question_answer

The great ship Titanic sailed for New York from South Hampton on April 10th, 1912. It was carrying 1316 passengers and a crew of 891. Even by modern standards, the Titanic was a colossal ship. In speed, in comfort, in beauty, in equipment, it was a masterpiece. At that time, however, it was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for it had sixteen water-tight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded, it would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for it went down on her maiden voyage with a heavy loss of life.

Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic, a huge iceberg was suddenly spotted. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic just turned in time, narrowly missing the immense wall of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water besides it. Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below. The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged. The captain went down to see what had happened. He realised to his horror that the Titanic was smoking rapidly. Five of her sixteen water-light compartments had already been flooded. The order to abandon the ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there Were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1500 lives were lost.

The Titanic was regarded as unsinkable because:

A) it was a huge ship.

B) it had sixteen water-tight compartments.

C) it was a modern equipment.

D) it had a remarkable speed.

E) None of these