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CHAPTER III THE SUBMARINE OF TO-DAY
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The feelings of the average landsman, when he sets foot for the first time in a submarine, are a strong mixture of curiosity and apprehension1. The curiosity is uppermost—the experience before you is much more novel than, for example, that of a first trip in an aeroplane. From a mountain or tower, a great wheel or a balloon, you have seen the bird’s-eye view of the earth and felt the sensation of hanging over the aerial abyss. But even the fascinating pages of Jules Verne have not told you all that you will feel in a submarine, and nothing but physical experience can do so. You are eager to see the working of new mechanical devices in a wholly strange element, and to learn the use of a new weapon in a wholly strange kind of war. But with this eagerness, there is an underlying4 sense of uneasiness, a feeling that you are putting yourself into a position where you are as helpless as a mouse in a patent trap. The cause of this is not fear of war risks, for it is equally strong in harbour, or in time of peace. It is probably connected with the common dread5 of suffocation6, which may be an instinct inherited from ages of primitive7 life in the open. They will tell you, in the submarine service, that it is a mere8 habit of mind and very soon forgotten. There is even a story of an officer who, on37 coming ashore9 from a year’s work in an E-boat, refused to travel in the Tube railway, because it looked so dangerous. He preferred the risks he was used to, and so do most of us.

You stand, then, at the foot of the narrow iron ladder down which you have come from the upper air, you gag your inherited instinct, and let your curiosity loose. Before the boat dives, there is time for a good deal to be taken in. The interior seems large beyond expectation. This is partly an illusion, produced by the vista10 of the compartments12, fore2 and aft of the central control where you are standing13. The bulkhead doors being all open at this moment, you can see into the engine and motor rooms towards the stern, and forward through the battery compartment11 to the bow torpedo14-tubes. The number of men seems large too, and they are all busy; but you note that every part of them is more active than their feet—there is very little coming and going. In the control, close to you, are the captain, a lieutenant15, a steersman, and seven or eight other men for working the ballast tanks, air valves, electrical apparatus16, and hydroplanes. The last two of them have just come down from the deck—the hatches are closed—engines have already been running for some minutes, though the order escaped your observation.

You are invited ‘to see her dive.’ You go up to the forward conning-tower scuttle17 and flatten18 your face against the thick glass. An order is given. You hear the hissing19 of air, as the ballast tanks are filled. You expect to see the forward part of the boat dip down into the water in which she is heaving. Instead of that, it is apparently20 the sea which lifts itself up, moves along38 the deck, and seems to be coming in a huge slow wave over your scuttle. The light of day gives place to a green twilight21, full of small bubbles. Mentally you feel a slight chill; but physically22, a warm and sticky sensation. As there is nothing more to be seen out of window, you return to your instructor23. He explains to you that the ship is now running on her motors, and that her speed is therefore low—not nearly enough to overhaul24 a vessel25 or convoy26 of any power. On the surface, with her other engines, she could far more than double the pace; and even with the motors, she could do a spurt27 for a short time—but spurts28 are very expensive; for they use up the battery power with ruinous rapidity, and then a return to the surface will be necessary, whether safe or not.

At this point it may strike you suddenly that you are now under water—you begin to wonder how deep you are, and why you have not perceived any change in the boat’s position. The answer is that the depth marked on the gauges29 is only twenty feet, and the angle of descent was therefore very slight—much too slight to be perceptible in the short length of a single compartment. The depth of twenty feet is now being maintained with surprising steadiness; the explanation is that two entirely30 separate forces are at work. First, there are the horizontal rudders or hydroplanes, fitted outside the vessel both fore and aft, by which she can be forced down, provided she has sufficient way on, in much the same fashion as an ordinary vertical31 rudder forces a ship to one side or the other. But this is only the diving apparatus; to keep her down, there is her water ballast—the water which was taken into her main ballast tanks, when the order to submerge was given.39 These tanks contain a sufficient weight of water to counteract32 the normal buoyancy of the boat, by which she would naturally float upon the surface. When they are emptied, she will neither sink nor rise of her own motion—she will lie or run at whatever depth she is placed, by her hydroplanes or otherwise.

These, you will have noticed, were called the ‘main’ ballast tanks—there would seem then to be others. There are, and several kinds of them. First, there is an auxiliary33 ballast tank, which has a peculiar34 use of its own. A submarine must be able to float or submerge in fresh water as well as at sea; for her base or harbour will often be in the mouth of a river, or she may have to navigate35 a river, a canal, or a lake. It is a point that would not probably have occurred to you, but the difference between the density36 of fresh and salt water is sufficiently37 great to make a real difficulty here. Everyone knows that it is less easy to float in fresh water, and less easy to sink in salt. For practical purposes, a submerged boat is less buoyant in fresh water by 26 tons in 1000, and vice3 versa; so that when a submarine of 1000 tons leaves a river for the sea, she must take an extra 26 tons of ballast to keep her down, and when she comes home again she must get rid of 26 tons, or she will sink so much deeper in the fresh water. For this purpose she has a special tank of the right size, proportioned to her tonnage; and it is placed in the middle of the ship, in order that it may not interfere38 with her trim when it is filled or emptied.

That last remark will put you in mind that, in any kind of navigation, the trim of the boat is a delicate and important matter. Even in very large and heavy ships you may be able, by shifting guns or cargo39, to40 slip off a shoal, or right a leaking vessel after a collision. In a tickle40 boat like a submarine, it is necessary to have some means of trimming the vessel, fore or aft, at any moment, and especially when about to dive, or when caught by some under-water obstruction41. Tanks are therefore fitted for this purpose at each end of the boat. They are comparatively small, because the effect required is in ordinary circumstances very limited, and in a desperate emergency they may need to be supplemented by rushing the crew fore or aft, as living ballast. An example of this will be found in a later chapter.

You may now feel that you have heard enough of tanks; but your instructor will insist on showing you a whole additional series. He will make a point of your recognising that a submarine, when submerged, is in reality hanging in the water as a balloon hangs in the air, and for every loss of weight she must be instantaneously compensated43, or she will begin to rise. What loss of weight can she suffer while actually under water? It is not perhaps very hard to guess. There is, first of all, the consumption of oil by the engines; secondly44, the consumption of food and fresh water by the crew; and thirdly, the departure from time to time of torpedoes45. Also, when on the surface, there may be gun ammunition46 fired away, or other things heaved overboard, and allowance must be made for this when the boat goes down again. The modern submarine is prepared to keep her balance under all such circumstances. She has compensating47 tanks, and they are placed as near as possible to the oil-tank, fresh-water tank, or torpedo-tube, for whose diminished weight they are to compensate42.

You are probably more interested in the torpedo-41tubes than in the oil-tanks. It is time then to go forward. You pass through the battery compartment, where the officers’ quarters are, and are shown (under the floor) the accumulators, ranged like the honey sections in the frames of a beehive, and very carefully covered over with flexible waterproof48 covering as well as with close-jointed planking. What would happen if water did find its way down to the batteries? An instant discharge of chlorine gas, blinding and suffocating49. What would you do then? Come to the surface at all costs—and lucky if you are in time! The Germans know all about that—and not long ago one of our own boats was only saved by the good goal-keeping of a lieutenant, who caught up a lid of some sort, and stood by the leak, neatly50 fending51 off the water spurt from the door of the battery compartment.

Now you are in the forward torpedo compartment, and there are the tubes. I need not say anything about their size or number—you will realise at a glance that when a couple are loosed off at once, a good deal of weight goes out of the ship. The ordinary 18-inch fish is 17 feet long, and takes some handling. The explosive alone in her war-head weighs as much as a big man, say 12? stone, and a 21-inch fish carries twice as much as that, packed in some four feet of her length. Behind that comes the air chamber52—another ten feet—with the compressed air to drive the engine, which is in her stern. The air is stored at a pressure of over 2000 lbs. to the square inch; so the steel walls of the chamber must be thick, and this makes another heavy item. Lastly, there is the engine-box with its four-cylinder engine, two propellers53, gyroscope and steering54 gear. Altogether, an 18-inch fish will weigh42 nearly three-quarters of a ton, and a 21-inch over 2000 lbs., so that the amount of compensation needed when you fire, is considerable.

To see how it is done, we will imagine ourselves firing this starboard tube. The torpedo is got ready, and special care is taken to make sure that the firing-pin in her nose is not forgotten. Cases have been known in which a ship has been hit full by a torpedo which did not explode—just as a good many Zeppelin bombs were found in London, after the early raids, with the detonating pin not drawn55. The fish is now ready to come alive, and is slid into the tube. The door is shut behind it, and the water-tight outer door, at the other end of the tube, is now ready to be opened by powerful levers. But the immediate56 result of this opening would be an inrush of sea-water which would weigh the boat’s head down; for though the fish’s belly57 fits the tube pretty closely, there is a good deal of empty space where it tapers58 towards the nose and tail. Here comes in the tank system. When the tube is loaded, this empty space is filled by water from within the ship, so that no change of weight occurs when you open the outer door. But when the firing-button has been pushed, and the torpedo has been shot out by an air-charge behind it there is no possibility of preventing the whole tube from filling with water, and this water must be got rid of before the tube can be reloaded. To do this, you first close the outer door again; then you have to deal with the tubeful of water. A good part of it is what the ship herself supplied to fill the space round the torpedo; and this must be pumped back into the special tank it came from. The remainder is the sea-water which rushed in, to take the place left43 empty by the departing torpedo: and this must be pumped into another special tank to prevent the ship feeling the loss of the torpedo’s weight. When you get a fresh supply of torpedoes, these special compensating tanks (which are really a kind of dummy59 torpedoes) will be emptied out, one for each new torpedo. Meantime, you have now got the tube empty, and can open the inner door and reload.

But what of the torpedo which has been fired? It is travelling towards its mark at a speed of between thirty-five and forty knots, if we suppose the range to be an ordinary one, under 1000 yards, and the torpedo to have been ‘run hot,’ i.e. driven by hot air instead of cold. The compressed air is heated mechanically inside the torpedo, in the act of passing from the air chamber to the machinery60, and this increases both the speed and range. But it is not always convenient or possible to start the heating apparatus, and even when ‘run cold’ the fish will do thirty knots. This speed is amazing, but it is one of the least wonderful of the torpedo’s qualities. The steering of the machine is a double miracle. One device makes it take, after the first plunge61, exactly the depth you desire, and another—a gyroscope fitted inside the rudder gear—keeps it straight on its course; or makes it, if you wish, turn in a circle and strike its prey62, boomerang fashion. The head of the fish can also be fitted with cutters which will cut through any torpedo-netting that a ship can afford to carry. The only thing that no ingenuity63 can accomplish is to make a torpedo invisible during its run. The compressed air, when it has passed through the engine, must escape, and it comes to the surface in a continuous boiling line of bubbles. This is visible at a considerable44 distance; and though, when the track is sighted by the look-out, the torpedo itself is of course always well ahead of the nearest spot where the bubbles are seen rising, it is surprising how often ships do succeed in avoiding a direct shot. A prompt cry from the look-out, a steersman ready to put his helm over instantly, and the torpedo goes bubbling past, a few feet ahead or astern, or comes in on a tangent and runs harmlessly along the ship’s side without exploding. Then away it goes across the open sea, until the compressed air is exhausted64, the engine stops, and the mechanical sinker sends it to the ocean bed, which must be fairly strewn with dead torpedoes by this time; for as we know, to our advantage, the proportion of misses to hits is very large in the U-boat’s record.

Now that you have seen the weapon—and can at any rate imagine the handling of it—you are naturally keen to sight the game, and realise the conditions of a good shot. You go back to the central compartment, where the Commander is ready to show you a ship through the periscope65. Not, of course, an enemy ship—in this war, if you want a shot at an enemy ship, you must go into his own waters—into the Bight or the Baltic—to find him; and even there he is probably tucked up very tight in his berth66, with chained barges67 and heavy nets all round him, and mines all up the approach. But there are plenty of our own ships out every day—sweeping, cruising, trading; and transporting men, food, mails, and munitions68. And what you see will help you to understand why the Germans have spent so many torpedoes, and sunk so comparatively small a proportion of our enormous tonnage.

The boat is now less deep in the water; the gauges45 mark 15 feet, and you are told that the top of the periscope is therefore some two feet above the surface. The shaft69 of it is round, like a large vertical piston70; but at the bottom it ends in a flattened71 box, with a hand-grip projecting on each side. You take hold of the grips and look into the box. Nothing is visible but an expanse of water, with a coast-line of low hills beyond it—all in miniature. The Commander presses the back of your left hand on the grip, and you move round slowly as the periscope revolves72. The coast-line goes out of the picture, the sea lies open to the horizon, and upon it appears a line of odd-looking spots. They are moving; for the nearest one, which was narrow a moment ago, is now three or four times as broad, and is in a different place in the line.

The line, you are told, is not a line at all, but a convoy, in fairly regular formation. The nearest spot is a destroyer, zigzagging73 on the flank; the others are ships which have been so effectively ‘dazzled’ that their shapes are unrecognisable. You carry on, in hope of something nearer, and suddenly a much larger object comes into the field of vision. A ship, of course, though it does not look like any ship you have ever seen; and you are asked to guess its distance and direction. You are bewildered at first; for as you were moving the lens rapidly to starboard, the vessel came in rapidly to port, and as her dazzle-paint makes her stern indistinguishable from her bows, you continue to think she is steaming in that direction. After a more careful observation, this mistake is corrected. She is crossing us from port to starboard. But at what angle? This is vitally important, for the possibility of getting in a successful shot would depend entirely upon the answer.46 We are ourselves heading about due north: she is crossing to the east: if her course is south of east, she is coming nearer to us, and our torpedo would strike her before the beam—the most favourable74 chance. If, on the contrary, her course is north of east she is going away, and the torpedo would have a poor chance of hitting her abaft75 the beam. In fact, it would not be worth while to risk losing so costly76 a shot. A torpedo at present prices is worth not far short of £2000, and we only carry two for each tube.

You look long and hard at this dazzle-ship. She doesn’t give you any sensation of being dazzled; but she is, in some queer way, all wrong—her proportions are wrong, she is somehow not herself, not what she ought to be. If you fix your attention on one end of her, she seems to point one way—if you look away at her other end, she is doing something different. You can’t see the height of her funnels77 clearly, or their relative position. But, with care, you decide that she is coming about south-east and will be therefore your bird in two minutes’ time. The Commander is interested. He takes a look himself, laughs, and puts you back at the eye-piece. You hold on in hope that he may, after all, be wrong; but the bird ends by getting well away to the north-east. Your error covered just ninety degrees, and the camouflage78 had beaten you completely. You begin to think that the ingenuity at command of the nation has been underestimated. But this ship is nothing of a dazzle, the Commander tells you—he can show you one whose cut-water seems always to be moving at a right angle to her stern!
‘Does not look like any ship you have ever seen.’

He adds that he knew all about that cruiser, and she knew all about him. Otherwise he would not have47
shown even his periscope; and if he had, she would have had a shell into him by now, and a depth-charge to follow. A depth-charge is perhaps the most formidable weapon against which the submarine has to be on guard. It is a bomb, with a detonator which can be set to explode when it reaches any given depth. A small one would need to hit the mark full, or be very close to it, in order to get a satisfactory result; but the newer and larger ones will seriously damage a submarine within an area of forty yards. The charge is either dropped over the stern of the pursuing vessel, when she is thought to be just over or just ahead of the enemy; or it is fired out of a small and handy short-range howitzer—a kind of lob-shot, a number of which can be made by several patrol boats acting79 together, so as to cover a larger area with much less risk of embarrassing each other. Even if the submarine is not destroyed outright80, the chances are in such a case that she will be so damaged as to be forced to the surface or to the bottom, and then the end is certain. A bad leak would bring her up—an injury to her tanks or rudders might drive her down.

You are uncomfortably reminded once more of that inherited dislike of death by suffocation. If a submarine cannot rise to the surface, you ask, is there no possible means of escape? The answer is that it may be possible, with great difficulty, to get out of the boat; but there is very little chance that you would survive. The lungs are not fitted to bear so great and sudden a change of pressure as that felt in passing from the boat to the water, and from the deep water to the surface. You are perhaps surprised; but the pressure of sea-water at 160 feet is equal to five atmospheres, or about 75 lbs. to the square inch. To pass safely50 through this to the ordinary surface atmosphere would need a long and gradual process, and not a sudden rise of a few seconds. A very brave attempt was made on one occasion, when a British submarine had gone to the bottom during her trials, and could not be got up by any effort of her crew. The agony of the situation was intensified81 by the fact that help was close at hand, if only the alarm could be given, and the whereabouts of the submarine communicated to the rescuers. The officers of the sunken boat were, of course, perfectly82 aware of the danger from sudden change of pressure; but one of them volunteered to go to the surface, alive or dead, and carry a message on the chance of attracting some ship’s attention. To lessen83 the risk as far as possible, it was arranged that he should go up into the conning-tower, and that the hatch should then be closed beneath him and the water gradually admitted. As it flowed slowly in, and mounted round him, the air in the top of the conning-tower would diminish in extent but increase in pressure. When it reached his neck, the internal pressure would be nearly equal to the external. He would be able to open the top, possibly to make his escape, and conceivably to reach the surface without his lungs being fatally injured. If he failed, he would at any rate have given his life for the chance of saving his comrades.

The Commander accompanied him into the conning-tower, meaning, it is said, to return into the ship himself when he had seen to all the arrangements. But when the water was admitted, the two of them were shot out together, and as it happened it was the volunteer who was killed, by striking against the superstructure, while the Commander came up alive. In no long time—though51 it must have seemed unendurably long to those below, waiting in complete uncertainty—the rescuers were informed, found the submarine, and got a hawser84 under her stern. They raised her high enough out of the water, vertically85, to open a hatch and save the crew. Then the hawser gave, and the boat went down again.

That story is not unlikely to haunt you all the way home, and for a long time afterwards. It may even make a difference to your whole feeling about the war under water, as waged by our own Service. The submarine is not merely an incredibly clever box of mechanical toys, nor is it only the fit weapon of a cruel and ruthless enemy; it is also a true part of the Navy without fear and without reproach, whose men play the great game for each other and for their country, and play it more greatly than we know. The tune86 of their service is a kind of undertone; but it is in the heroic key, and cannot fall below it.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 apprehension bNayw     
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
参考例句:
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
2 fore ri8xw     
adv.在前面;adj.先前的;在前部的;n.前部
参考例句:
  • Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
  • I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。
3 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
4 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
5 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
6 suffocation b834eadeaf680f6ffcb13068245a1fed     
n.窒息
参考例句:
  • The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
  • The room was hot to suffocation. 房间热得闷人。 来自辞典例句
7 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
8 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
9 ashore tNQyT     
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸
参考例句:
  • The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前,孩子们就上岸了。
  • He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。
10 vista jLVzN     
n.远景,深景,展望,回想
参考例句:
  • From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去,远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
  • These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路,未来看不到一点儿希望。
11 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
12 compartments 4e9d78104c402c263f5154f3360372c7     
n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 );(列车车厢的)隔间;(家具或设备等的)分隔间;隔层
参考例句:
  • Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
14 torpedo RJNzd     
n.水雷,地雷;v.用鱼雷破坏
参考例句:
  • His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
  • Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。
15 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
16 apparatus ivTzx     
n.装置,器械;器具,设备
参考例句:
  • The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
  • They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。
17 scuttle OEJyw     
v.急赶,疾走,逃避;n.天窗;舷窗
参考例句:
  • There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了,人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
  • The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。
18 flatten N7UyR     
v.把...弄平,使倒伏;使(漆等)失去光泽
参考例句:
  • We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
  • The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。
19 hissing hissing     
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
  • His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
20 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
21 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
22 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
23 instructor D6GxY     
n.指导者,教员,教练
参考例句:
  • The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
  • The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。
24 overhaul yKGxy     
v./n.大修,仔细检查
参考例句:
  • Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
  • It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知,铁路系统需要大检修。
25 vessel 4L1zi     
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管
参考例句:
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。
26 convoy do6zu     
vt.护送,护卫,护航;n.护送;护送队
参考例句:
  • The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
  • Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。
27 spurt 9r9yE     
v.喷出;突然进发;突然兴隆
参考例句:
  • He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
  • After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿,莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。
28 spurts 8ccddee69feee5657ab540035af5f753     
短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 ); 突然奋起
参考例句:
  • Great spurts of gas shoot out of the sun. 太阳气体射出形成大爆发。
  • Spurts of warm rain blew fitfully against their faces. 阵阵温热的雨点拍打在他们脸上。
29 gauges 29872e70c0d2a7366fc47f04800f1362     
n.规格( gauge的名词复数 );厚度;宽度;标准尺寸v.(用仪器)测量( gauge的第三人称单数 );估计;计量;划分
参考例句:
  • A thermometer gauges the temperature. 温度计可测量温度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fuel gauges dropped swiftly. 燃料表指针迅速下降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
31 vertical ZiywU     
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置
参考例句:
  • The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
  • Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。
32 counteract vzlxb     
vt.对…起反作用,对抗,抵消
参考例句:
  • The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
  • Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持,不要互相拆台。
33 auxiliary RuKzm     
adj.辅助的,备用的
参考例句:
  • I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
  • The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。
34 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
35 navigate 4Gyxu     
v.航行,飞行;导航,领航
参考例句:
  • He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
  • Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
36 density rOdzZ     
n.密集,密度,浓度
参考例句:
  • The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
  • The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。
37 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
38 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
39 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
40 tickle 2Jkzz     
v.搔痒,胳肢;使高兴;发痒;n.搔痒,发痒
参考例句:
  • Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
  • I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。
41 obstruction HRrzR     
n.阻塞,堵塞;障碍物
参考例句:
  • She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
  • The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。
42 compensate AXky7     
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消
参考例句:
  • She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
  • Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。
43 compensated 0b0382816fac7dbf94df37906582be8f     
补偿,报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 ); 给(某人)赔偿(或赔款)
参考例句:
  • The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
  • I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。
44 secondly cjazXx     
adv.第二,其次
参考例句:
  • Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二,动脑筋提出自己的见解。
  • Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次,需要确定所作用的载荷。
45 torpedoes d60fb0dc954f93af9c7c38251d008ecf     
鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 ); 油井爆破筒; 刺客; 掼炮
参考例句:
  • We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完,装上给养和鱼雷就出发。
  • The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹,引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。
46 ammunition GwVzz     
n.军火,弹药
参考例句:
  • A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
  • They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。
47 compensating 281cd98e12675fdbc2f2886a47f37ed0     
补偿,补助,修正
参考例句:
  • I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
  • It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。
48 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料;adj.防水的;v.使...能防水
参考例句:
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
49 suffocating suffocating     
a.使人窒息的
参考例句:
  • After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后,她感到自己毫无自由。
  • That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了,我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。
50 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
51 fending 18e37ede5689f2fb4bd69184c75f11f5     
v.独立生活,照料自己( fend的现在分词 );挡开,避开
参考例句:
  • He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
  • Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系,提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网
52 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
53 propellers 6e53e63713007ce36dac451344bb87d2     
n.螺旋桨,推进器( propeller的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
  • The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句
54 steering 3hRzbi     
n.操舵装置
参考例句:
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
  • Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。
55 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
56 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
57 belly QyKzLi     
n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛
参考例句:
  • The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
  • His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。
58 tapers a0c5416b2721f6569ddd79d814b80004     
(长形物体的)逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 ); 微弱的光; 极细的蜡烛
参考例句:
  • The pencil tapers to a sharp point. 铅笔的一段细成笔尖。
  • She put five tapers on the cake. 她在蛋糕上放了五只小蜡烛。
59 dummy Jrgx7     
n.假的东西;(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头
参考例句:
  • The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹,只是一个假货。
  • The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。
60 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
61 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
62 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
63 ingenuity 77TxM     
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造
参考例句:
  • The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
  • I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。
64 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
65 periscope IMhx2     
n. 潜望镜
参考例句:
  • The captain aligned the periscope on the bearing.船长使潜望镜对准方位。
  • Now,peering through the periscope he remarked in businesslike tones.现在,他一面从潜望镜里观察,一面用精干踏实的口吻说话。
66 berth yt0zq     
n.卧铺,停泊地,锚位;v.使停泊
参考例句:
  • She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
  • They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。
67 barges f4f7840069bccdd51b419326033cf7ad     
驳船( barge的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
  • There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。
68 munitions FnZzbl     
n.军火,弹药;v.供应…军需品
参考例句:
  • The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
  • He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。
69 shaft YEtzp     
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物
参考例句:
  • He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
  • This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。
70 piston w2Rz7     
n.活塞
参考例句:
  • They use a piston engine instead.他们改用活塞发动机。
  • The piston moves by steam pressure.活塞在蒸汽压力下运动。
71 flattened 1d5d9fedd9ab44a19d9f30a0b81f79a8     
[医](水)平扁的,弄平的
参考例句:
  • She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
  • I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。
72 revolves 63fec560e495199631aad0cc33ccb782     
v.(使)旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 );细想
参考例句:
  • The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是,轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》
73 zigzagging 3a075bffeaf9d8f393973a0cb70ff1b6     
v.弯弯曲曲地走路,曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 );盘陀
参考例句:
  • She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着,弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网
74 favourable favourable     
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的
参考例句:
  • The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
  • We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。
75 abaft xzxzyF     
prep.在…之后;adv.在船尾,向船尾
参考例句:
  • Abaft every acknowledged man,there is a woman.每个成功男人的背地,都有一个女人。
  • The captain ordered the crews to stand abaft the main deck.船长命令船员们站在主甲板后面。
76 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
77 funnels 7dc92ff8e9a712d0661ad9816111921d     
漏斗( funnel的名词复数 ); (轮船,火车等的)烟囱
参考例句:
  • Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备,例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等,都可使用。
  • A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。
78 camouflage NsnzR     
n./v.掩饰,伪装
参考例句:
  • The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
  • The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。
79 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
80 outright Qj7yY     
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的
参考例句:
  • If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事,你应该直率地对我说。
  • You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。
81 intensified 4b3b31dab91d010ec3f02bff8b189d1a     
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
  • The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
82 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
83 lessen 01gx4     
vt.减少,减轻;缩小
参考例句:
  • Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
  • They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。
84 hawser N58yc     
n.大缆;大索
参考例句:
  • The fingers were pinched under a hawser.手指被夹在了大缆绳下面。
  • There's a new hawser faked down there.有条新铁索盘卷在那里。
85 vertically SfmzYG     
adv.垂直地
参考例句:
  • Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线,以便制作图表。
  • The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。
86 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。


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