Women and Children First? A Tale of Two Ships 婦孺優先？兩艘沉船的故事

 ◎管淑平
When the Titanic sank, the safety of women and children came first. But when the Lusitania went down, it was a case of survival of the fittest.
當鐵達尼沉沒時，最先顧及婦孺安全。但 露西塔尼亞號沉沒，就是適者生存、各憑本事了。
An analysis of passenger data from the two vessels revealed that captain’s orders to allow women and children off first were adhered to when the Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912.
一份針對這兩艘船乘客資料所做的分析，揭露了船長要婦孺優先逃生的命令，在鐵達尼號 1912年4月14日首航途中撞上冰山時受到遵守。
But when the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine three years later, it was a case of every man for himself.
但是當3年後露西塔尼亞號遭德國潛艦魚雷擊中時，大家只顧自己、不管他人死活。
The difference lies in how quickly they went down, the researchers believe.
其 中的差別在於船沉沒速度，研究人員相信。
The Titanic took almost three hours to sink, giving at least the passengers time to regain their cool and remember their manners. Women were up to 54 per cent more likely to have lived than men, and under-15s were 32 per cent more likely to survive than the over-50s.
鐵達尼號花了將近3小時沉沒，至少給乘客時間恢復鎮定並保持禮節。女性存活率比男性多54％，15歲以下生存率也比 50歲以上的多32％。
But the Lusitania took less than 20 minutes, and panic was the order of the day. Men and women aged between 16 and 35 were most likely to push their way to safety, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.
但是露西塔尼亞號不到20分鐘就沉沒，大家都慌了。16歲到 35歲的男女最容易在人群推擠中順利平安逃生，美國國家科學院刊報導。
新聞辭典
every man for himself：名詞片語， 自掃門前雪。例句：During the war, people lived a life of every man for himself.（戰爭期間大家都自顧自的。）
push one’s way （to, among）：動詞片語，從人群中擠出一條路到達某地或某種狀態。例句：A crowd of excited fans pushed their way to the front and were eager to shake hands with the singer.（一群興奮的粉絲從人群中擠到前面，很想和這名歌手握手。）
the order of the day：名詞片語，常見的、流行的（事物、現象）。例句：Sex before marriage is the order of the day. （婚前性行為很常見。）