英语听力精选进阶版 14404

Titanic¹ letter sells for ￡119,000

Summary

28 April 2014

The last letter to be written on the ill-fated Titanic has sold for ￡119,000 at auction².

It was written by survivors³ Esther Hart and her young daughter hours before the ship hit an iceberg⁴ and sank in 1912.

Reporter:

Duncan Kennedy

Report

Esther Hart sat down with her seven-year-old daughter Eva to write the letter just eight hours or so before the Titanic hit the iceberg. It was for her mother in London. And in it Mrs Hart wrote that they were enjoying what she called "the wonderful journey". 

She said they were likely to arrive in New York early because of the speed at which the ship was travelling. 

The letter ended up in the coat pocket of her husband Benjamin and only survived because he gave her the coat to keep warm. He died along with more than 1,500 others. 

Titanic memorabilia continues to be big business. A menu on the day of the disaster was recently sold for ￡76,000 whilst⁵ a violin, played as the ship sank, went for ￡900,000.

1 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

5 whilst   

conj.一边...一边，当...的时候，同时，时时

参考例句：

• She sang whilst she worked.她边干活边唱歌。
• There was dead silence in the court,whilst the white rabbit read out these verses.当白兔子念诗的时候，法庭上鸦雀无声。