英语听书《海底两万里》第54期 第5章 冒险活动(9)

 　　The mountains of arguments amassed¹ over a year collapsed² all at once, and each man now wanted only to catch up on his eating and sleeping,

　　一年来累积起的像磐石一般的理由，一下子完全垮下来了，这时每个人都想好好吃一吃，睡一睡，

　　to make up for the time he had so stupidly sacrificed.

　　来弥补因为自己愚蠢而牺牲了的时间。

　　With typical human fickleness³, they jumped from one extreme to the other.

　　由于天生就的动摇性，容易从一个极端跑到另一个极端。

　　Inevitably⁴, the most enthusiastic supporters of the undertaking⁵ became its most energetic opponents.

　　当初最热诚拥护这次远征的人，现在却变成最激烈的反对者了。

　　This reaction mounted upward from the bowels⁶ of the ship,

　　这次反响从舱底发生，

　　from the quarters of the bunker hands to the messroom of the general staff;

　　从仓库看守人的岗位传到船参谋部的军官餐厅。

　　and for certain, if it hadn't been for Commander Farragut's characteristic stubbornness, the frigate⁷ would ultimately have put back to that cape⁸ in the south.

　　毫无疑问，如果不是法拉古舰长特别坚持，这艘船早就掉头往南开了。

　　But this futile⁹ search couldn't drag on much longer.

　　可是，这种无益的搜索再也不能拖得过久。

　　The Abraham Lincoln had done everything it could to succeed and had no reason to blame itself.

　　林肯号已经尽了最大的努力，实在丝毫没有可以责备的地方了。

　　Never had the crew of an American naval¹⁰ craft shown more patience and zeal¹¹; they weren't responsible for this failure; there was nothing to do but go home.

　　美国海军部派到这只船上的人员，从没有表现过这么大的耐心和热情；失败并不能怪他们；现在除了回航没有什么可做了。

1 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 fickleness   

n.易变；无常；浮躁；变化无常

参考例句：

• While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature. 她一方面总是批评人的本性朝三暮四。 来自互联网
• Cor.1:17 This therefore intending, did I then use fickleness? 林后一17我有这样的意思，难道是行事轻浮么？ 来自互联网

4 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

5 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

6 bowels   

n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处

参考例句：

• Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。