时差N小时 泰坦尼克号为何会撞上冰川?(上)

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic¹, the great ocean liner that struck an iceberg² and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.

大家都知道泰坦尼克号的故事，这艘豪华巨轮因撞上冰山，最后沉入了大西洋。

Less widely known is the iceberg's story: where did it come from, and how did it get in the way of the ship?

但很少有人知晓那座冰山的故事：它从哪儿来？它怎么会出现在泰坦尼克号的航线上？

Although the vast majority of icebergs³ come from the Antarctic region, icebergs found in the North Atlantic,

尽管绝大多数的冰山都来自南极地区，但在北大西洋发现的冰山，

including the one that sank the Titanic, come mostly from the coast of Greenland.

包括撞沉泰坦尼克号的那座冰山，大部分来自于格陵兰岛海岸。

Thousands of years of snowfall on the Greenland ice cap causes the snow to compact and form dense⁴ ice sheets and glaciers⁵.

格陵兰岛上的千年积雪导致冰雪不断压缩，形成了厚厚的冰层和冰川。

The weight of the glaciers and sheets forces them to flow down towards the coast where, at the water's edge,

冰川和冰层的重量迫使它们向海岸处漂移，

warm waves and spring weather weaken the ice, causing pieces to break off and enter the sea as icebergs.

而海岸周围的暖流加上春季导致冰川解体形成冰山，最后流向海洋。

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 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。

3 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）