VOA慢速英语2014 Iron Ships Clash at Sea

 

Iron Ships Clash at Sea

From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation. 

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise.

The American Civil War was fought not only on land, but at sea. In 1862, Confederate and Union forces fought a new kind of navy battle in waters off Hampton Roads, Virginia. It was the first battle between iron ships.

On the Confederate side was a ship called the Virginia. It was built from the remains¹ of a captured Union warship² called the Merrimack.

The Virginia was like no other warship ever seen in the world. It was 80 meters long. The part that showed above the water was built of wood 60 centimeters thick. That wood was covered with sheets of iron 10 centimeters thick.

Ten windows were cut into the sides of the Virginia. Behind each window was a cannon³. In a battle, the windows opened, the cannons⁴ fired, and the windows closed again.

At the front of the ship was a sharp point of iron that could break through the sides of wooden ships.

The Virginia could not move fast. It took almost 30 minutes to turn around. Still, there seemed to be no way to stop this iron monster. It already had destroyed two Union warships⁵. And it was coming back for more.

The Union ship chosen to fight the Virginia was the Monitor. It, too, was covered with iron. But it was much smaller than the Virginia. And it carried only two cannons.

These big guns, however, were on a part of the ship that could turn in a complete circle. They could be aimed in any direction.

The Monitor and the Virginia faced each other on the morning of March 9, 1862. They moved in close -- very close -- and began to fire.

A Confederate cannon ball hit the iron side of the Monitor and bounced away. Union sailors cheered. The cannons of the Virginia could do no damage! But the Union sailors soon discovered that their cannons could do no damage, either.

The men inside the two ships suffered from noise, heat and smoke. The roar of their own cannons was extremely loud. Even louder was the crash of enemy cannon balls and explosive shells on the iron walls.

Some of the men suffered burst eardrums. At least one man was struck unconscious from the force of a cannon ball against the iron. The men quickly learned to stay away from the walls.

Smoke from the cannons filled the ships. Then it floated out over the water. At times, the two ships could not see each other.

The Virginia and the Monitor fought for three hours. Neither ship recorded an important hit. Neither suffered serious damage.

Then the cannons of the Virginia fell silent. It had used all its gunpowder⁶. It also had used much of its fuel. It was lighter⁷ now and was floating higher in the water. A well-aimed cannon ball could hit below its iron covering and sink it.

The Confederate captain decided⁸ to withdraw. The Union captain, too, was ready to end the battle. He decided not to follow.

Neither the Virginia nor the Monitor could claim victory at Hampton Roads. But the Monitor prevented the Virginia from destroying any more Union ships. And their battle marked the beginning of the end of the world's wooden navies.

Words in This Story

sheets - n. thin, flat pieces

monster - n. something unusually large

eardrums - n. thin, tightly stretched pieces of tissue in the ear that move back and forth⁹ when sound waves hit them

unconscious - adj. not awake, usually because of an injury

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

3 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

4 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

6 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 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。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。