英语听书《海底两万里》第11期 第1章 飞走的暗礁(11)

 　　The engineers then proceeded to inspect the Scotia, which had been put in dry dock.

　　斯各脱亚号被架了起来，工程师们开始检查。

　　They couldn't believe their eyes.

　　他们眼睛所看见的情形连自己也不能相信。

　　Two and a half meters below its waterline, there gaped¹ a symmetrical gash² in the shape of an isosceles triangle.

　　在船身吃水线下两米半的地方，露出一个很规则的等边三角形的缺口。

　　This breach³ in the sheet iron was so perfectly⁴ formed, no punch could have done a cleaner job of it.

　　铁皮上的伤痕十分整齐，、就是钻孔机也不能凿得这么准确，

　　Consequently, it must have been produced by a perforating tool of uncommon⁵ toughness,

　　弄成这个裂口的锐利器械一定不是用普通的钢铁制的，

　　plus, after being launched with prodigious⁶ power and then piercing four centimeters of sheet iron,

　　因为，这家伙在以惊人的力量向前猛撞，凿穿了四厘米厚的铁皮以后、

　　this tool had needed to withdraw itself by a backward motion truly inexplicable⁷.

　　还能用一种很难做到的后退动作，使自己脱身逃走。

　　This was the last straw, and it resulted in arousing public passions all over again.

　　最近这次事件的经过大致就是这样。

　　Indeed, from this moment on, any maritime⁸ casualty without an established cause was charged to the monster's account.

　　结果这又一次使舆论哄动起来。从这时候起，所有从前原因不明的航海遇难事件，现在都算在这个怪物的账上了。

　　This outrageous⁹ animal had to shoulder responsibility for all derelict vessels¹⁰,

　　这只离奇古怪的动物于是负起了所有船只沉没的责任。

　　whose numbers are unfortunately considerable, since out of those 3,000 ships whose losses are recorded annually¹¹ at the marine¹² insurance bureau,

　　不幸的是船沉的数目相当大，按照统计年鉴的记载，包括帆船和汽船在内，每年的损失约有三千艘左右，

　　the figure for steam or sailing ships supposedly lost with all hands, in the absence of any news, amounts to at least 200!

　　至于因下落不明而断定失踪：的，每年的数目也不下两百艘！

　　Now then, justly or unjustly, it was the "monster" who stood accused of their disappearance¹³;

　　不管有没有冤枉这怪物，人们都把船只失踪的原因算在它身上。

　　and since, thanks to it, travel between the various continents had become more and more dangerous,

　　由于它的存在，五大洲间的海上交通越来越危险了，

　　the public spoke¹⁴ up and demanded straight out that, at all cost, the seas be purged¹⁵ of this fearsome cetacean.

　　大家都坚决要求不惜任何代价清除海上这条可怕盼鲸鱼怪。

1 gaped   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• A huge chasm gaped before them. 他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front door was missing. A hole gaped in the roof. 前门不翼而飞，屋顶豁开了一个洞。 来自辞典例句

2 gash   

v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep gash in his arm would take weeks to heal over.他胳膊上的割伤很深，需要几个星期的时间才能痊愈。
• After the collision,the body of the ship had a big gash.船被撞后，船身裂开了一个大口子。

3 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

7 inexplicable   

adj.无法解释的，难理解的

参考例句：

• It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。
• There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

12 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。