One aspect of this era came to epitomize its grandeur and ultimately its downfall, the Titanic.

這個時代的一個代表，鐵達尼號，體現了它的宏偉和最終的衰亡。

Commissioned by the British shipping company, White Star Line, the Titanic was created to satiate demand for luxury travel between Europe and North America.

鐵達尼號是由英國的海運公司，白星航運，委託打造，用以滿足歐洲與北美間奢華旅行的需求。

The ship's construction began in March 1909 in Belfast, Ireland.

1909 年 3 月這艘輪船在愛爾蘭的貝爾法斯特開始建造。

By the time it was sent to England for provisions, Titanic was one of the largest ships of its time.

截至鐵達尼號被送去英國進行準備時，它是當時最巨大的遊輪之一。

It was about 92 feet wide and 882.5 feet long, the length of nearly three football fields.

它寬約 92 英尺 (28 公尺)，長約 882.5 英尺 (266 公尺)，將近三個足球場的長度。

With a height of about 175 feet, the ship above water was taller than most buildings.

高約 175 英尺 (42.5 公尺)，船隻的水上部分比當時大部分的建築物都高。

The Titanic also included new safety features such as 16 compartments designed to prevent the hull from flooding.

鐵達尼號也包含了新的安全措施，像是 16 個用以防止船身進水的水密隔艙。

This caused many to believe that the ship was unsinkable.

這讓許多人相信，這艘船是不會沈沒的。

Such confidence led to the unfortunate decision to cut the number of lifeboats on board in half in order to make the deck look clean and elegant.

這樣的信心導致了不幸的決策，將船上的救生艇減少一半以讓甲板看起來更乾淨和高雅。

On April 10, 1912, Titanic left port in Southampton, England and embarked on its first and last voyage.

1912 年 4 月 10 號，鐵達尼號駛離英國南安普敦的港口，展開它第一次以及最後一次的航行。

It first stopped over in France and Ireland and by the time it set out on a long stretch of sea toward New York City, it had about 2,200 people on board.

船隻首先在法國及愛爾蘭停留，接著當它朝著紐約的綿長航線出發時，船上乘載約 2200 人。

Unbeknownst to all, misfortune would arise just a few days into their voyage.

沒有任何人料到，他們的航行將在幾天後發生災難。

On April 14 at approximately 9:40 and 10:55 p.m., warnings were send to the Titanic's radio operators of ice fields but they were never relayed to the bridge.

4 月 14 號大約在晚間 9 點 40 分到 10 點 55 分之間，冰情警吿送達鐵達尼號上的無線電室，但是消息從未抵達艦橋。

At about 11:40 p.m. nearly 500 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, lookout crew on the Titanic spotted an iceberg in the ship's path and sent word to the bridge, but it was too late.

晚間大約 11 點 40 分，在距離加拿大紐芬蘭省的海岸約 500 英里的時候，鐵達尼號上的瞭望員發現了輪船航線上的冰山並傳話至艦橋，但是為時已晚。

The iceberg grazed the right side of the ship causing its compartments, originally deemed watertight, to fill with water.

冰山割開船面的右側，造成原本被認為完全防水的水密隔艙注滿了水。

Titanic's radio operators began sending out distress signals.

鐵達尼號的無線電操作員開始發送求救信號。

At 12:20 a.m. one signal reached the ship Carpathia which began making its way to the Titanic at maximum speed.

在凌晨 12 點 20 分，卡柏菲亞號接收到信號，並開始朝鐵達尼號全速前進。

Around the same time, crew began loading women and children into the few lifeboats on board.

約莫同時，船員開始將婦女及兒童安置到船上為數不多的救生艇。

In addition to the shortage of lifeboats, some of the ones used were not being filled to capacity stranding even more people on the sinking ship.

除了數量不足外，有些救生艇甚至沒有承載到人數上限，留下更多人在下沈中的輪船上。

For the next two hours, the front compartments of the Titanic filled with water causing the bow to sink and the stern to rise out of the water.

在接下來兩個鐘頭裡，鐵達尼號前部的水密隔艙充滿了水，導致艦首下沉而艦尾抬出水面。

At around 2:18 a.m., the ship snapped into two.

大約 2 點 18 分的時候，輪船斷成兩截。

The bow sank first followed by the stern a couple minutes later.

艦首首先沈入水中，而艦尾也在幾分鐘後下沉。

Those who went down with the ship were left in the freezing waters.

那些和船一起沉沒的人被留在冰冷的海水中。

Over an hour later, at about 3:30 a.m., the Carpathia arrived to pick up passengers.

一個多小時後，大約 3 點 30 分，卡柏菲亞號抵達事發地點並救起乘客。

Of the 2,200 people on the Titanic, only 705 survived.

鐵達尼號上的 2200 人，只有 705 位存活下來。

Soon after the disaster, both the United States and Great Britain conducted investigations and developed new safety measures for ships.

災難發生後不久，美國及英國都發起了調查並著手制定新的船隻安全措施。

They required ships to maintain a 24-hour radio watch and have enough lifeboats for all on board.

他們要求船上需有 24 小時的無線電值班人員，並配置足夠船上所有人員使用的救生艇。

They also helped establish the International Ice Patrol which monitors icebergs in the North Atlantic and warn ships of potential dangers.

他們也協助成立國際冰山巡邏隊，負責監控北大西洋的冰山並提醒船隻潛在的危險。

For decades Titanic was lost to the sea existing only as a ghost from a decadent past.

數十年來鐵達尼號消失在大海中，如同幽靈一般存在腐朽的過去中。

In 1985, nearly 75 years after the ship sank a team led by National Geographic explorer-at-large, Bob Ballard, discovered the shipwreck off the coast of Canada.

1985 年，在船隻沈沒將近 75 年後，一支由 Bob Ballard 率領的國家地理探勘團隊，在加拿大外海找到了失事的船隻。

Little by little scientists have reconstructed the ship and its encounter with the iceberg giving us a better understanding of what exactly happened on that fateful day.

一點一滴，科學家慢慢重建這艘船以及它遭遇冰山的狀況，讓我們更了解在那災難性的一天究竟發生了什麼事。