The Titanic´s 100th Anniversary

A look back in history: The sinking of the Titanic.

At 11:40 p.m. on 14 April 1912 during the Titanic´s maiden voyage, it hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. The iceberg broke the Titanic´s hull (bottom), letting water come into the ship. The Titanic sank two hours and forty minutes later at 2:20 a.m. on 15 April.

As it sank, the Titanic split in two. It killed more than 1,500 people. Only about 705 people survived. It was one of the worst shipwrecks that was not during a war.

One reason why so many people died was because the ship did not have enough lifeboats. Women and children were allowed on the lifeboats first, and passengers who sailed in first class (which meant that they paid for better rooms on the ship) were allowed on before other passengers.

Another reason so few people survived was that the radio was off on the ship Carpathia closest to the Titanic, and the crew did not hear about the accident.

The Titanic disaster changed shipping laws. It included requiring all ships to carry enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship, and for ships to have someone at the radio all the time.

The story of the sinking has been made into several movies, as everybody knows. The most popular film version is a 1997 film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, called Titanic. It won 11 Academy Awards.

As this year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking, "tempting fate", a cruise sets sail on 8 April from Southampton. It will follow the Titanic´s original itinerary. 

 Source: Wikipedia

Tasks:

1. Revise the types of boats you know and the different functions they have. Then place a cross (X) in the correct column for the type of boat.  

       TYPE             FUNCTION

	For Work	For travel	For life-saving	For living	For pleasure
Lifeboat
Cruise ship
Model boat
Yacht
Hydrofoil
Catamaran
Ferry

Time for Pau Exam!
Read the text and answer the questions about it.

The Titanic

The great ship Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on  April 10th 1912. She was carrying 1, 316 passengers and a crew of 891. Even by modern standards, the 46,000-tons Titanic was a colossal ship. At the time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been time, but was regarded as unsinkable, or She had sixteen watertight compartments, even if two of these were flooded, She would still be able to float, the tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for She went down on her first voyage with 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  suddendly spotted by a lookout. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic turned just in time, narrowingly missing the inmense wall of ice, which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddendly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened.

The noise had been so faint that no one thought that the ship had been damaged. Below, the captain realised to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of the sixteen watertight compartments had already flooded! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there was not enough lifeboat for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.

Questions

1. Add True or False, quoting the relevant evidence from the text.
1. Two of the watertight compartments were flooded. T / F
2. The sound from the bottom of the ship was strong enough to know something serious had happened.T / F

2. Answer the following questions according to the information given in the text. Use your own words.
1. Which were the three decisive factors for the heavy loss of lives?
2. Why did the ship turn sharply?

3. Find synonyms in the text for these words or expressions:
1. hermetic spaces to prevent water entrance. (noun)
2.  inundated. (adj)
3. weak. (adj)
4. watchman. (noun)

4. Rewrite the following sentences, the meaning should be the same as that of the sentence above.
1. It was known that the Titanic was carrying 1,316 passengers and a crew of 891.
The Titanic ...........................................

2. Make a question for this answer:

.................................................................? 1.500 lives were lost.

3. Join the sentences with a relative:

The Titanic sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th 1912. She was carrying 1.316 passengers and a crew of 891.

The Titanic ................................................

4. The tragic sinking of the Titanic was remembered, because She went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of lives.

If She .............................................................

5. Write a composition (80-120 words) on one of the following topics. Specify your choice.
1. Write a review of the film Titanic.

2. Write about a voyage in a great ship.