crew. Here are 10 things you may not know about the world’s most famous ocean liner。　　不过，无论是泰坦尼克号本身，还是它的船员和乘客，总有不曾解开的谜团。以下就为你揭开这艘世界巨轮不为人知的10个事实： American 　　1. An American ship 　　一艘美国邮轮　　Though Titanic flew the British ensign, Americans actually owned Titanic. In 1902, financier John Pierpont Morgan had purchased Britain’s Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, better known as the White Star Line, making it the premier company in his huge combine, the International Mercantile Marine Company。　　虽然泰坦尼克号上飘扬着英国国旗，但它却是美国人的邮轮。1902年，金融家约翰·皮尔庞特·摩根收购了英国海运公司(即白星公司)，合建成了首家IMM国际海运公司。 champagne 　　2. No champagne 　　没有香槟命名仪式　　The classic 1958 Titanic film, "A Night To Remember," begins with a woman breaking a bottle of champagne on Titanic’s bow as she names the vessel. No such event took place when Titanic was launched at the Belfast shipyards of Harland and Wolff, Ltd. on May 31, 1911. The White Star Line did not believe in the practice and none of its vessels were christened。　　在1958年以泰坦尼克号为主题的影片《铭记的夜晚》中，一位女士在船头开了瓶香槟酒，并为这艘邮轮取名为“泰坦尼克号”。现实中，泰坦尼克号是1911年5月31日在贝尔法斯特的哈兰德和沃尔夫船厂建成的。白星公司否认了影片中的场景，表示旗下没有一艘船舰举行过这样的命名仪式。 unique 　　3. Neither unique nor revolutionary 　　并非独一无二、史无前例　　While many believe there never was another ship like Titanic, there actually were two others. The White Star Line had envisioned a weekly transatlantic service, requiring three vessels. The resulting "Olympic class" consisted of three nearly identical sister ships: Olympic, entering service in October 1910; Titanic, April 1912; and Gigantic, later renamed Britannic, planned for 1915. 　　很多人都误以为泰坦尼克号是当时世界上最大最豪华的邮轮，其实不然。当时，白星公司计划建造三艘大西洋航线邮轮。这三艘奥林匹克级的姊妹舰就是：1910年10月起航的“奥林匹克号”，1912年4月起航的“泰坦尼克号”，以及1915年的“巨人号”(即“不列颠尼克号”)。　　Nor was Titanic "revolutionary." Nearly every aspect of her design was a repeat of Olympic, which, in turn, incorporated features tested by earlier White Star ships. Titanic was unique in just one way: During her brief life, she was the world’s largest vessel, exceeding Olympic by about 1,000 tons。　　泰坦尼克号也绝非“史无前例”。它的整体设计几乎完全模仿了奥林匹克号，并沿袭了白星公司以往船舰的风格。泰坦尼克号唯一与众不同的是：在那个年代，它是世界最大邮轮，比奥林匹克号还要重1000吨。 contender 　　4. Never a contender 　　并非无与伦比　　A persistent Titanic myth is that she was "out to break the transatlantic record." In September 1909, the Cunard Line’s Mauretania completed a round trip averaging more than 26 knots, a record that stood for 20 years. Titanic briefly attained a maximum speed of nearly 23 knots, traveling from Cherbourg to Queenstown。