一艘曾是世界上航速最快、且船身长度超过“泰坦尼克号”的客轮，将在佛罗里达州海岸外被凿沉，并打造成为世界上最大的人工海洋礁石。
A ship that was once the fastest in the world and measures longer than the Titanic will be sunk off the coast of Florida and turned into the world's largest artificial ocean reef.
“美国号”（SS United States）在费城停泊了近30年，随后被拖往佛罗里达州，不久将成为海洋生物的栖息地，以及海洋爱好者的水下观光景点。
The SS United States spent nearly 30 years docked in Philadelphia before it was moved to Florida, where it will soon become a home for sealife and an underwater attraction for marine enthusiasts.
保护人士曾为这艘历史上的远洋客轮——它曾数百次横渡大西洋——争取将其作为博物馆保存下来，但未能成功。
Activists unsuccessfully fought for the historic liner - which crossed the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of times - to be preserved as a museum.
取而代之的是，在被佛罗里达州一个县政府购买后，它将被加入该海岸外数十个人工礁石之中；同时也计划在陆地上建立一座博物馆，讲述这艘船的历史。
Instead, after being purchased by a Florida county, it will be added to the dozens of artificial reefs off the coast, as a land-based museum detailing the ship's history is also planned.
在退役前，“美国号”以接送美国与欧洲之间的皇室成员和名流而闻名，服役时间从1952年持续到1969年。
Before its retirement, the SS United States was known for carrying royalty and celebrities from the US the Europe, beginning in 1952 and ending in 1969.
年幼的比尔·克林顿在成为总统前，曾乘坐该船横渡大西洋。前总统哈里·杜鲁门、德怀特·艾森豪威尔和约翰·肯尼迪也曾乘坐该舰。
A young Bill Clinton, before he was president, used the ship to cross the Atlantic. Former presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy also travelled on the vessel.
该船去年从费城被拖往阿拉巴马州进行清理和修复工作。周一，它从阿拉巴马州启程，前往佛罗里达州德斯廷海岸，将于周三在一场不使用炸药的精准作业中被凿沉。
The ship was moved from Philadelphia to Alabama last year for cleaning and remediation work. On Monday, it took its final journey from Alabama to the coast of Destin, Florida, where it will be sunk on Wednesday in a precision operation without explosives.
马龙·白兰度、可可·香奈儿、杜克·艾灵顿、萨尔瓦多·达利、沃尔特·迪士尼、朱迪·加兰和加里·格兰特等明星在其服役期间也曾登船。
Stars including Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel, Duke Ellington, Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, Judy Garland and Cary Grant also boarded the ship during its sailing tenure.
在被佛罗里达州地方政府购买前，多项让该船作为博物馆或浮动酒店“第二次生命”的提案均告失败。
Before its purchase by the municipal Florida government, a number of proposals that would have seen the ship live a second life as a museum or a floating hotel failed.
取而代之的是，这艘著名客轮在不同船东手中辗转于各个码头，并伴随法律纠纷不断。
Instead, the famed ship sat at various docks with various owners as legal battles played out.
“美国号”保护协会曾多次试图让该船继续留在水面上，但均未成功。
The SS United States Conservancy group repeatedly attempted to keep the ship above water, but was unsuccessful.
保护协会主席苏珊·吉布斯——其祖父曾协助设计“美国号”——表示，她很高兴这艘船的故事将得以流传。
Conservancy President Susan Gibbs - whose grandfather helped designed the SS United States - said she was glad that the story of the ship would live on.
“[这艘船] 一直是一个毫不掩饰的美国象征，把这么多人凝聚在一起，”吉布斯对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部（CBS News，英国广播公司的美国合作伙伴）表示。
"[The ship] has always been this unabashedly American symbol that brings so many people together," Gibbs told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.