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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 is not true about Harland and Wolff?
选项 A、It stretched to the limit as it struggled to build the world’s three biggest ships simultaneously.
B、Harland and Wolff should claim full responsibility for Titanic’s wreck.
C、It is a shipbuilding company based in Northern Ireland.
D、The new disclosures cast Harland & Wolff as responsible for the severity of the damage.
答案B
解析 属信息推断题。从第二段的描述可以推断出选项A表述正确。文中第三段第一句提到Harland and Wolff位于贝尔法斯特，这是爱尔兰的一个海港，故C项符合文意。从文章第一段及最后一段的描述中都能看出，正是由于该厂使用的劣质铆钉，才加剧了泰坦尼克号沉没的速度，从而造成了更严重的灾难，故选项D符合文意。据此也能够推断出，虽然该厂负有重大责任，但也并不能将全部责任都归咎于它，故选项B为该题正确答案。
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