Australian Billionaire Builds New Titanic

 

An Australian billionaire, Clive Palmer, has announced that he plans to rebuild one of the most famous ships in history, the Titanic. The new ship is scheduled to launch in 2016. It will sail on the original route from Southampton to New York and is planned to complete the journey its predecessor had started out on.

The new liner will be powered by diesel instead of coal-powered engines. The inner part of the new Titanic will be designed as closely as possible to the original. However, the ship will have modern safety features that the original vessel didn’t have, like GPS navigation  and a helicopter landing pad. Communications systems will also be 21st century standard. In contrast to the first Titanic that sunk in 1914 the new ship will have enough lifeboats for all of the 2,500 passengers.

 


The new liner, Titanic II, will be privately financed by the mining billionaire. For this venture he set up his own company, the Blue Star Line. Passengers will be able to dress up in clothes of those days and can dine and entertain themselves in original rooms. There will be three classes of passengers, just like in the original over a hundred years ago. The liner is being designed by a Finish company and will be built in China. 40,000 people have already registered for a voyage on the new Titanic. Eight captains and hundreds of other people have already applied for jobs on the new ship.


There has been major controversy over Clive Palmer’s plans. While some people think that it is pointless to rebuild such a ship, others argue that it is a good idea to bring back the memories of the great ocean liner. Over 1,500 people died in the cold waters of the North Atlantic when an iceberg it the Titanic on its maiden voyage.

 

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Words

  • announce = to make something public, for everyone to hear
  • apply = to make a request for a job
  • argue = to say your opinion
  • billionaire = a person who has earned over a billion dollars, Euros etc..
  • closely = here: much
  • controversy = discussion
  • design = plan
  • dine = eat
  • dress up = dress in unusual clothes
  • however = but
  • in contrast to = different than
  • landing pad = place where a helicopter can land
  • launch = here: to go on its first trip
  • liner = passenger ship
  • maiden voyage = the first trip
  • memories = an event you remember
  • pointless = it makes no sense
  • predecessor = the ship that sailed before it
  • register = to put your name on a document that says you want to do something
  • safety features = here: objects that make it safe and keep people from getting into a dangerous situation
  • scheduled = planned
  • standard = level of quality
  • venture = project
  • vessel = ship
  • voyage = journey by ship