最早读到关于泰坦尼克号的文字，是在原版的英语教科书，很多人都读过的《新概念英语》。该书中有一课，专门讲到了这艘早在几十年前的处女航里就沉没的，号称永不沉没的豪华游轮。课文不长，就抄录在下面：      
What would have happened if only two of the sixteen water-tight compartments had been flooded?

    The great ship, Titanic, sailed for New York from Southampton on April 10th, 1912. She was carrying 1,316 passengers and crew of 891. Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship. At the time, however, she was not only the largest ship that had ever been built, but was regarded as unsinkable, for she had sixteen watertight compartments. Even if two of these were flooded, she would still be able to float. The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
    Four days after setting out, while the Titanic was sailing across the icy water of the North Atlantic, huge iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout. After the alarm had been given, the great ship turned sharply to avoid a direct collision. The Titanic turned just in time, narrowly missing the immense walk of ice which rose over 100 feet out of the water beside her. Suddenly, there was a slight trembling sound from below, and the captain went down to see what had happened. The noise had been so faint that no one though that the ship had been damaged. Below, the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly, for five of her sixteen watertight compartments had already been flooded! The order to abandon ship was given and hundreds of people plunged into the icy water. As there were not enough lifeboats for everybody, 1,500 lives were lost.

       电影《冰海沉船》是英国人在1950年代拍的，英文名字叫作《A night to remember》 新中国有它的译制片， http://v.pptv.com/show/0U7ycNgibruxPzQ0.html  同时，我们也可以看到它加注中文的英文原版片。http://www.iqiyi.com/dianying/20100331/n83.html  影片用写实的笔法从游船的下水一直写到她的沉没，写了船上设备的先进，写了船上装饰的奢华，写了当时英国贵族的豪华享受，也写了当灭顶之灾来临之时，人们的各式各样的心理思绪及其在外表上的流露。由于船上的规定，救生艇要先让妇女儿童先登艇逃命，很多男士就和自己的妻子儿女绅士式地分开，留在了就要沉没的船上，留在了冰冷的海水里。电影也写到一对夫妻，不愿分离，选择了一起在船的沉没的瞬间逃命。事后，继续建造的游轮上吸取了泰坦尼克号的死亡1500人的教训，规定了救生艇的容纳位置要和乘员的数量相等，改进了无线电通讯的信号识别系统，加强了行船瞭望的设施。可以说，《冰海沉船》是写实的泰坦尼克号沉船事件。

     1990年代好莱坞重新拍摄的讲述泰坦尼克号的沉没，并且演绎成了一个伟大的爱情故事的电影，这就是在她沉没了100周年时又在大陆的高级影院里老片重放的《铁达尼号》，虽然这个音译的船名多少带有了一些港式英语音译的味道。好莱坞大片的特点，就是充分利用声光电和逼真的道具的手段，达到剧不惊人誓不休的效果。他的出发点，是商业炒作的票房价值。于是，主要的情节就变成了一对恋爱中的青年男女在深处险境，甚至无法生还的情形下的爱情。由此来吸引观众的关注，由此来获取观众的眼泪。其实，即便是没有泰坦尼克号这样一个史实做背景，好莱坞也一定会找一个别的什么事由来把青年男女之间的爱情抒发得淋漓尽致，拍摄一个别的什么好莱坞大片出来。