两艘「第一」的潜艇(英中对照)

古德明《征服英语》之英语军事故事，古德明，香港英语教育作家，他开了一个《征服英语专栏》，在专栏中专门用英语写了世界近代史上的军事小故事，用英语讲述历史中那些惊心动魄的战争。
两艘「第一」的潜艇
the first submarine employed for military purposes was the turtle, a one-man vessel designed and built by a yale graduate in 1776. revolutionary americans hoped that, with this secret weapon, they could destroy the british warships anchored in new york harbor. on the night of 7 september 1776, the turtle tried to attach a keg of powder to the british ship eagle. the attempt failed and the powder exploded harmlessly.
the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship was the huntley. on the night of 17 february 1864, the confederate vessel rammed the housatonic, the largest ship in the union navy, with an explosive torpedo. the housatonic burst into flames and sank. the huntley surfaced, signalled her success, and was never heard from again. scientists today believe that all the men on board died when they ran out of oxygen.

海龟号是史上第一艘军用潜艇，只可载一人，一七七六年由一名耶鲁大学毕业生设计及建造。为独立而战的美国人希望，这秘密武器可以摧毁停泊纽约港内的英国战舰。一七七六年九月七日晚，海龟号想把一桶炸药附在英国的苍鹰号上，但不成功，炸药空自爆炸。
亨特利号是史上第一艘炸沉敌舰的潜艇。一八六四年二月十七日，美国南军这艘潜艇用鱼雷击中北军最大的战舰胡萨托尼克号。战舰着火沉没。亨特利号浮上水面，发出成功信号，但从此再无音信。今天，科学家认为艇上氧气耗尽，船员全部死亡。