英语听书《海底两万里》第38期 第4章 尼德兰(7)

 　　Seated on the afterdeck, Ned Land and I chatted about one thing and another, staring at that mysterious sea whose depths to this day are beyond the reach of human eyes.

　　尼德。兰跟我一同坐在尾楼甲板上，一边看着这神秘的大海—它的深处到今天为止人们还无法到达：

　　Quite naturally, I led our conversation around to the giant unicorn¹, and I weighed our expedition's various chances for success or failure.

　　一边谈谈这个，说说那个，这时候，很自然地，我把话头转到巨大的海麒麟上面了，我又谈到我们这次远征成功或失败的各种可能。

　　Then, seeing that Ned just let me talk without saying much himself, I pressed him more closely.

　　后来，我看见尼德.兰一声不响，只让我说，就直截了当地要他发言。

　　Ned, I asked him, how can you still doubt the reality of this cetacean we're after? Do you have any particular reasons for being so skeptical²?

　　尼德。兰，我问他您怎么能怀疑我们追逐着的鲸鱼类动物的存在呢？您这样怀疑，有什么特别理由吗？

　　The harpooner³ stared at me awhile before replying, slapped his broad forehead in one of his standard gestures, closed his eyes as if to collect himself, and finally said:Just maybe, Professor Aronnax.

　　这位鱼叉手在回答之前，看了我一会儿，照他惯常的姿势，拿手拍拍他宽大的前额，闭闭眼睛，好像在沉思。他说：阿龙纳斯先生，我有理由。

　　But Ned, you're a professional whaler, a man familiar with all the great marine⁴ mammals-your mind should easily accept this hypothesis of an enormous cetacean, and you ought to be the last one to doubt it under these circumstances!

　　尼德·兰，您是一位职业的捕鲸专家，您很熟悉海中的巨大哺乳类动物，照理您应当容易承认这个巨大的鲸鱼类动物的存在，可是您竟要来做最后一个怀疑这事的人！

1 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 harpooner   

参考例句：

• When a boat got close enough to the whale, the harpooner threw his harpoon at it. 等船非常接近鲸鱼时，鱼叉手就以鱼叉向它投射。 来自互联网

4 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。