访谈录 2008-11-12&11-13 泰坦尼克号幸存者被重债淹没

The ship was brand new and so was Millvina Dean, just two months old, the youngest passenger on the Titanic¹.

 "And this is your mother and you."

 "Yeah."

 But 96 years old Millvina, the last living Titanic survivor² needs the luck now she had then.

 "I was too small, so I was put in the sack."

 "In a sack."

 "Yep, and put overboard into the lifeboat."

 Mother and daughter were saved, so was her brother. Her father perished. But now Millvina needs another rescue, like a lot of people, she's going broke.

 "I don't know have how much you’ll think I pay here a month, have a guess."

 "I wouldn't know, well, ur... 500 pounds."

 "3000."

 About 5000 dollars for her keep at this nursing home. Millvina is having to auction³ off her Titanic souvenirs, the suitcase given to her family in New York, the letter offering compensation from the Titanic victim’s fund, a few prints. But another rescue may be at hand. As her story spread, people decided⁴ to help. A printer in Mclean Virginia.

 "I really felt that this was a, this was something that could really pay lasting⁵ tribute to all the people who died on the Titanic."

 "I would have no, what's supposed [to be] the word, mat...materialistic⁶, (right.) not the slightest bit, I'm a nail." Millvina Dean, a survivor then, a survivor now. Mark Phillips, CBS News, Southampton, England.

1 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

2 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 materialistic   

a.唯物主义的，物质享乐主义的

参考例句：

• She made him both soft and materialistic. 她把他变成女性化而又实际化。
• Materialistic dialectics is an important part of constituting Marxism. 唯物辩证法是马克思主义的重要组成部分。