VOA慢速英语--300年沉船细节被公布

New Details of Sunken Treasure Ship Released

New details about a 300-year-old sunken treasure ship were released this week with permission from groups involved in the search effort, including Colombia’s government.

The wreck¹ of the Spanish ship San Jose was discovered in November 2015 with the help of a robotic device, an autonomous² underwater vehicle. It is based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the United States.

The institution reported details of the discovery on Monday.

Rob Munier works for WHOI, which is a private, not-for-profit group. He said, “We’ve been holding this under wraps out of respect for the Colombian government.”

The exact place where the San Jose went down was a mystery for more than three centuries. It is sometimes called the “holy grail” of shipwrecks⁴.

By any measure, the sailing ship was very large in size and the treasure it held. The three-masted ship was carrying gold, silver and jewels when it sank. The San Jose had 62 large guns. But it was sunk on June 8, 1708 with 600 people in a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession.

The San Jose may be the largest treasure ship ever found. Some suggest all the valuables could be worth as much as $17 billion.

The WHOI was invited to join the search because of its expertise⁵ in deep sea exploration.

Crews used an autonomous underwater vehicle called the REMUS 6000. It helped find the wreckage⁶ of an Air France passenger airplane in 2009. The plane crashed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Brazil.

The REMUS 6000 discovered the wreck of the San Jose in more than 600 meters of water in November 2015. It took sonar images of the ship.

The vehicle then got within 9 meters of the wreck to take pictures. Some of these include dolphin engravings on the San Jose’s cannons⁸.

Mike Purcell is an engineer for the Woods Hole institution and was a leader in the search effort. He said the wreck is partly covered with sediment⁹. But he said the images were good enough to show identifying markings.

Rob Munier received a telephone call from Purcell, but was far from the shipwreck³. “It was a pretty strong feeling of gratification to finally find it,” Munier said. “It was a great moment.”

However, ownership of the treasure is the subject of legal battles. The Associated Press reports that there are legal cases involving nations and private companies over claims to the shipwreck.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has called on Colombia not to exploit the historic shipwreck for financial gain.

Colombia has not signed the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The treaty requires countries to follow international rules and to inform UNESCO of what will be done with shipwrecks.

For now, the San Jose remains¹⁰ at the sea bottom. Where it rests is a state secret for Colombia.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

under wraps –adj. something that is being withheld¹¹ or hidden for a later time

holy grail – (literary) n. something that is greatly desired but is very hard to get

mast – n. a tall pole on a sailing ship that supports a sail or sails

sonar – n. a device that uses sound waves to find things underwater

engravings –n. details that are cut into the surface of wood, stone or metal

cannon⁷ – n. a large, heavy run

sediment – n. material that sinks to the bottom of water forming a layer

gratification – n. a feeling of being happy or satisfied with something

moment – n. a point in time

exploit – v. to use up, often in an unfair way

1 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

2 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

3 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

4 shipwrecks   

海难，船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 )； 沉船

参考例句：

• Shipwrecks are apropos of nothing. 船只失事总是来得出人意料。
• There are many shipwrecks in these waters. 在这些海域多海难事件。

5 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

6 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

7 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。

8 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》

9 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

10 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。

11 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》