 It's perhaps the world's most famous underwater attraction, immortalized in film and in legend: the Titanic.
But now experts say the ocean liner, once a wonder of the high seas, is falling to pieces. Capt. Alfred McLaren, the scientist who in July led the most recent expedition to the ship's underwater grave, said his team saw clear signs of the wreck's accelerating decay. There was damage likely caused by rust and sea life, and the captain's captain had collapsed. "I was absolutely astonished," McLaren said. Worse still, the fallen mast that crushed the ship's deck is believed by many to be the result of an unapproved salvage operation. "It was almost depressing to see how quickly she was deteriorating," McLaren says. "I would be really surprised if there's very much standing up from the bottom, two decades from now." Ed Kamuda, who runs the Titanic Historical Society in Springfield, Mass., says adventure tourists - who pay ,000 each to visit the wreck - are also contributing to the crumbling of the Titanic. "This is something I expected. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly," Kamuda said. "People are going down just as an ego trip to say 'I was there.' All this takes a toll on the ship." The Titanic has sat at the bottom of the Atlantic since it sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912. More than 1,500 people died that night. The ship came to rest at the bottom of the frigid North Atlantic, more than 2 miles beneath the waves. The wreck was discovered in 1985, and since then it has been repeatedly visited by treasure hunters. But still some scientists say those divers, and other thrill seekers are not necessarily to blame for the Titanic's current woes. Capt. Craig McLean of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went on an expedition to the Titanic in June as part of a government study that is monitoring the condition of the ship. He says it's unclear what part of the damage is from Mother Nature and which is from human nature. "It's too early and there is insufficient evidence to put our fingers on anything," McLean said. Regardless, most agree there's little that can be done for this most famous of wrecks. And soon, the mighty Titanic could well be lost again. （Agencies） | 它也許是世界上最著名的水下景點(diǎn)，它的名字在電影和傳說中經(jīng)久不衰。它，就是泰坦尼克。 然而最近，專家們提出這艘一度被譽(yù)為海上奇跡的遠(yuǎn)洋客輪正在逐漸解體。 今年七月，科學(xué)家阿爾弗雷德·麥克拉倫船長率領(lǐng)考察隊(duì)對(duì)海底的泰坦尼克號(hào)遺骸進(jìn)行了最近一次的考察。他說考察隊(duì)看到輪船殘骸有明顯加快腐爛的跡象。可能是鐵銹和海洋生物損壞了這艘船，船長的指揮艙也已經(jīng)倒塌了。 “我真是大吃一驚，”麥克拉倫說。 更糟糕的是，許多人都認(rèn)為桅桿倒下來壓碎輪船甲板是由未經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)的打撈行動(dòng)造成的。 “看到泰坦尼克號(hào)這樣迅速衰敗，我們都很郁悶。要是在二十年后還能從殘骸中找到?jīng)]有被腐蝕的東西，我會(huì)非常驚訝。” 麥克拉倫說。 馬薩諸塞州斯普林菲爾德泰坦尼克歷史協(xié)會(huì)會(huì)長埃德·卡穆達(dá)船長說，那些每人出三萬六千美元參觀泰坦尼克號(hào)殘骸的探險(xiǎn)游客也是促使泰坦尼克號(hào)解體的原因之一。 “這是預(yù)料之中的，但是我沒想到它來得這么快。人們到海底去參觀泰坦尼克號(hào)只是為了滿足個(gè)人欲望，說一聲‘我到此一游’，而所有這些都讓泰坦尼克付出了代價(jià)。” 1912年4月14日，泰塔尼克號(hào)在它的首次航行中不幸撞上冰山而沉入大西洋底，1500多人在那晚離開了這個(gè)世界。 泰塔尼克號(hào)沉睡在冰冷的北大西洋海底，距離海面有兩英里。它的殘骸在1985年被發(fā)現(xiàn)，從那時(shí)起，就有探寶者不斷光顧。 盡管這樣，仍然有一些科學(xué)家聲稱潛水者和冒險(xiǎn)家們并不一定要對(duì)泰塔尼克號(hào)目前的不幸負(fù)責(zé)。 美國國家海洋及大氣管理局的克雷格·麥克林六月對(duì)泰坦尼克號(hào)進(jìn)行了一次考察。這是政府研究的一部分，用于監(jiān)測(cè)輪船狀況。他說目前還不清楚哪些損害是由于自然力造成的，哪些是人為造成的。 “目前想要明確指出損害原因還為時(shí)過早，而且證據(jù)也不充分。” 麥克拉倫說。 無論如何，大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)為對(duì)于這個(gè)最著名的沉船人們已經(jīng)無能為力。不久的將來，這艘巨大的泰坦尼克號(hào)可能會(huì)再一次消失。 （中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2003-08-20 01:00
