【课文】

One of the most famous sailing ships of the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark, can still be seen at

Greenwich. She stands on dry land and is visited by thousands of people each year. She serves as an

impressive reminder of the great ships of the past. Before they were replaced by steamships, sailing

vessels like the Cutty Sark were used to carry tea from China and wool from Australia. The Cutty Sark

was one of the fastest sailing ships that has ever been built. The only other ship to match her was the

Thermopylae. Both these ships set out from Shanghai on June 18th, 1872 on an exciting race to England.

This race, which went on for exactly four months, was the last of its kind. It marked the end of the

great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era.