2018年翻譯資格考試初級(jí)筆譯試題：泰坦尼克號(hào)

　　英譯漢

　　For a decade, metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic have argued that the storied ocean liner went down quickly after hitting an iceberg because the ship's builder used substandard rivets that popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. More than 1,500 people died. Now a team of scientists has moved into deeper waters, uncovering evidence in the builder's own archives of a deadly mix of great ambition and use of low-quality iron that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago Tuesday.

　　The scientists found that the ship's builder, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast, struggled for years to obtain adequate supplies of rivets and riveters to build the world's three biggest ships at once: the Titanic and two sisters, Olympic and Britannic.Each required three million rivets, and shortages peaked during Titanic's construction.

　　"The board was in crisis mode," said Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a member of the team that studied the company's archive and other evidence. "It was constant stress. Every meeting it was, There's problems with the rivets, and we need to hire more people.' "

　　The team collected other clues from 48 Titanic rivets, using modern tests, computer simulations, comparisons to century-old metals and careful documentation of what engineers and shipbuilders of the era considered state of the art.

　　The scientists say the troubles began when the colossal plans forced Harland and Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers of rivet iron and include smaller forges, as disclosed in company and British government papers. Small forges tended to have less skill and experience.

　　Adding to the threat, the company, in buying iron for Titanic's rivets, ordered No. 3 bar, known as "best," not No. 4, known as "best-best," the scientists found. They also discovered that shipbuilders of the day typically used No. 4 iron for anchors, chains and rivets.

　　So the liner, whose name was meant to be synonymous with opulence, in at least one instance relied on cheap materials.

　　The scientists argue that better rivets would have probably kept the Titanic afloat long enough for rescuers to have arrived before the icy plunge, saving hundreds of lives.

　　參考譯文：

　　過去十年一直研究“泰坦尼克”船體的冶金學(xué)家認(rèn)為，這艘著名的遠(yuǎn)洋郵輪在撞上冰山后之所以會(huì)迅速沉沒，是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)的造船商使用了劣質(zhì)鉚釘，在撞上冰山后鉚釘頭開始崩脫，(致使鋼板開裂)，冰冷刺骨的海水大量倒灌入船體，最終造成 1,500 人殞命。

　　一組科學(xué)家進(jìn)行了深度調(diào)查研究，他們從造船廠的檔案記錄中發(fā)現(xiàn)了相關(guān)證據(jù)。據(jù)檔案記載，造船廠一方面要建造豪華巨輪，另一方面卻使用劣質(zhì)鐵鉚，為海難埋下了禍根，最終導(dǎo)致“泰坦尼克”號(hào)在 96 年前的那個(gè)周二沉入海底。

　　科學(xué)家們研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，位于貝爾法斯特的哈蘭德與沃爾夫(Harland and Wolff)造船廠當(dāng)時(shí)決心要同時(shí)建造 3 艘當(dāng)時(shí)世界上最大的超級(jí)郵輪，分別命名為“泰坦尼克”號(hào)、“奧林匹克”號(hào)和“不列顛”號(hào)。但是，多年來，該造船廠卻一直苦于無法獲得足夠的鉚釘及鉚工。每艘巨輪都需要 300 萬個(gè)鉚釘，特別是在建造“泰坦尼克”號(hào)的過程中，鉚釘短缺情況尤為嚴(yán)重。

　　“造船廠董事會(huì)很有危機(jī)感”，負(fù)責(zé)調(diào)查的一位科學(xué)家珍妮弗 ·胡柏·麥卡錫說，“當(dāng)時(shí)造船廠運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)持續(xù)吃緊。每次董事會(huì)開會(huì)都是同樣的問題，„鉚釘供應(yīng)不上，鉚工人手不夠‟”。該調(diào)查小組通過從“泰坦尼克”號(hào)上取下的 48 個(gè)鉚釘收集了其他相關(guān)線索。調(diào)查人員運(yùn)用現(xiàn)代測(cè)試手段，進(jìn)行計(jì)算機(jī)模擬實(shí)驗(yàn)，按照 100 年前的金屬成分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)重新制造鉚釘進(jìn)行比對(duì)，并仔細(xì)查閱了當(dāng)時(shí)工程師和造船廠眼里“最先進(jìn)”的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是什么。

　　調(diào)查人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，正如哈蘭德與沃爾夫造船廠和英國政府部門相關(guān)檔案文件所披露的那樣，建造巨輪工程浩大，該造船廠除了從原來的正規(guī)鉚釘鐵供應(yīng)商那里進(jìn)貨外，還不得不從小型鍛工廠訂貨，而這些小廠的員工一般都缺乏相關(guān)技能和經(jīng)驗(yàn)。調(diào)查人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)，在購買造船用鉚釘鐵的工程中，該造船廠以次充好，沒有購買“最佳”的四號(hào)鐵，而是購買“較佳”的三號(hào)鐵，這也是一大隱患。調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)時(shí)造船廠建造錨、鏈、鉚釘時(shí)通常都使用四號(hào)鐵。

　　調(diào)查顯示，建造寓意“富足”的“泰坦尼克”號(hào)時(shí)至少在這方面采用了劣質(zhì)材料。調(diào)查人員稱，當(dāng)時(shí)如果選用了優(yōu)質(zhì)鉚釘，或許“泰坦尼克”號(hào)就不會(huì)如此迅速下沉，救援人員就能及時(shí)趕到，數(shù)百人也許就能幸免于難。