Session 12

 Events that shook the world 

    Even a century later, the " Titanic " disaster is still a good subject   for artists, film-makers and writers. Why? Because it is one of the most intriguing tragedy in the world history . 

    "There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers." said Phillip Franklin,  " White Star Line"  vice-president, in 1912, before the "Titanic " maiden voyage . In spite of these , it sank . Why ? 

    Firstly , there were some problems with the materials used for shipbuilding. A certain kind of steel that became extra brittle in the cold  was used to make the body of the ship . When the " Titanic " hit the iceberg , the steel sheets cracked . 

    Secondly , it is said that the "Titanic " received at least six messages from other vessels in the area warning of drifting ice, but they ignored all of them .More than that the  "Titanic"’s radio operator dismissed an iceberg warning from a nearby ship, the  "California" .

    Thirdly , some people claim that there were not binoculars at the lookouts ,but others argue that even if there had been some binoculars , they wouldn't have helped at night . Also there were not enough lifeboats ( only 1,200 )  for over 2,000 passengers and crew members aboard . 

    In a nutshell, the  cruel sea, the iceberg  and the cold weather took  the lives of 1517 passengers and crew on board .   Just 706 of them survived the ordeal to tell the horrific and sad tale to the world.

 

brittle =    casant / sfaramicios 

dismissal = ignorare 

to dismiss = a ignora/ a da liber 

aboard = la bord 

abroad = in strainatate 

Sources : 

1. https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/get-the-real-truth-reason-behind-the-sinking-of-titanic/

2. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20120402-the-myth-of-the-unsinkable-ship

Conditionals : 

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/conditional-sentences-3