西部落：泰坦尼克号幸存者被重债淹没

Titanic¹ Survivor² Sinks In Debt

Millvina McLean is the last living survivor of the Titanic and, at 96 years old, she has been forced to auction³ off her valuable Titanic souvenirs to pay for her nursing home. Mark Phillips reports.

The ship was brand new and so was Millvina Dean, just 2 months old, the youngest passenger on the Titanic.

"And this is your mother and you."

"Yeah."

But 96 years old Millvina, the last living Titanic survivor needs the luck now she had then.

"I was too small, so I was put in a sack."

"In a sack."

"Yep, and put overboard into the lifeboat."

Mother and daughter were saved, so was her brother. Her father perished. But now Millvina needs another rescue, like a lot of people, she's going broke.

"I don't know have how much you think I have to pay here a month, have a guess."

"I wouldn't aware, ur... 500 pounds."

"3000."

About 5000 dollars for her keep at this nursing home. Millvina is having to auction off her Titanic souvenirs, the suitcase given to her family in New York, the letter offering compensation from the Titanic victim’s fund, a few prints. But another rescue may be at hand. As her story spread, people decided⁴ to help. A printer in the // Virginia.

"I really felt that this was a, this was something that could really pay lasting⁵ tribute to all the people who died on the Titanic."

"I // materialistic⁶, (right.) not the slightest bit, I'm I am now."

Millvina Dean, a survivor then, a survivor now. Mark Phillips, CBS News, Southampton, England.

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 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

3 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。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 materialistic   

a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的

参考例句：

• She made him both soft and materialistic. 她把他变成女性化而又实际化。
• Materialistic dialectics is an important part of constituting Marxism. 唯物辩证法是马克思主义的重要组成部分。