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Wenjuan Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
the meaning of ground
hi guys,i have a question here. i want to figure out the meaning of ground in the following paragraph.
Ibn Battuta set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on the shore. A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses. As he watched, the third ship, with all his belongings and slaves — one carrying his child — was carried out to sea and never heard from again.
here is my confustion.when i first read this sentence, i understood it as the strom landed or came, then it destroyed the ship. but when i googled the word, it seldom has this meaning. it is more often used as "if you ground a boat or if it grounds, it hits the bottom of the sea so that it cannot move". but if the boat grounds and cannot move, the water nearby should not be very deep, then how can "drowning many people and horses" happened?
i am wondering whether i have made myself understood. but i really need your help. thanks
Ibn Battuta set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on the shore. A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses. As he watched, the third ship, with all his belongings and slaves — one carrying his child — was carried out to sea and never heard from again.
here is my confustion.when i first read this sentence, i understood it as the strom landed or came, then it destroyed the ship. but when i googled the word, it seldom has this meaning. it is more often used as "if you ground a boat or if it grounds, it hits the bottom of the sea so that it cannot move". but if the boat grounds and cannot move, the water nearby should not be very deep, then how can "drowning many people and horses" happened?
i am wondering whether i have made myself understood. but i really need your help. thanks
Top answer
Most drownings occur in shallow water. Many sailors (at least, of that era) were simply unable to swim, and even if they could, trying to survive a storm even in shallow water is very difficult. The waves will rapidly exhaust people or animals who are trying to swim to safety.
- Most drownings occur in shallow water.
- Many sailors (at least, of that era) were simply unable to swim, and even if they could, trying to survive a storm even in shallow water is very difficult.
- The waves will rapidly exhaust people or animals who are trying to swim to safety.
- A boat can "ground", depending on its draft, in tens of feet of water, which can occur on, for example, sandbars many miles from shore.
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2 Answers
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Most drownings occur in shallow water. Many sailors (at least, of that era) were simply unable to swim, and even if they could, trying to survive a storm even in shallow water is very difficult. The waves will rapidly exhaust people or animals who are trying to swim to safety. A boat can "ground", depending on its draft, in tens of feet of water, which can occur on, for example, sandbars many m
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