Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: Did the crew of the Elkor find what they were looking for? Why?
Vocabulary:
salvage v. 救助，营救；打捞
Barents n. 巴伦支（海）
sunken adj. 沉没的
cargo n. 货物
bullion n. 金条；银条
scour v. 彻底搜索
chest n. 大箱子
contents n.（复数）所装的东西
belongings n.（复数）所有物
item n. 物件
cruiser n. 巡洋舰
find n. 找到的物品
log book 航海日志
piece v. 拼成整体
convoy n. 护航
torpedo v. 用鱼雷攻击
submarine n. 潜水艇
naval adj. 海军的
ministry n. （政府的）部
Passage:
The salvage operation had been a complete failure. The small ship, Elkor, which had
been searching the Barents Sea for weeks, was on its way home. A radio message
from the mainland had been received by the ship's captain instructing him to give up
the search. The captain knew that another attempt would be made later, for the sunken
ship he was trying to find had been carrying a precious cargo of gold bullion.
打捞工作彻底失败了。小船“埃尔科”号在巴伦支海搜寻了几个星期之后，正在返
航途中。返航前，该船船长收到了大陆上发来的电报，指示他们放弃这次搜寻。
船长知道日后还会再作尝试，因为他试图寻找的沉船上载有一批珍贵的金条。
Notes:
1 on its way home, 返航途中。
2 for the sunken ship he was trying to find …,for 作“因为”讲，引导并列句； he was
trying to find 是定语从句修饰主语 ship。
Despite the message, the captain of the Elkor decided to try once more. The sea bed
was scoured with powerful nets and there was tremendous excitement on board when
a chest was raised from the bottom. Though the crew were at first under the
impression that the lost ship had been found, the contents of the chest proved them
wrong. What they had in fact found was a ship which had been sunk many years
before.
尽管船长接到了电报，他还是决定再试一试。他们用结实的网把海床搜索了一遍。
当一只箱子从海底被打捞上来时，甲板上人们激动不已。船员们开始认为沉船找
着了，但海底沉箱内的物品证明他们弄错了。事实上，他们发现的是另一艘沉没
多年的船。
The chest contained the personal belongings of a seaman, Alan Fielding. There were
books, clothing and photographs, together with letters which the seaman had once
received from his wife. The captain of the Elkor ordered his men to salvage as much
as possible from the wreck. Nothing of value was found, but the numerous items
which were brought to the surface proved to be of great interest. From a heavy gun
that was raised, the captain realized that the ship must have been a cruiser. In another
chest, which contained the belongings of a ship's officer, there was an unfinished
letter which had been written on March 14th, 1943. The captain learnt from the letter
that the name of the lost ship was the Karen. The most valuable find of all was the
ship's log book, parts of which it was still possible to read. From this the captain was
able to piece together all the information that had come to light. The Karen had been
sailing in a convoy to Russia when she was torpedoed by an enemy submarine. This
was later confirmed by a naval official at the Ministry of Defence after the Elkor had
returned home. All the items that were found were sent to the War Museum.
木箱内装有水手艾伦·菲尔丁的私人财物，其中有书籍、衣服、照片以及水手收
到的妻子的来信。“埃尔科”号船长命令船员尽量从沉船中打捞物品，但没发现什
么值钱的东西，不过打捞出来的众多的物品还是引起了大家极大的兴趣。从捞起
的一门大炮来看，船长认为那艘船一定是艘巡洋舰。另一只海底沉箱中装的是船
上一位军官的财物，其中有一封写于 1943 年 3 月 14 日的信，但没有写完。从这
封信中船长了解到沉船船名是“卡伦”号。打捞到的东西中最有价值的是船上的航
海日志，其中有一部分仍然清晰可读。据此，船长可以将所有的那些已经搞清的
材料拼凑起来。“卡伦”号当年在为其他船只护航驶往俄国途中突然遭到敌方潜水
艇鱼雷的袭击。这一说法在“埃尔科”号返航后得到国防部一位海军官员的证实。
那次打捞到的所有物品均被送往军事博物馆。
Notes:
3 under the impression that，以为，认为。
4 be of great interest，很有趣。
5 parts of which it was possible to read, which 指先行词 log book，所引起的是定语
从句，it 是形式主语，不定式 to 是真实主语，parts of which 作 read 的宾语。
6 piece together …（或 piece… together），作“综合”“拼凑”讲。come to light，被
摘清，被知道。
7 War Museum ，军事博物馆。指伦敦的帝国军事博物馆，其中展出第一次世界
大战和第二次世界大战的军事物品。
32.2【阅读理解】A lost ship
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 Had the salvage operation been a complete failure? (Yes, it had)
2 Which sea had the ship been searching? (The Barents Sea.)
3 Who had received a radio message from the mainland? (The ship's captain.)
4 What had the message instructed him to do? (Give up the search.)
5 What had the captain been trying to find? (A sunken ship.)
6 What had it been carrying? (A precious cargo of gold bullion.)
7 Did the captain of the Elkor decide to try once more? (Yes, he did.)
8 What was raised from the bottom of the sea? (A chest.)
9 Were the crew excited? (Yes, they were.)
10 What did they think they had found? (The lost ship)
11 What proved them wrong? (The contents of the chest.)
12 What did the chest contain? (The personal belongings of a seaman, Alan Fielding)
13 What did the personal belongings consist of? (Books, clothes, photographs and
letters.)
14 What did the captain of the Elkor order his men to do? (Salvage as much as
possible.)
15 Was anything of value found? (No, it wasn't.)
16 Why did the captain think that the lost ship had been a cruiser? (Because they
brought up a heavy gun.)
17 In a chest which had belonged to a ship's officer they found an unfinished letter.
What was the date on it? (March 14th, 1943.)
18 What was the name of the ship? (The Karen.)
19 What had happened to her? (She had been torpedoed by an enemy submarine.)
20 Where had she been sailing to at the time? (To Russia.)
21 Lots of items were found. Where were they all sent? (To the War Museum.)
32.3【拓展写作】A lost ship
Step 3: Composition
In not more than 250 words write the page of Karen's log book which was dated
March 14th, 1943. Use the ideas given below. Do not write more than four
paragraphs.
Title: The last day.
Introduction: Journey has gone well so far--convoy successfully fought off an air
attack --early morning—no ships lost.
Development and Conclusion: 10 a.m. First attack by U-boat --ship ahead, the
Dauntless sunk --men in sea—Karen picked up survivors --720 men--50 lives
lost--crowded on board--attack on U-boat--puts it out of action with depth
charges--3.15 p.m. (last entry) -- second U-boat attack…
Key to composition
A possible answer
The last day
The journey has gone well so far. We are now on the way to Russia and hope that
we shall arrive with no more problems. But we are watching the sea and sky. The
convoy successfully fought off an air attack early this morning. No ships were lost
and we managed to shoot down three enemy aircraft before they broke off the attack.
At 10 a.m. this morning we were attacked by a U-boat. This was the first time we
had been attacked and for most men on board this was the first time they had been in
action at sea. We were fortunate, but the ship ahead of us, the Dauntless, was
torpedoed and sunk. After the ship sank, there were hundreds of men in the sea. We
picked up as many survivors as we could in the Karen. In fact, in the end, we picked
up 720 men, which meant that 50 men lost their lives in the attack on the Dauntless.
The Karen was packed with men, many crowded on the open decks, when we
turned and attacked the U-boat, depth charges were dropped and the U-boat was put
out of action.
It is now 3.15 p.m., the light is already beginning to fade and storm clouds are
gathering. We are about to be attacked by a second U-boat, this time from the north.
The captain has just announced--
(239 words)
课外练习：
1 Why had the salvage operation been a complete failure?
(a) They had failed to locate the ship they had been sent to look for.
(b) They had not succeeded in finding the Barents Sea.
(c) They had found the wrong ship.
(d) The captain had not understood his instructions.
2 In ordering as much as possible to be salvaged from the wreck, the captain
__________.
(a) expected to find some of the gold bullion
(b) hoped, among other things, to establish the identity of the ship
(c) thought he would find out that the ship had been a cruiser
(d) was looking for more information concerning the dead seaman
3 The log book was the most important find because it .
(a) helped to explain how the warship had come to be sunk in the Barents Sea
(b) contained a written account of how the Karen had been torpedoed
(c) provided vital information as to the ship's whereabouts
(d) gave the Ministry of Defence information it had known nothing about
4 The captain knew that the only attempt.
(a) it was not
(b) his had not been
(c) his would not be
(d) it had not been
5 It was a ship which had been sunk many years before in fact found.
(a) what they had
(b) that they had
(c) had been
(d) which was
6 They did not find .
(a) nothing of value
(b) a valuable thing
(c) any value
(d) anything valuable
7 – parts of which .
(a) it could still be read
(b) it could still read
(c) could still be read
(d) could still read
8 After the Elkor had returned home, a naval official .
(a) had this later confirmed at the Ministry of Defence
(b) confirmed this at the Ministry of Defence
(c) at the Ministry of Defence confirmed this
(d) later at the Ministry of Defence confirmed this
9 The ship's captain had received instructions to give up the search a radio
message from the mainland.
(a) on
(b) by
(c) with
(d) in
10 There were books, clothing and photographs, letters...
(a) including
(b) along with
(c) added to
(d) beside
11 - an unfinished letter which was March 14th, 1943.
(a) inscribed
(b) marked
(c) dated
(d) posted on
12 -all the information that had .
(a) emerged
(b) alighted
(c) arisen
(d surfaced
答案：1a 2b 3a 4c 5b 6d 7c 8c 9d 10b 11c 12a