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.
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 sea-chest proved them wrong. What they had in fact found was a ship which had been sunk many years before.
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 sea-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.
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。
尽管船长接了电报，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。
木箱内装有水手艾伦 .菲尔丁的私人财物，其中有书箱、衣服、照片以及水手收到的妻子的来信。“埃 尔科”号船长命令船员们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的途 中突然遭到敌方潜水艇鱼雷的袭击。这一说法在“埃尔科”号返航后得到的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。
captain / skipper
sailor / seaman / mariner
first mate, crew
She was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 89l.
Though the crew were at first under the impression that …
instruct sb. to do …
The editor at once sent the journalist a fax instructing him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.
Mrs. Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door.
give up
abandon the search
stop / cease the search
abort the search
make an attempt to do …
cargo, freight
cargo ship / airplane
freight train
sea bed / sea floor / sea bottom
on board / aboard
All ticketed passengers for Flight 1066 to Athens should now be on board.
I get it!
I’m so excited about having Monica come on board with us.
His experience will be valuable to both of us. Welcome aboard, Malcolm!
be under the impression that …
Sorry, I was under the impression that you were the manager.
give sb. the impression that …
The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me.
be / live under the illusion / delusion that …
Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life.
The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes even men live under the delusion that they can do anything, even when they have repeatedly been proved wrong.
prove+ 宾语 + 宾补
The facts proved their worries unnecessary.
What they had in fact found was a ship which had been sunk many years before.
造句:哥伦布其实发现的不是印度，而是一个全新的大陆，在那里土著居民 (aborigine) 已 经居住了 (inhabit) 两万多年了。
What Columbus had in fact found was not India but a new continent which had been inhabited by aborigines for over twenty thousand years.
clothes
Fine clothes make a man.
clothing
Food, clothing, shelter and transportation are daily necessities.
together with … = along with …
Peter was murdered, together / along with three guards.
These new facts, together / along with the other evidence, prove the prisoner’s innocence.
his men
The general ordered his men to fire.
In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and, …
subordinate
He left the routine check to one of his subordinates.
superior
I’ll pass your complaint on to my superiors.
counterpart
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Barack Obama will hold talks on Monday.
the grassroots
shipwreck
Poor man! — mentally a wreck.
of+ 名词 : 描述人或事物的特征
1、做后置定语。
nothing of value = nothing valuable
a matter of significance = a significant matter
a ship of 46,000 tons
a man of wide social relations
2、在系动词后做表语。
… proved to be of great interest. = proved to be very interesting.
It is of no use = it is useless.
Her dress is of dark crimson.
He is of a peculiar disposition.
a man of middle height
The man is of middle height.
a girl of remarkable imagination
The girl is of remarkable imagination.
from prep. 考虑到，从……来看/判断
From her looks I’d say she was Swedish.
From what I heard the company’s in deep trouble.
From the fragments of statues, the archaeologists realized that the temple must have been a place of worship.
… which was dated March 14th, 1943.
date
a newspaper dated October 1st, 2005
a girl aged 20
a man named John
a novel entitled Three Kingdoms
a movie starring Tom Hanks
The movie starred Tom Hanks
The captain learnt from the letter that the name of the lost ship was the Karen.
“名词 + 介词 + 关系代词” 引导非限定性定语从句
造句:他有两个儿子，其中的一个死于战火。
He has two sons, one of whom died in the war.
造句:演讲者提了 (pose) 四个问题，它们的答案被证明非常具有启发性(illuminating)。 The speaker posed four questions, the answers to which proved very illuminating.
…, parts of which it was still possible to read.
…, parts of which were still possible to read.
Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but it is impossible to erase them. …, but it was impossible to stop the thieves. √
…, but the thieves were impossible to stop. X
He is impossible to deal with. √
…, parts of which could still be read.
…, parts of which were still legible.
piece sth. ↔ together
The police are still trying to piece together the facts.
The archaeologists pieced the fragments together.
reconstruct
When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.
come to light / be brought to light
New evidence in this case has recently come to light. / has recently been brought to light.
cast / shed / throw light on …
These discoveries may cast some light on the origins of the universe.
Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man.
The Karen had been sailing in a convoy to Russia when she was torpedoed by an enemy submarine.
主句(进行时 / be about to do)+ when … “when”应译为“这时”或“突然”
I was having dinner when the phone rang.
I was about to leave when the phone rang.
He was going to the sweet shop when he dropped his fifty pence.
He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.
The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.
The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing case lying on the floor.