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Tonight, a Soviet nuclear submarine is on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, damaged three days ago by a fire on board.
今晚，一艘蘇聯核潛艇沉入了大西洋海底。3天前，這艘潛艇遭遇火災。
Officials in Washington and Moscow confirmed this morning's sinking.
華盛頓和莫斯科的多位官員確認了此事的真實性。
Officials in both countries also said the loss of the vessel presents no atomic threat despite the presence of both nuclear missiles
美俄兩國的多位官員還表示，這艘核潛艇雖然沉沒了，而且船上有帶核彈頭導彈
and a nuclear power reactor on the submarine. NPR's David Malthus has a report:
和核動力反應器，但不會造成重大威脅。下面請聽大衛·馬爾薩斯為您發回的報道。
Pentagon officials say the crippled Soviet submarine, which normally carries sixteen nuclear missiles,
美國國防部官員表示，這艘沉沒的蘇聯潛艇一般情況下可以攜帶16顆帶核彈頭導彈，
each with two warheads, went down just before dawn six hundred and eighty miles northeast of Bermuda.
每個帶核彈頭導彈帶有2個彈頭。在天亮之前，這艘潛艇就沉沒在了百慕大群島東北部680英里的地方。
The Soviets put the precise time of sinking at 4:03 am eastern time,
蘇聯方面認定的沉沒時間是東部時間4:03。
and Moscow says there was no further loss of life aside from the three crewmen killed when a fire broke out Friday.
蘇聯政府表示，周五爆發火災時，除了3人死亡外，就沒有其他的人員損失了。
American surveillance planes observed that towing efforts were halted shortly after midnight.
美國偵查飛機觀察到，午夜過后不久，拖車就停止工作了。
About three hours later, the remaining crew members were observed abandoning ship in an orderly and planned fashion, according to American officials.
多位美國工作人員表示，大約3小時后，有人注意到，剩下的機務人員井然有序地離開潛水艇。
The crew was rescued from life rafts by five soviet surface ships in the area.
該地區的5只蘇聯水面艦艇從救生艇中解救出了這些機務人員。
Pentagon officials say a US ocean-going tugboat was nearby and ready to assist, but the Soviets refused any help.
美國國防部的多位工作人員表示，一艘美國的遠洋拖船就在附近，隨時準備援助，但蘇聯拒絕了幫助。
Pentagon sources do not rule out the possibility that the Soviets scuttled their sub once it became clear that leaks could not be controlled.
有國防部線人稱，也有可能蘇聯人是發現核泄漏無法管控后就決定棄船了。
The Soviets have not explained the cause of the damage to the ship,
蘇聯方面并未解釋船體受到損害的原因，
but Pentagon officials say there was an explosion in one of the missile tubes that blew a big hole in the deck.
但有國防部的工作人員表示，其中一個導彈管發生了爆炸，導致甲板被炸出了一個大洞。
Vice Admiral Powell Carter describes the damage this way:
海軍中將鮑威爾·卡特是這樣描述船體損傷情況的：
You're talking about a structure that's enormously strong up there.
這艘潛水艇非常結實，但還是受到了嚴重的破壞。
It's like, each of those missile tube doors that shuts is just like a safe vault.
每個關閉了出口的導彈管都像個保險庫一樣。
And then it shuts and locks with a big rotating ring, and that's been torn completely loose and bent like a pretzel back.
像旋轉環一樣鎖死了的導彈管出口居然被徹底扯動松了，像卷餅一樣回彎著。
So the Force of the explosion was enormous.
可以推斷出爆炸的力度可以說是非常大的。
While Pentagon Officials say they don't know what caused the missile tube explosion,
一些國防部官員表示他們不清楚導彈管爆炸的原因，
they point out that Soviet missiles use highly volatile liquid fuel, and a fuel leak could have caused the eruption.
同時也指出，蘇聯導彈使用了穩定性極弱的液體燃料，有可能是燃料泄露導致了這次爆炸。
Again, Admiral Carter: These liquid fuel systems are very, very dangerous; they're very unstable.
對此，海軍中將卡特表示：這些液體燃料系統非常之危險，非常不穩定。
That's why, very early in our missile programs as pushing a leading edge of technology,
正因如此，我們在導彈項目之初本來是想采用這種尖端技術的，
we moved to solid fuel missiles, early on just for that fact, because liquid fuel is extremely dangerous.
但最后還是轉向了固態燃料導彈，就是因為擔心爆炸，因為液體燃料十分危險。
Admiral Carter said it was possible the nuclear warheads on top of the missile burned in the fire,
中將卡特還表示，有可能導彈頂端的核彈頭在大火中受到燒灼，
or were thrown out into the water and sunk to the bottom 18,000 feet below.
或者是被投擲進了水中，然后沉到了1.8萬英尺的水底。
He said the other missiles and warheads might have been damaged by pressure as the sub sank,
他表示，其他導彈和彈頭有可能在潛艇下沉的過程中因為受到壓力的作用而損壞，
but there was no chance of a nuclear detonation or serious radiation leakage.
但無論如何也不可能發生核爆炸或者嚴重的輻射泄露。
The submarine's nuclear reactors, officials say, are self-contained in what amounts to rust-proof metal vaults,
一些工作人員表示，這艘潛艇的核反應堆內置于防銹的金屬弓體內，
and the Soviet say the reactors were shut down prior to sinking.
蘇聯方面也表示，這些反應堆在沉沒之前就關閉了。
US officials say preliminary tests of the air and sea in the area have produced no signs of radioactive release.
多位美國官員表示，對該地區空氣和海洋的初步測試表明并不存在放射性釋放的問題。
Pentagon officials say the US will not make any attempt to recover the Soviet sub.
國防部的工作人員認為，美國不會嘗試恢復這艘潛艇的性能。
"It's Soviet property," says the Navy.
美國海軍表示，“這是蘇聯的財物”。
Retired submarine Captain James Bush of the Center for Defense Information says a salvage effort just isn't warranted in this case
已退役的潛水艇艇長詹姆斯·布什在美國國防情報中心工作，他表示，這種情況下，打撈是不可能的了，
with the submarine that was designed in the 1960s.
畢竟這艘潛水艇是上世紀60年代制造的。
It's an old submarine with old missiles.
無論是潛水艇還是其攜帶的導彈都十分老舊了。
I don't know that we would consider it worthwhile to have them to look at for the amount of money involved.
我覺得沒有必要讓他們為已經投入的資金而去打撈。
Now, it would probably be worthwhile if we could get their communications equipment and their coding equipment,
現在有意義的是：獲得他們的通訊設備、
their key lists, and things like that to decode messages.
編碼設備、主要清單等，從而解碼信息。
But I'm sure that the Soviets, with the time that they had prior to the submarine sinking, should have gotten all of that material off.
不過，我肯定，就蘇聯在潛水艇沉沒之前可以行動的時間來看，他們就應該忘掉建造潛艇的錢。
Pentagon officials say the sub loss should not be a serious setback for the Soviets, but some analysts disagree.
國防部的多名工作人員表示，這艘潛艇的損失不會給蘇聯帶來什么影響，但有些分析師并不茍同。
Pentagon consultant Norman Freedman says the Soviets have to be worried about liquid fueled missiles on other subs.
國防部咨詢師諾曼·弗里德曼表示，蘇聯必須得擔心其他用液體來為導彈提供動力的潛艇了。
These things are time bombs, Freeman says.
弗里德曼表示，這些東西就是定時炸彈。
They should all be called in and checked out. I'm David Malthus in Washington.
都要召集回來做檢查。感謝收聽大衛·馬爾薩斯為您從華盛頓發回的報道。
