海底兩萬里 第9期 第1章 飛走的暗礁(9)

In twenty-six years Cunard ships have made 2,000 Atlantic crossings without so much as a voyage canceled,

二十六年來，茍納爾公司的船在大西洋上航行了兩千次，沒有一次航行不達目的地，

a delay recorded, a man, a craft, or even a letter lost.

沒有一次發(fā)生遲誤，從沒有遺失過一封信，損失過一個人或一只船。

Accordingly, despite strong competition from France, passengers still choose the Cunard line in preference to all others,

因此,盡管法國竭力要搶它的生意，但是乘客們都一致愿意搭茍納爾公司的船，

as can be seen in a recent survey of official documents.

這點從近年來官方的統(tǒng)計文獻中就可以看出來。

Given this, no one will be astonished at the uproar provoked by this accident involving one of its finest steamers.

了解這情形以后，便沒有人奇怪這家公司的一只汽船遭遇到意外事件會引起那么巨大的反響。

On April 13, 1867, with a smooth sea and a moderate breeze, the Scotia lay in longitude15 degrees 12' and latitude 45 degrees 37'.

1867年4月13日，海很平靜，風又是順風，斯備脫亞號在西經(jīng)15度12分、北緯45度37分的海面上行駛著。

It was traveling at a speed of 13.43 knots under the thrust of its 1,000-horsepower engines.

它在一千匹馬力的發(fā)動機推動下，速度為每小時十三海里半。

Its paddle wheels were churning the sea with perfect steadiness. It was then drawing 6.7 meters of water and displacing 6,624 cubic meters.

它的機輪在海中轉(zhuǎn)動，完全正常。它當時的吃水深度是6米70厘米，排水量是6，685方米。

At 4:17 in the afternoon, during a high tea for passengers gathered in the main lounge, a collision occurred, scarcely noticeable on the whole,

下午四點十六分，乘客們正在大廳中吃點心的時候，在斯各脫亞號船尾、

affecting the Scotia's hull in that quarter a little astern of its port paddle wheel.

左舷機輪后面一點，似乎發(fā)生了輕微的撞擊。