英语听书《海底两万里》第40期 第4章 尼德兰(9)

 　　Even less likely, Ned. The devilfish is merely a mollusk¹, and even this name hints at its semiliquid flesh, because it's Latin meaning soft one.

　　尼德兰，那更不对了。章鱼是软体动物，单是这个名字就已经表明它的肌肉一点也不坚强。

　　The devilfish doesn't belong to the vertebrate branch, and even if it were 500 feet long,

　　就是章鱼有五百英尺长，它也不会属于脊推动物这一门，

　　it would still be utterly² harmless to ships like the Scotia or the Abraham Lincoln.

　　它对于斯各脱亚号或林肯号这类的船，决不至有损害的。

　　Consequently, the feats³ of krakens or other monsters of that ilk must be relegated⁴ to the realm of fiction.

　　所以有关这类海怪或怪物的事迹，都应当看作是荒唐无稽之谈。

　　So, Mr. Naturalist⁵, Ned Land continued in a bantering⁶ tone, you'll just keep on believing in the existence of some enormous cetacean?

　　那么，生物学专家，尼德。兰带着点讥诮的口气说,您是坚持有巨大鲸鱼类动物的存在吗？

　　Yes, Ned, I repeat it with a conviction backed by factual logic⁷. I believe in the existence of a mammal with a powerful constitution,

　　是的，尼德兰，我再说一遍，我所以相信，我是有事实根据的。我相信海中有一种哺乳类动物存在，

　　belonging to the vertebrate branch like baleen⁸ whales, sperm⁹ whales, or dolphins, and armed with a tusk¹⁰ made of horn that has tremendous penetrating¹¹ power.

　　它的躯体组织十分坚实，属于脊椎动物门，像长须鲸、大头鲸或海豚，一样，并且有一个角质的长牙，钻穿的力量十分大。

　　Humph! the harpooner¹² put in, shaking his head with the attitude of a man who doesn't want to be convinced.

　　晤！这位鱼叉手哼了一声，同时摇摇头，一副表示不能相信的神气。

1 mollusk   

n.软体动物

参考例句：

• I swear I have never seen such a mollusk with thorns all over its body.我敢发誓我从来没有见过这种全身长满棘刺的软体动物。
• The colour varies with the mollusk and its environment.颜色因母体及其环境的不同而异。

2 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

3 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

4 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

6 bantering   

adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• There was a friendly, bantering tone in his voice. 他的声音里流露着友好诙谐的语调。
• The students enjoyed their teacher's bantering them about their mistakes. 同学们对老师用风趣的方式讲解他们的错误很感兴趣。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

8 baleen   

n.鲸须

参考例句：

• Other baleen whales have splash guards too,but not like this.一些须鲸物种头顶也有护住喷水孔的构造，但并不长成这样。
• Baleen whales often appear in this region. Be careful!这一带经常有须鲸出没，要注意安全啊。

9 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

10 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

11 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

12 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