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What piece of bad luck prevented the Cutty Sark from winning the race?

    One of the most famous sailing ships of the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark, can still be seen at Greewich. She stands on dry land and is visited by thousands of people each year. She serves as an impressive reminder of the great ships of past. Before they were replaced by steamships, sailing vessels like the Cutty Sark were used to carry tea from China and wool from Australia. The Cutty Sark was one the fastest sailing ships that has ever been built. The only other ship to match her was the Thermopylae. Both these ships set out from Shanghai on June 18th, 1872 on an exciting race to England. This race, which went on for exactly four exactly four months, was the last of its kind. It marked the end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era.
    The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took lead. It seemed certain that she would be the first ship home, but during the race she had a lot of bad luck. In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away. The Cutty Sark rolled from side to side and it became impossible to steer her. A temporary rudder was made on board from spare planks and it was fitted with great difficulty. This greatly reduced the speed of the ship, for there was a danger that if she traveled too quickly, this rudder would be torn away as well. Because of this, the Cutty Sark lost her lead. After crossing the Equator, the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted, but by now the Thermopylae was over five hundred miles ahead. Though the new rudder was fitted at tremendous speed, it was impossible for the Cutty Sark to win. She arrived in England a week after the Thermopylae. Even this was remarkable, considering that she had had so many delays. These is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily.

New words and expressions 生词和短语

     impressive
adj. 给人深刻印象的

     steamship
n.   蒸汽轮船

     vessel
n.   轮船，大木船

     era
n.   时期，时代

     Java
n.   爪哇（印度尼西亚一岛）

     rudder
n.   舵

     roll
v.   颠簸，摇摆

     steer
v.   掌握方向

     temporary
adj. 临时的

     plank
n.   大块木板

     fit
v.   安装

     Equator
n.   赤道

     delay
n.   耽误

参考译文

    人们在格林威治仍可看到19世纪最有名的帆船之一“卡蒂萨克”号。它停在陆地上，每年接待成千上万的参观者。它给人们留下深刻的印象，使人们回忆起历史上的巨型帆船，在蒸汽船取代帆船之前。“卡蒂萨克”号之类的帆船被用来从中国运回茶叶，从澳大利亚运回羊毛。“卡蒂萨克”号是帆船制造史上建造的最快的一艘帆船。唯一可以与之一比高低的是“塞姆皮雷”号帆船。两船于1872年6月18日同时从上海启航驶往英国，途中展开了一场激烈的比赛。这场比赛持续了整整4个月，是这类比赛中的最后一次，它标志着帆船伟大传统的结束与一个新纪元的开始。
    比赛开始后，“赛姆皮雷”号率先抵达爪哇岛。但在印度洋上，“卡萨萨克”号驶到了前面。看来，它首先返抵英国是确信无疑的了，但它却在比赛中连遭厄运。8月份“卡蒂萨克”号遭到一场特大风暴的袭击，失去了一只舵。船身左右摇晃，无法操纵。船员用备用的木板在船上赶制了一只应急用的舵，并克服重重困难将舵安装就位，这样一来，大大降低了船的航速。因为船不能开得太快，否则就有危险，应急舵也会被刮走。因为这个缘故，“卡蒂萨克”号落到了后面。跨越赤道后，船长将船停靠在一个港口，在那儿换了一只舵。但此时，“赛姆皮雷”号早已在500多英里之遥了。尽管换装新舵时分秒必争，但“卡蒂萨克”号已经不可能取胜了，它抵达英国时比“塞姆皮雷”号晚了1个星期。但考虑到路上的多次耽搁，这个成绩也已很不容易了。毫无疑问，如果中途没有失去舵， “卡帝萨克”号肯定能在比赛中轻易夺冠。

New words and expression 生词和短语

Impressive  adj.给人深刻印象的

scene  n.现场, 场面, 情景  -- This is the impressive scene.  这是给人深刻印象的一幕

impression  n.印象

-- make a lasting impression to sb.  给人以不可磨灭的印象

-- have a false impression of sb.  对某人有错误的看法

-- gave sb. impression that…  给某人…的印象

impress  vt.留下印象  -- What impressed me most is your diligence.（n.勤奋）

impress sb with…  用…给某人留下深刻的印象  -- you impressed me with your beautiful clothes.

Steamship  n.蒸汽轮船

Vessel  n.轮船, 大木船（非常正式的表达方式, 用于文学体中, 可以代替ship、boat）

-- a fishing vessel  /  a sailing vessel帆船

Ship  n.大船；舰艇

Boat  n.小船, 艇（比ship小, 在非正式的场合可以替换）  -- a fishing boat

Era  n.时期, 时代（= a period time in history）

-- the beginning of the new era  /  the end of old era

Era   n.时代, 纪元（人类历史上很长的时期, 以特别的事件为标志）

-- The Christian era starts with the birth of Christ. 公元(基督教时代)是从耶稣诞生起算。

-- Christian  n.基督徒, 信徒 adj.基督教的, 信基督教的

-- We are now in a great new era of information. 我们现在正处于一个新的伟大的信息时代。

Time  n.时代, 时期（比era的时间短）

-- Roman time 罗马时代 /  ancient time 古代 

Age  n.时代（特定的历史阶段, 和其它词构成专有名词）

-- stone age 石器时代 /  modern age 当今时代 /  middle ages 中世纪

Java  n.爪哇（印度尼西亚一岛）

Rudder  n.舵

Roll  v.颠簸, 摇摆

Steer  v.掌握方向（驾驶交通工具）

-- He steer the boat suddenly. 他突然改变了这艘船的方向。

Drive  vt.驾驶马车、汽车、火车

Pilot  vt.驾驶飞机、轮船

Temporary  adj.临时的（= lasting for a short/limited time）

-- temporary jobs  /  temporary houses

temporarily  adv.暂时的, 临时的

temporariness  n.暂时

transient  adj.短暂的, 瞬时的

-- transient happiness

permanent  adj.永久的, 持久的

-- I have a permanent job here.  我在这里有一个永久的工作。

Contemporary  adj. 当代的, 同时代的, 同年龄的

-- He is a contemporary writer.

Plank  n.大块木板

Fit  v.安装

Equator  n.赤道

Delay  n.耽误

winning

Australia  n.澳洲, 澳大利亚

Exactly  adv.正好, 恰好, 十分, 确切地, 精确地

Tradition  n.传统, 惯例

Indian  adj.印度的, 印度人的, 印第安人的 n.印度人, 印第安人, 印第安语

tear  vt.vi.（tore, torn, tearing）

storm  n.暴风雨, 暴风雪

danger  n.危险                      port  n.港, 港口

win  vt.vi.（won, won, winning）

Text 课文

What piece of bad luck prevented the Cutty Sark from winning the race?

One of the most famous sailing ships of the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark, can still be

seen at Greenwich.

One of the most famous…  最著名的…之一

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