1998年高考英语全国卷 - 阅读理解D

The report came to the British on May 21,1941. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. Her task: to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn English.
报告于1941年5月21日送达英国。世界上最强大的战舰德国“俾斯麦”号正在驶入大西洋，它的任务：摧毁从美国向饱受战争蹂躏的英国运送物资的船只。

The British had feared such a task．No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower．The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns．She could move at 30 nautical miles an hour．She was believed to be unsinkable．
英国人担心这样的任务，他们的战舰在速度和火力上都无法与俾斯麦号相比。俾斯麦号拥有8门15英寸口径大炮和81门口径较小的大炮。它速度可达每小时30海里，它被认为是永远不会沉没。

However, the British had to sink her．They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck．On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck．
然而，英国人必须击沉它。他们派出一支由他们最好的战列舰胡德号率领的特遣部队追捕俾斯麦号。5月24日，胡德号找到了俾斯麦号。

It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships．
这是一次德军指挥官鲁特延斯不想遇到的会面，他的命令是摧毁运送补给的英国船只，而不是与英国战舰交战。

The battle didn't last long. The Bismarck's first torpedo hit the Hood, which went town taking all but three of her 1,419 men with her．
战斗没持续多久，俾斯麦号的第一枚鱼雷击中胡德号，它带着1419名战士一起下沉，只有三人存活。

But in the fight, the Bismarck was slightly damaged．Her commander decided to run for repairs to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans．The British force followed her．However, because of the Bismarck's speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her．
不过在战斗中，俾斯麦号受到轻微损坏，指挥官决定前往法国维修，当时法国已被德国人占领。英军紧随其后，然而，由于俾斯麦号的速度和浓雾，他们看不见它。

For two days, every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck, but with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit．
两天来，大西洋上的每艘英国船只都试图找到俾斯麦号，但都没有成功。最后，一架来自爱尔兰的飞机发现了它。为了让俾斯麦号减速，以便他们的船只能够追上它，于是从空中向它开火。俾斯麦号被击中。

On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought．Four British ships fired on the Bismarck, and she was finally sunk．
5月27日上午，最后一场战斗打响。四艘英国军舰向俾斯麦号开火，最终它被击沉。