ANSWER QUESTIONS BELOW: On May 7, 1915, six days after departing New York on the way to England, the captain of the British passenger ship Lusitania did a curious thing—he sailed straight. Now, sailing straight isn't automatically bad—in fact, it's usually good. But it was a mistake in this situation.
World War I was raging in Europe, and the Lusitania had reached the most perilous section of its journey, the waters off the southern coast of Ireland. The area was known to be infested with German U-boats, or submarines. Here's the thing about U-boats: They were easily confused by zigzag movements, so it would've been a good idea for the Lusitania to weave through the water. Historians say the captain charted a straight course, causing the ship to be open to attack. Predictably, a German torpedo ripped through the hull. Fifteen seconds later, an even bigger explosion doomed the ship. In just 18 minutes, the Lusitania was at the bottom of the ocean, where it remains today.
After the Lusitania sank, the United States sharply criticized Germany. The Germans, the U.S. argued, had deceitfully attacked a helpless passenger ship, filled with people just looking to have a nice time. The "Germans sank a passenger ship!" episode was a major reason why the United States entered World War I.
That's the basic story of the Lusitania, but the details are clouded in controversy.
There's one thing historians agree on: The Germans fired one torpedo. This naturally leads people to ask, "Why were there two explosions?" Some argue that the answer comes down to coal dust. According to their theory, when dust from the coal used to fuel the ship mixed with oxygen and fire from the first blast, a second explosion erupted that was way bigger than anything you'll ever see in chemistry class. This is the most widely believed theory.
But others have another theory. They believe that the Lusitania was secretly carrying British weapons, and when the torpedo hit, some of those weapons went off, causing the second explosion. If this were true, it would be a super huge deal because if the Lusitania was carrying contraband weapons, then it wasn't really a passenger ship. That would mean the Germans sort of had a "right" to torpedo it, and the United States entered the war based on false information. In fact, the Germans have always made this argument. They've claimed from the beginning that the Lusitania was carrying "large quantities of war material."
But that theory lacks a key component—credible evidence.
One of the biggest obstacles to solving the mystery is that the Lusitania has spent the past hundred years on the bottom of the ocean. Let's just say it's not exactly in pristine condition: The hull has collapsed, the anchors and other pieces are missing, and the wreck is covered with fishing nets. Also, the Lusitania is located in Irish waters and is considered a historical landmark. Thus, Ireland isn't too keen to have people wandering around the wreckage, looking for secret explosives.
To make things even more confounding, the British government (remember this was a British ship) hasn't been all that transparent about the situation. In 2014, released secret documents from the 1980s revealed that the British objected to an early salvage operation, warning that there was a "large amount of ammunition in the wreck" and exploring it would be "highly dangerous." What's more, the British definitely would have a reason to keep blaming the Germans. After all, revelations that the Lusitania was carrying weapons (putting American passengers at risk of attack) would surely upset the U.S.
In the end, historians say, the truth about the second explosion may never be known.
QUESTION 5
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According to the Article, why did the British government object to salvaging the Lusitania?
A.Secret British documents stated that there were large amounts of ammunition in the wreck, making salvage efforts "highly dangerous."
B.Secret British documents stated that the wreck is protected from salvage efforts because it is an Irish historical landmark.
C.Secret British documents stated that any salvage efforts would be "highly dangerous" because the ship is in poor condition.
D.Secret British documents stated that the ship is protected from salvage efforts because it is an important piece of World War I history.