The Iceberg Was Only Part ofIt
What doomed the Titanic is well known, at
least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an
iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.
A century later many people presented new
theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue
that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.
The first says Earth’s nearness to the Moon
and the Sun — a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years — resulted in
record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including
the fatal iceberg.
Recently, a team of researchers found an
apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come
unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational
pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place
between December 1911 and February 1912 — about two months before the disaster
came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of
icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland
and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
And a second, put forward by a Titanic
historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions
for an unusual type of mirage(海市蜃樓) that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully
for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner’s identity,
delaying rescue efforts for hours.
Most people know mirages as natural
phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth’s surface bends light rays upward.
In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky
for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light
rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over
the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions — not unlike the wavy
reflections in a funhouse mirror.
Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating
these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many
experts are applauding the fresh perspectives.
1.The underlined word "It"
in the title probably refers to _______.
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A．the Titanic
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B．the cause of the disaster
|
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C．the record tide
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D．a(chǎn)n unusual mirage
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2.According to Theory First, what was the
right chain of causes leading to the Titanic’s disaster?
① record tides’ forming and icebergs’ being
refloated
② icebergs’ being drifted into the North
Atlantic shipping lanes
③ the Earth’s strange closing to the Sun
and the Moon
④ increasing of the gravitational force on
the ocean
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A．①→②→③→④
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B．②→③→④→①
|
C．④→③→②→①
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D．③→④→①→②
|
3.According to Theory Second, the disaster
happened to the Titanic mainly because______.
|
A．the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear
|
|
B．the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship
delay rescuing
|
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C．the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget
his work
|
|
D．the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher
didn’t respond to
them
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4.What is the chief function of the sixth
paragraph?
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A．to explain to the readers the ways of the mirage forming
|
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B．to infer the possibility of the mirage appearing
|
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C．to summarize the various kinds of the mirage
|
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D．to analyze the conditions of the mirage arising
|
5.This passage is organized generally in
the pattern of________.
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A．comparison and contrast
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B．conclusion and proof
|
|
C．time and events
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D．definition and classification（分類)
|
ities, including public persuasiveness (信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations．The historians also looked at administrative (管理) ability, relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equ
al justice fo
r all．Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived．
ln was the president who led the nation through the Civil 
War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end．He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America．
-six．His father, George H.W．Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen．
y about ________．