Creating a 3D model of the Titanic

浙江 周晨曲

在美國歷史上沒有哪一次災難事故像泰坦尼克號沉船那樣令人困惑。科學家已經創造出了第一個全尺寸的泰坦尼克號數字模型。該模型將允許科學家以前所未有的方式研究泰坦尼克號。

主題語境：歷史文化 篇幅：347詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Scientists have created the first full-sized digital model of the Titanic.The model will allow scientists to study the Titanic in ways that were never possible before.

2The Titanic was a massive ship that sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.It was the largest ship of its time, and was thought to be “unsinkable”.But four days after it left Southampton, England, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.The sinking of the Titanic is one of the most famous disasters in history.

3The Titanic broke into two pieces, and sank to the sea floor, 2.35 miles below the surface of the ocean.Because of this, it has been hard to study.The location of the wreck (沉船) wasn't discovered until 1985.Since then, many teams have visited the site with submarines and undersea robots.These trips have resulted in lots of pictures and videos of the wreck.But even these only allow scientists to study one area of the wreck at a time.

4Now, two companies—an undersea technology company called Magellan and the movie company, Atlantic Productions—have created a full-sized digital model of the Titanic.The companies say the model is about ten times larger than any other underwater 3D model ever made.

5The model was created by sending two undersea robots down to the Titanic.These robots—named Romeo and Juliet—took pictures of the Titanic from all sides and angles.The robots captured both of the main pieces of the Titanic (front and back), as well as the other bits of the wreck on the sea floor.Over six weeks, the robots took high-quality videos and over 715,000 pictures.The pictures were taken in a way that allowed the scientists to put them together to create a 3D model of the Titanic.

6The Titanic is protected by laws and it must be left untouched.Now, the 3D model will allow people to learn about the Titanic without touching it.The companies say the model will help scientists and historians, allowing them to study the Titanic in great detail.

Reading Check

Detail1.What can be learned about the Titanic according to the text?

A.It sank in the 19th century.

B.It was the first ship model in history.

C.It was once regarded as“ unsinkable”.

D.It was made in Southampton, England.

Detail2.How long does it take to find the location of the sunken Titanic?

A.12 years.

B.35 years.

C.38 years.

D.73 years.

Vocabulary3.Which word can replace the underlined word“ captured” in

paragraph 5?

A.Controlled.

B.Filmed.

C.Expressed.

D.Drew.

Gist 4.What does paragraph 6 focus on?

A.The significance of the 3D model of the Titanic.

B.Law protection of the sunken Titanic.

C.Videos and pictures of the Titanic.

D.Two technology companies.

Language Study

Ⅰ.日積月累

modeln.模型

sinkv.下沉

disastern.災難

locationn.位置

submarinen.潛艇

be thought to be 被認為是……

result in 導致

take pictures of 為……拍照

as well as 也；還

high-quality videos 高質量的錄像

be protected by 受……的保護

in great detail 極詳細地

Ⅱ.單句填空

1.That was a ________ (disaster) fire.

2.He's thought ________ (be) one of the richest men in Europe.

3.What is the exact ________ (locate) of the ship?

4.The cyclone has resulted ________ many thousands of deaths.

5.This issue will be discussed ________ great detail in the next chapter.