THE CLASSROOM WINDOW WAS SHUT, AND HE ______ TO OPEN IT.A. DID EVE...
If you were to stop people in the street and ask them to name a ship that had been sunk, it is likely that nearly all of
them would say the Titanic. For the sinking of the Titanic was, if not the most tragic, certainly the most famous sea
disaster in the history of ocean travel.
The Titanic was built as a luxury liner, intended to be the fastest in the world, and a great deal of publicity had
surrounded it. The last point probably explains why so many important people from all walks of life were on the boat
when it went down.
The Titanic was on its maiden voyage to America in 1912 when it struck an iceberg and sank. Of its 2,300 passengers,
more than two-thirds were drowned. Because the Titanic was thought to be virtually unsinkable, no one was prepared
for the tragedy. There was total panic as very few of the passengers had bothered to learn the necessary drill in the
event of trouble. There was severe shortage of lifeboats and those that were launched were still half-empty. The one
point of calm was to be found in the ballroom where the band carried on playing right to the very end.
What makes the sinking of the Titanic even more tragic is the fact that warnings of icebergs had been sent, yet the liner
was still continuing at full speed. In addition one ship was only ten miles away but didn’t receive the distress signal.
One good thing did, however, result from the disaster. The whole question of safely at sea was looked into, resulting in
much better safety measures, including stricter lifeboat regulations and the establishment of an iceberg patrol.