Notes on the text课文注释
1 on its way home, 返航途中。
2 for the sunken ship he was trying to find …,
for作“因为”讲，引导并列句； he was trying to find是定语从句修饰主语 ship。
3 under the impression that，以为，认为。
4 be of great interest，很有趣。
5 parts of which it was possible to read,
which指先行词 log book，所引起的是定语从句，it是形式主语，不定式 to。叨是真实主语，parts of which作read的宾语。
6 piece together …（或piece… together），作“综合”“拼凑”讲。come to light，被摘清，被知道。
7 War Museum，军事博物馆。指伦敦的帝国军事博物馆，其中展出第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战的军事物品。
参考译文
打捞工作彻底失败了。小船“埃尔科”号在巴伦支海搜寻了几个星期之后，正在返航途中。返航前，该船船长收到了大陆上发来的电报，指示他们放弃这次搜寻。船长知道日后还会再作尝试，因为他试图寻找的沉船上载有一批珍贵的金条。
尽管船长接到了电报，他还是决定再试一试。他们用结实的网把海床搜索了一遍。当一只箱子从海底被打捞上来时，甲板上人们激动不已。船员们开始认为沉船找着了，但海底沉箱内的物品证明他们弄错了。事实上，他们发现的是另一艘沉没多年的船。
尽管船长接到了电报，他还是决定再试一试。他们用结实的网把海床搜索了一遍。当一只箱子从海底被打捞上来时，甲板上人们激动不已。船员们开始认为沉船找着了，但海底沉箱内的物品证明他们弄错了。事实上，他们发现的是另一艘沉没多年的船。
木箱内装有水手艾伦·菲尔丁的私人财物，其中有书籍、衣服、照片以及水手收到的妻子的来信。“埃尔科”号船长命令船员尽量从沉船中打捞物品，但没发现什么值钱的东西，不过打捞出来的众多的物品还是引起了大家极大的兴趣。从捞起的一门大炮来看，船长认为那艘船一定是艘巡洋舰。另一只海底沉箱中装的是船上一位军官的财物，其中有一封写于1943年3月14日的信，但没有写完。从这封信中船长了解到沉船船名是“卡伦”号。打捞到的东西中最有价值的是船上的航海日志，其中有一部分仍然清晰可读。据此，船长可以将所有的那些已经搞清的材料拼凑起来。“卡伦”号当年在为其他船只护航驶往俄国途中突然遭到敌方潜水艇鱼雷的袭击。这一说法在“埃尔科”号返航后得到国防部一位海军官员的证实。那次打捞到的所有物品均被送往军事博物馆。
Multiple choice questions
多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension理解
1 Why had the salvage operation been a complete failure?
a．They had failed to locate the ship they had been sent to look for.
b．They had not succeeded in finding the Barents Sea.
c．They had found the wrong ship.
d．The captain had not understood his instructions.
2 In ordering as much as possible to be salvaged from the wreck, the captain ______ .
a．expected to find some of the gold bullion
b．hoped, among other things, to establish the identity of the ship
c．thought he would find out that the ship had been a cruiser
d．was looking for more information concerning the dead seaman
3 The log book was the most important find because it ______ .
a．helped to explain how the warship had come to be sunk in the Barents Sea
b．contained a written account of how the Karen had been torpedoed
c．provided vital information as to the ship's whereabouts
d．gave the Ministry of Defence information it had known nothing about