The Titanic was the largest and most advanced passenger ship of its day. It was considered unsinkable. But on 14th April 1912, on    1    (it) maiden voyage ( 首 航 ) from England to New York, the ship    2    (strike) an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank     3     (short) after midnight. Of the 2,223 people on board, 1,517 drowned.

So why did so many people die in the tragedy? Firstly, the Titanic’s owners fitted the ship     4     only 20 lifeboats. They believed any more would spoil the     5     (appear) of the ship. But this meant there were only enough lifeboats for 1,178 passengers. Secondly, while     6     (load) the lifeboats, the crew observed the “women and children first” rule. This was     7     old custom that said women and children should be saved before men. Because at first men weren’t allowed in the lifeboats, many boats were lowered only half full.     8    the lifeboats had been full, another 500 people might have been saved. In the end, 74% of women passengers survived, but only 20% of men. And many of the men     9     survived were branded as cowards (懦夫) when they got home.

The wreck (残骸) of the Titanic     10     (find) in 1985. It lies about four kilometres below the surface of the water at the bottom of the ocean.