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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.
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
选项 A、Scientists May Have Found Titanic’s Weak Link
B、In Weak Rivets, a Possible Key to Titanic’s Doom
C、The Riddle of Titanic
D、Harland and Wolff, Sinner of Titanic
答案B
解析 属主旨思想题。主旨题考查的是考生捕获整体信息的能力，解题方法是回顾各段主要内容，然后对整篇主题予以概括和提炼。标题往往是文章抽象的概括。选项B涵盖了文章的两大主题词“铆钉”和“泰坦尼克号”，是文章最合适的题目。选项A和C过于笼统，而选项D过于夸张，故都不可选。
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考研英语一

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