英文原版对话1000个:1222 Shipwrecks

 　　Jana: So, Peter, I've been asking you about hunting for treasure. Can I ask you a few more questions?

　　Peter: Sure.

　　Jana: So why are there so many sunken ships in South Africa?

　　Peter: Well I guess around the southern tip of Africa because of the really bad weather. It really changes really quickly in those parts and with the ancient ships I guess they weren't really prepared for that kind of weather, it's unexpected, so I think that's probably one reason. And I think one of the other reasons is probably piracy¹, people that were after them, the loot I guess if you want to put it that way, yeah.

　　Jana: Right, and if it's so dangerous, how do people find these sunken ships nowadays?

　　Peter: I think, obviously with technological² advances it's easier to track where the, possibly where these sunken ships might be. I think they can use satellite navigation and things like that but obviously also finding out more about history and, you know, going through historical records and finding out the old shipping³ routes and possibly where ships got lost and finding it that way, I think, is now, is more easier than it used to be.

　　Jana: So it sounds like an interesting combination of technology, science, history...

　　Peter: I would guess so.

　　Jana: Adventure.

　　Peter: Adventure, yeah.

　　Jana: So your friend does this as a hobby. Do you know if it's very expensive? Is it a big investment to...?

　　Peter: As far as I remember what he told me and I think it's really expensive and they formed a little company to start off with but because it involves so much searching and basically doing historical research, also doing a lot of preparation and technological preparation and finding, first tracking, sorry first finding places where possible finds may be and then actually preparing equipment and some of it's really deep sea diving so it involves, I think, a lot of initial capital investment to get it going. Obviously there might be a lot of return when they actually find something but I think in many cases they don't find as much as they expected so there's a potential for losing a lot of money so you'd have to have quite a bit of capital investment behind you if you start out.

　　Jana: Right. So you need a lot of courage and a lot of money?

　　Peter: Yes. But I think he's an adventurer so he, I think he goes where adventure leads him so it would be a nice job to do I think.

1 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

2 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。