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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.
On which of the following would McCarty least probably agree?
选项 A、Shipbuilder’s ambition is the direct cause of the sad tale of Titanic.
B、Had the shipbuilder ordered No.4 bar, Titanic could have avoided such a tragedy.
C、The rivets had popped along the seams in Titanic after hitting an iceberg.
D、Harland and Wolff was faced with persistent rivet and riveter crisis.
答案A
解析 属信息推断题。在文章的第七段以及第十段，作者谈到了泰坦尼克号的造船商没有订购4号铁打造铆钉，所以如果要是造船商真的采用了上乘的铁料打造铆钉的话，泰坦尼克号可能不会下沉那么快，那么可能会有更多的遇难者获救，故选项B符合文意。作者在文章的第一段就提到了铆钉帽与铆钉的链接处不够结实，从而导致了船体的破裂，故选项C符合文意。作者在文章的第四段引用了麦卡锡的一句话，他称造船公司一直处于危机，故选项D符合原文表述。选项A之所以错误是因为造船商的野心勃勃——同时建造世界上三艘最大的轮船是泰坦尼克号沉船的客观、间接原因，并不是直接原因，其直接原因是泰坦尼克号撞到了冰山。
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