The Cutty Sark

原文

One of the most famous sailing ships of the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark, can still be seen at Greewich. She stands on dry land and is visited by thousands of people each year. She serves as an impressive reminder of the great ships of past. Before they were replaced by steamships, sailing vessels like the Cutty Sark were used to carry tea from China and wool from Australia. The Cutty Sark was one the fastest sailing ships that has ever been built. The only other ship to match her was the Thermopylae. Both these ships set out from Shanghai on June 18th, 1872 on an exciting race to England. This race, which went on for exactly four exactly four months, was the last of its kind. It marked the end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era.

The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took lead. It seemed certain that she would be the first ship home, but during the race she had a lot of bad luck. In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away. The Cutty Sark rolled from side to side and it became impossible to steer her. A temporary rudder was made on board from spare planks and it was fitted with great difficulty. This greatly reduced the speed of the ship, for there was a danger that if she traveled too quickly, this rudder would be torn away as well. Because of this, the Cutty Sark lost her lead. After crossing the Equator, the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted, but by now the Thermopylae was over five hundred miles ahead. Though the new rudder was fitted at tremendous speed, it was impossible for the Cutty Sark to win. She arrived in England a week after the Thermopylae. Even this was remarkable, considering that she had had so many delays. These is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily.

译文

十九世纪最著名的帆船之一，卡蒂萨克号，现在仍可在北京格林威治看到。它矗立在陆地上，每年有数以千计的人前来参观。它作为过去伟大船只的令人印象深刻的纪念物。蒸汽船取代它们之前，像卡蒂萨克号这样的帆船被用来从中国运载茶叶和从澳大利亚运载羊毛。卡蒂萨克号是有史以来建造的最快的帆船之一。唯一能与它匹敌的船是塞莫皮莱号。这两艘船于1872年6月18日从上海出发，进行一场激动人心的赛跑去英国。这场赛跑持续了整整四个月，是这类赛跑的最后一次。它标志着帆船伟大传统的结束和新纪元的开始。

比赛开始后，首先到达爪哇岛的两艘船之一是塞莫皮莱号，但在地印度洋上，卡蒂萨克号取得了领先。它似乎肯定会成为第一艘返回的船，但比赛期间它遇到了许多不幸。八月份，它遇到了非常猛烈的风暴，在风暴中它的舵被吹走。卡蒂萨克号左右摇晃，无法操纵它。船上用备用的木板制作了一个临时舵，并费了很大劲才安装好。这大大降低了船的速度，因为如果它航行太快，这个舵也有可能被吹走。因此，卡蒂萨克号失去了领先优势。穿过赤道后，船长停靠在一个港口安装新舵，但此时塞莫皮莱号已经领先五百多英里。尽管新舵安装得非常迅速，卡蒂萨克号也不可能获胜。它在塞莫皮莱号之后一周到达英国。考虑到它经历了如此多的延误，这本身就很了不起。毫无疑问，如果它没有失去舵，它本可以轻松赢得比赛。

词汇表

sailing

名词, 形容词, verb (gerund)

英:/ˈseɪlɪŋ/

美:/ˈseɪlɪŋ/

定义

1. 航海；帆船运动 - The activity of traveling on water using sails.

例子: Sailing requires skill and knowledge of the wind.

例子: He enjoys sailing on weekends with his friends.

2. 使用帆的 - Related to ships or vessels that use sails.

例子: The sailing ship crossed the ocean in record time.

例子: Sailing vessels were common before steam engines.

近义词

navigation: 更泛指任何水上或空中导航，强调技术而非帆船特定。

boating: 侧重于任何船只活动，不限于帆船，常用于休闲语境。

yachting: 特指豪华或竞技性的帆船运动，与休闲娱乐相关，比 'sailing' 更正式。

反义词:

flying, driving, walking

用法

常用于描述海上旅行或船只类型，语境多为历史或休闲活动，常搭配如 'sailing ship' 或 'go sailing'，在航海文化中常见。

形式:

复数: sailings (as noun referring to trips), 过去式: sailed, 形容词形式: sailable

深入解析：关键句型 "One of the + superlative + relative clause"

定义

这个句型用于强调某物在同类中处于最高级或最突出的位置，结构为：One of the + superlative adjective（最高级形容词）+ relative clause（相对从句）。例如，在文章中如 "One of the most famous sailing ships that has ever been built"。根据权威教材如《新概念英语》或《Cambridge Grammar》，这个句型定义为一种用来表达独特性或稀有性的表达方式，其中 One of the 表示“其中之一”，superlative 如 most famous 表示最高级，relative clause 如 that has ever been built 提供额外描述。它的核心含义是突出事物的卓越性，同时连接主句和从句。

用法

此句型常用于描述历史人物、事件或物体，强调其在历史或类别中的独特地位。规则包括：superlative 必须正确形成（如添加 most 或词尾变化如 fastest），relative clause 通常以 that 或 which 引导，并保持时态一致。在语法体系中，它链接到形容词的比较级和最高级，以及从句结构，帮助学生从简单描述过渡到复杂句子。跨语法点联系：它与定语从句相关（如相对从句的引导词），并可与过去时或现在完成时结合（如文章中的 has ever been built），建立从描述到叙述的联系。例如，在写作或口语中，可以用于介绍名人：“One of the greatest writers that has ever lived is Shakespeare。”

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：错误使用 superlative，如说 "One of the famous ships" 而非最高级形式；relative clause 的主谓一致问题，例如文章中的 "that has ever been built" 应为 "that have ever been built" 因为 ships 是复数；另一个偏误是遗漏 relative clause，使句子显得不完整。纠正建议：练习检查主谓一致，确保 relative clause 的动词与先行词一致（如复数先行词用复数动词）。此外，避免在非正式语境中过度使用，以免显得夸张。

练习

一个额外的例子："One of the tallest buildings that has ever been constructed in the world is the Burj Khalifa." 学生可以尝试替换元素，如将 "tallest" 改为 "oldest"，并创建新句，例如 "One of the most popular songs that has ever been written is by the Beatles." 通过这个练习，学生能更好地应用句型于实际描述中。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型在英语中源于强调比较的传统，常见于历史和文学描述。对比分析：与法语类似结构不同，英语版更注重从句的灵活性。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生可以扩展到类似表达如 "The best of the + noun + that..."，丰富表达多样性，并提升写作水平。

深入解析：关键句型 "It seems/seemed + adjective + that clause"

定义

这个句型用于表达某事似乎是真实的或可能的，结构为：It（形式主语）+ seems/seemed（动词）+ adjective（形容词，如 certain, possible）+ that clause（that引导的从句）。例如，文章中的 "It seemed certain that she would be the first ship home"。根据权威教材如《新概念英语》，它定义为一种虚拟或推测的表达方式，其中 It 是虚主语，adjective 描述可能性，从句提供具体内容。核心含义是表示不确定性或推测，帮助构建叙述性语言。

用法

此句型常用于故事、新闻或描述中，表达对未来的假设或过去的推测。规则是：seems 用于现在时，seemed 用于过去时；adjective 如 certain, likely, impossible 必须与语境匹配；that clause 通常包含情态动词或助动词。在语法体系中，它链接到主从复合句和情态动词，帮助学生从简单句过渡到表达意见的复杂句。跨语法点联系：它与条件句或虚拟语气相关（如文章中的 would be），并可与过去时结合，形成历史叙述。例如，在对话中可以说：“It seems likely that it will rain tomorrow.” 这在口语中很实用。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：省略 that，如说 "It seemed certain she would be first"，导致句子不正式；adjective 的误用，例如用 sure 而非 certain 在特定语境；另一个偏误是时态不一致，如在过去叙述中使用 seems。纠正建议：总是包含 that 以保持正式性，并练习时态转换（如从 seems 到 seemed）。此外，避免在强assertion语境中使用，以免显得不确定。

练习

一个额外的例子："It seems possible that we will finish the project on time." 学生可以修改为过去时：“It seemed possible that they would win the game." 通过这个练习，学生能练习调整形容词和从句，以适应不同情境。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型起源于英语的推测表达，常见于文学和新闻报道。对比分析：与中文的“似乎”类似，但英语更结构化。补充信息：它有助于学生发展批判性思维，在辩论中表达假设，如 "It seems evident that climate change is real."，从而提升语言的说服力。