113Britannia Rues the Waves

7/31/2019 113Britannia Rues the Waves

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Lesson 13

Britannia Rues the Waves

Advanced English Book 1


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Background Information

How Britain gained naval supremacySome facts & figures about the recentnaval expansion of the Soviet Union

North Sea Oil

Detailed Study of the Text

Language Points

Exercises Exercise

Exercise

Exercise


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Background Information

How Britain gained naval supremacy

Facts and figures

North Sea oil


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In mediaeval times, the trade of the worldand the center of maritime power lay in theMediterranean Sea.

The discovery of the Cape route to India and thediscovery of the American continent shifted thecenter from the Mediterranean to the AtlanticOcean.

The early major sea powers were the Netherlands,Portugal, Spain and France.


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Henry (1485-1509) laid the foundation ofthe British merchant navy.

Henry (1491-1547) founded the BritishRoyal Navy. He created ships specially mannedand commissioned to fight and his shipbuilders

designed a new kind of ship (firing broadsides),better adapted to the ocean and tomanoeuvring in battles.


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In 1588, Elizabeth (1558-1603) defeated theSpanish Armada, a fleet of 130 great ships, sent byKing Philip of Spain against England. There wasa running gun fight in the British Channel and the

Armada was routed. The remnant of the Spanishfleet later met a storm along the coasts of Scotland

and Ireland. Out of the 130 ships, only about halfreached home. This victoryestablished England asa major sea power.


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The battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21,1805, between the British fleet and the combinedFrench and Spanish fleet, off Spains Cape Trafalgar.

The British fleet, 33 ships in all, was commanded byAdmiral Nelson. The battle ended with the capture of20 French ships. Nelson was badly wounded and

died shortly before the battle came to and end. Thevictory established Britains naval supremacy whichwas unchallenged for over a century.


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The total tonnage of the Soviet maritime fleet in1950 was 2.1 million tons, ranking 21 in world

tonnage. Between 1971 and 1975, the Soviet UnionSpent $ 2.8 billion on buying 990 ships from Japan,Britain and other European countries. By 1979, theSoviet Union had a fleet of 7,997 ships, with a total

tonnage of over 32 million tons, accounting for 5.6percent of world tonnage. The average ship age oftwo-thirds of the fleet was under ten.


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The total volume of Russian seaborne trade in

1976 was 214.5 million tons, an increase of 370per cent over that in 1953. in 1976 alone, theSoviet Union netted 600 million dollars of foreign

exchange.


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Today Britain has discovered 50 oil fields inthe North Sea, with a reserve of 2.2 billiontons. Production began in the second half

of 1975 and went up gradually. In 1976production of crude oil reached 52.8 milliontons. It was estimated that by 1980

production would rise to about 110 milliontons. By then Britain would become self-sufficient in oil.


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Expressions & Patterns

1.Britannia rues the waves:

Britain is sorry that she has lost herdominance on the high seas; Britain regretsthat she no longer enjoys a naval supremacy.

Rue: repent of : regret having entered into;wish nonexistent

The waves: (poet. or rhet.) the sea


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grab: capture

the headlines: titles of important newsitems,

2.Britains merchant navy these days:


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3. Shipping is also a significant Britishsuccess story:

success story: persons rise from poverty, etc. tofame

4. the British fleet competition:

risk: expose to the chance of damage or loss

stiff: strong; great in degree; difficult to dealwith a stiff job; stiff reading

being elbowed out: a metaphor; being forced out


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5. and carving Western shippingcompanies:

carving their way into: a metaphor; making

their way into by cutting

undercut: sell goods more cheaply or work for

smaller wages than (sb. doing the same); sell orwork at lower prices or wages than


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E.g.

The social imperialists are bent on keepingthe situation tense in the Middle East.

There is no doubt that they are bent on thecomplete destruction of Hitler and Nazism.

6. who are bent on of the trade:bent on: strongly inclined or determined


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The phrase comes from Aesops fable. Severalbeasts joined the lion in a hunt; but, when thespoil was divided, the lion claimed one quarter inright of his prerogative, one for his superiorcourage, one for his dam and cubs, and as for

the fourth, let who will dispute it with me. Awed

by his frown, the other beasts silently withdrew.

7.the lions share: the whole thing or, nowpopularly, the biggest and best portion; thelarger or largest part, nearly all.


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8.in which Britain has a big stake:

E.g.

The simplest explanation for the Western nations

reluctance to support sanctions is their considerableeconomic stake in South Africa.

His office is not directly at stake in the March election.

stake: a share or interest, as in property, aperson, or a business venture

at stake: at issue, in question, risked More than the future of a province is at stake.


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9. in terms of: with regard to

E.g.

1. In terms of significant agreements,Vance collected no more this time thanfrom his first Mideast trip.

2. We are better off in terms of capability.


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10. a new British ship was being launchedevery week:

E.g.

launch a satellite

launch an attack

launch a new enterprise

launch: set (a ship esp. one newly built) afloat

The verb launch, used figuratively, may be

translated into different Chinese verbs.


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11. stayed ahead of the competition by sophisticated ships

stayed ahead of the competition: have remainedin a leading position; have been the winners in the

competition

ahead of: in advance of; better than

sophisticated: complex, with the latestimprovements and refinements


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12. cut-throat: (of competition) intense,merciless

dodgy: (informal, esp. British English) risky andpossibly dangerous

13. shipping conferences moving goodsby sea:


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14. to weather the bad times: to be able topull through when where is a depression;to survive when economic conditions arenot favorable

weather: come through successfully; pass safelythrough (storm, difficulty)

times: the prevailing conditions of a particular

period


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15. they make it easier for the availabletrade:

scramble: rough struggle; a disorderly struggle orrush, as for sth. prized

16. the industrialized world had begun its slideinto the worst depression since the 1930s

(the depression in) the 1930s: referring to theworldwide great depression from 1929 to 1933. Itbegan with the New York stock market crash onOct. 24, 1929.


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17. mothballs:

literal meaning: marble-sized balls of naphthalene,stored with clothes (esp. woolens) to repel moths;

figurative meaning: a) the state of being stored, orkept in existence but not used

E.g.We shall have to put this idea in mothballs.

E.g. He keeps his car in mothballs during the winter months.

b) the state of having been put aside, as of nofurther use


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18. But with the world iron ore carriers.in the doldrums: (informal) in a low and sadstate of mind; in a state of inactivity

E.g.

At present (1958) Nato is in the doldrums.

The President was relying heavily on his energypackage to shake his Administration out of thedoldrums.


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19. the British shipping industry now began tofeel the pinch:

pinch: suffering caused by lack of necessary things,esp. money (esp. in the phrase: feel the pinch); a

painful, difficult, or straitened circumstanceE.g.

1. American farmers, feeling the pinch, raised loud

cries of protest.2. The Presidents economic sanction against the

Soviet Union should pinch in the months ahead.


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20. the going freight rate: currently acceptedcharge for sending the specified goods there

going: as charged at present; commonly accepted

buoyancy: the property (as of prices or businessactivity) of maintaining a satisfactory high level

rate: a charge or payment fixed according to astandard scale

21. provided there is still buoyancy in other

industries:


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22. they are also the routes the biggestinroads:

inroad: an injurious intrusion on or into; influence

of one party that undermines that of another

be out to: making a determined effort to; tobe trying to


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23. Developing countries regard a

merchant navy as national airline:

a status symbol: a sign which shows ones high

social position

to go for: to try to get


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hold on to: try to keep; not give or sell to sb. else; hang

on to

24. the key tactic behind its strategy ofholding on to the richest slice of the trade:

25. far from being the whole answer to theThird World threat:

far from: not at all

E.g. Your work is far from being satisfactory.


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E.g.

The newspaper account is far from being true (inmany points false).

far from: not at all

Far from (= instead of ) admiring his paintings, I

dislike them intensely.


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26. This demand has found UNCTAD:

1) UNCTAD: The United Nations Conference ofTrade and Development

2) find expression in : be expressed by means of

E.g.

1. At home, British outrage found expression innews headlines.

2. Growing mutual suspicion found its expression inincreased armaments and the preparation of plansfor war.


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27. Russia has expanded would justify:

justify: show a satisfactory reason or excusefro sth. done

1. A far more serious view was taken of thesituation than was justified.

E.g.

2. The results fully justified my faith.

3. He had justified every expectation.


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28. another one million tons should comeinto service before 1980.

should: Should is used here to indicate probability,likelihood.

E.g.

1. The new type of bus comes into service laterthis month.

2. The newly-built railway will come intoservice in a months time.

come into service: begin to serve the public;begin to be used; available


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29. The name of the game, for Russianships, is hard currency:

2. In the rough and tumble world ofprofessional basketball, survival is oftenthe name of the game.

E.g.

the name of the game: (colloquial) the crux ofthe matter; the thing that really counts: purpose

or essence of action etc.

1. Well, all right, I said, the name of the game is

trust: youve got to trust things.


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30. there is more to it than that for the

Russians:

That is more to it than purpose of the Russians.The Russians have other purposes as well.

E.g. The former allies are now sworn enemies. But therewas more to it than that: Vietnam has become SovietRussias pawn in Southeast Asia.

E.g. He turned and went out, cursing his own stupidity. And

yet as he walked towards the barn, he knew in his heart thatthere was more to it than that.

E.g. There is more to the vote than approval of thecanal treaties.


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31. this is also part of a general Soviethydrographic policy to map the oceans ofthe world:

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hydrographic policy: a plan to study and map the

oceans with reference to their navigational andcommercial uses

32. How can Western shipowners react if they did the same:


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33. There is a limit, of course, to what anyBritish government can do on its own:

limit: line or point that may not or cannot bepassed; greatest or smallest amount, degree, etc.

of what is possible

1. We must set a limit to the expense of the trip.

E.g.

2. His greed knows no limits.3. Are there no limits to your tolerance?

4. So far, it achieved only limited success.

5. They would surely fight if pushed to the limit.


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34. on ones own: (colloquial) by ones owneffort or on ones own initiative; by itself

E.g.

1. She lives on her own.

2. Hes working on his own.


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35. churn out: (informal) produce a largequantity of sth; produce in quantitywithout quality; produce in a regular flowwithout much thought or expression,

usually with some abundance

This factory churns out lots and lots of cars a day.

E.g.


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36. Smaller shipping lines do not have theresources to diversify:

diversify: expand (a business, line of products, etc.)by increasing the variety of things produced or ofoperations undertaken


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The following words are initials oracronyms formed from the first letters of

a series of words. Write out the full formsfor the following and put them into

Chinese:

Exercises

Model:

1)UNCTAD---United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development

2)EEC---European Economic Community


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Exercises

English ChineseNATO-North Atlantic TreatyOrganization

()

OAS-Organization of

American States

OAU-Organization of AfricanUnity

()

ASEAN-Association of

Southeast Asian Nations

()

OPEC-Organization ofPetroleum exportingCountries

E i


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Exercises

English ChineseSALT-Strategic ArmsLimitation Talks

UNESCO-United Nations

Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization

M.I.T-MassachusettsInstitute of Technology

BBC-British BroadcastingCorporation

V.I.P-very important person

E i


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Exercises

English ChineseGMT-Greenwich mean time

GNP-gross national product

KGB-(Committee of StateSecurity) ()

ICBM-Inter-continentalballistic missile

Laser-light amplification bystimulated emission ofradiation

Radar-radio detecting and

ranging

E i


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Exercises

Replace the italicized words or expressionswith idiomatic, colloquial expressions fromthe text:

1. Nowadays, happenings in that country are given

prominencein the papers. ( )grab the headlines

2. In many regions of the world, the old colonial powerswere being pushed outby the late comers--- Germany

and the United States. ( )were being elbowed out

3. The Saudis pressed fora larger share ofthe profits madeby the big American oil consortium in Saudi Arabia.

( )the lions share


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E i


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Exercises

7. Many Western economists do not agree that another energycrisis will come in the near future.

( )is around the corner

8. The writer constantly felt the hardships causedbypoverty in his late year. ( )the pinch of poverty

9. Since British companies invested large sums ofmoneyin the scheduled liner-freight services, they didnot suffer so much as Norway and Greece in thedepression. ( )big

E i


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Exercises

10. Some smaller bankers had to admit defeatin the cut-throat competition among banks. ( )throw in the towel

11. It is a loss that can neverbe compensated. ( )made up

12. Very often depressionin one area of economy quicklyaffects other economic sectors. ( )a slump

E i


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Exercises

Translate the following into English(Chinese on Page 248)

1. Oil is the vital lifeline of the national economy

in many Middle Eastern countries.

2. The Third World countries are bent ondeveloping their industries independently.

3. Some Western countries were afraid that the oil-producing countries would drive them out ofbusiness by undercutting them.

E i


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Exercises

4. The British government promised to put up themoney needed to solve the problem ofunemployment.

5. Saudi Arabias proved reserves of oil are by farthe greatest in the world.

6. The Chinese people stood the test of the

Cultural Revolution.7. These veteran soldiers have all weathered thetest of may battles during the Second World War.

E i


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Exercises

8. We are still a long way from the goal of thefour modernizations.

9. Many scientists and technicians are out to

learn foreign languages so as to be able to readfirst-hand reference materials.

10. The U.S. Congress ratified the treaty, thus

bringing it into force at once.

E e cises


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Exercises

11. A new telegraph building will be completedand put into service soon.

12. Iraqs expansionism was under attack from thepress all over the world.

13. The military expenditures of that countryincrease at a rate of 4% to 5% every year.


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113Britannia Rues the Waves