NCE-III 第25课 -最后一课，暂别大家, (02/08/2009）

Lesson 25 The Cutty Sark

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.



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 Granich. 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 the 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 of the fastest sailing ships /that have 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 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 the 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. There is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily.

因为有些事情，必须要调整一下计划，糊口还是最重要的。最近一段时间，要暂停读新概念了。等忙完一些事情，再回来重新接着读。我还是会有计划地学着英语的，请关心我的朋友放心。在这里真诚的说声谢谢！谢谢这么多热心的朋友帮助我！ 你们的帮助我会记得！ 也在这里给大家拜个早年，祝你们健康平安，家庭幸福！

所有跟帖： 

• 愿你一切都好,祝你双节快乐.等你回来. -婉蕠- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 06:35:30

• 早点回来～ -小千...千与千寻- ♀ (66 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 07:34:02

• 祝天鹅mm一切顺遂，盼你早日回来~ -lilac09- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 07:49:23

• CO：祝天鹅mm一切顺遂，盼你早日回来~ -天泽园- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 08:12:31

• 啥也不说了，送一首歌 -马奎- ♂ (219 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 16:55:05

• 嗯, 真是撕心裂肺的真情呼唤，swan已经迈不开步了~hiahia -lilac09- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 18:02:48

• 我也跟风送天鹅美眉一首好听的歌！ -小千...千与千寻- ♀ (671 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 19:54:36

• 祝福SWAN！等你回来。 -叶紫荆- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 18:15:49

• Good Luck! Hope you come back soon. -eyeyey- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2010 postreply 19:23:20

• 祝一切顺利！！早日归队！ -XTXD- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2010 postreply 13:51:11