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  3. For a decade, metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic have argued that the storied ocean liner went down quickly after hi

For a decade, metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic have argued that the storied ocean liner went down quickly after hi

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问题     For a decade, metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic have argued that the storied ocean liner went down quickly after hitting an iceberg because the ship’s builder used substandard rivets(铆钉)that popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. More than 1,500 people died.
    Now a team of scientists has moved into deeper waters, uncovering evidence in the builder’s own archives of a deadly mix of great ambition and use of low-quality iron that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago Tuesday.
    The scientists found that the ship’s builder, Harland and Wolff, in Belfast, struggled for years to obtain adequate supplies of rivets and riveters to build the world’s three biggest ships at once: the Titanic and two sisters, Olympic and Britannic. Each required three million rivets and shortages peaked during Titanic’s construction.
    "The board was in crisis mode," said Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a member of the team that studied the company’s archive and other evidence. "It was constant stress. Every meeting it was, ’there’s problem with the rivets, and we need to hire more people.’"
    The team collected other clues from 48 Titanic rivets, using modern tests, computer simulations, comparisons to century-old metals and careful documentation of what engineers and shipbuilders of the era considered state of the art.
    The scientists say the troubles began when the colossal plans forced Harland and Wolff to reach beyond its usual suppliers of rivet iron and include smaller forges, as disclosed in company and British government papers. Small forges tended to have less skill and experience.
    Adding to the threat, the company, in buying iron for Titanic’s rivets, ordered No. 3 bar, known as "best," not No. 4, known as "best-best," the scientists found. They also discovered that shipbuilders of the day typically used No. 4 iron for anchors, chains and rivets. So the liner, whose name was meant to be synonymous with opulence, in at least one instance relied on cheap materials.
    Many of the rivets studied by the scientists—recovered from the Titanic’s resting place two miles down in the North Atlantic by divers over two decades—were found to be riddled with high concentrations of slag. A glassy residue of smelting slag can make rivets brittle and prone to fracture.
    The company also faced shortages of skilled riveters, the archives showed. Dr. McCarty said that for a half year, from late 1911 to April 1912, when the Titanic set sail, the company’s board discussed the problem at every meeting. For instance, on Oct. 28, 1911, Lord William Pirrie, the company’s chairman, expressed concern over the lack of riveters and called for new hiring efforts.
    The scientists argue that better rivets would have probably kept the Titanic afloat long enough for rescuers to have arrived before the icy plunge, saving hundreds of lives.
According to the text, the followings contribute to the wreck of Titanic except______.
选项 A、the company didn’t resort to steel rivets in Titanic
B、small forges employed by the company lacked good riveting skills
C、some material the company bought was not rivet quality
D、proficient riveters were far from suffice
答案A
解析 属事实细节题。选项B、选项C、选项D在文章的第六段、第七段和第九段被提到，即文章认为泰坦尼克号沉船的原因是造船商缺乏熟练的铆钉匠、雇佣小铁匠铺打造不合格铆钉以及公司购买的铁料并非最上乘的。选项A在文中没有提到，并且也不符合事实，泰坦尼克号上装有钢制的铆钉，只不过都装在了船体中间的部分。故正确答案为A。
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考研英语一

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