英语听书《海底两万里》第261期 第20章 托列斯海峡(9)

 　　I was already wondering if Captain Nemo, rash to the point of sheer insanity¹, wanted his ship to tackle the narrows  我心中正想，尼摩船长简直粗心到发疯了，要把他的船走人杜蒙·居维尔的船几乎要沉没的险道中去。

　　where Dumont d'Urville's two sloops² of war had gone aground, when he changed direction a second time and cut straight to the west, heading toward Gueboroa Island. 忽然它又第二次改变方向，正指着西方，向格波罗尔岛开行。

　　By then it was three o'clock in the afternoon. The current was slacking off, it was almost full tide.  时间是下午三点。波浪汹诵，大海正在高潮。

　　The Nautilus drew near this island, which I can see to this day with its remarkable³ fringe of screw pines.  诺第留斯号走近这个岛，就是现在，我眼前还现出这岛上很好看的班达树林的边缘呢。

　　We hugged it from less than two miles out. 我们沿岛走了两里左右。

　　A sudden jolt⁴ threw me down.  突然一下的冲击把我震倒了。

　　The Nautilus had just struck a reef, and it remained motionless, listing slightly to port. 诺第留斯号碰上了一座暗礁，它停住不动，靠左舷轻微地搁浅下来。

　　When I stood up, I saw Captain Nemo and his chief officer on the platform.  当我站起来时，我看见平台上来了尼摩船长和他的船副。

　　They were examining the ship's circumstances, exchanging a few words in their incomprehensible dialect. 他们将船的情形检查一下，彼此用我不懂的语言说了几句话。

　　Here is what those circumstances entailed⁵.  我们目前的情形是这样：

　　Two miles to starboard lay Gueboroa Island, its coastline curving north to west like an immense arm.  距右舷两海里远的地方是格波罗尔岛，这岛的海岸从北至西作回环形，好像一只巨大的胳膊。

　　To the south and east, heads of coral were already on display, left uncovered by the ebbing⁶ waters.  南边和东边，已经看见一些由于退潮露出的珊瑚石尖我们的船是整个地搁浅在海里面，

　　We had run aground at full tide and in one of those seas whose tides are moderate, an inconvenient⁷ state of affairs for floating the Nautilus off.  而这里的潮水平常不高，这对于诺第留斯号要重回大海是很不利的。

　　However, the ship hadn't suffered in any way, so solidly joined was its hull⁸.  不过船、井没有损坏，因为船身非常坚固。

　　But although it could neither sink nor split open,  但是，虽然它没有沉没，没有损坏，

　　it was in serious danger of being permanently⁹ attached to these reefs, and that would have been the finish of Captain Nemo's submersible. 可是它免不了要永远搁浅在暗礁上，尼摩船长的潜水船不是就完蛋了吗？

1 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

2 sloops   

n.单桅纵帆船( sloop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

5 entailed   

使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son. 城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
• The house and estate are entailed on the eldest daughter. 这所房子和地产限定由长女继承。

6 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

7 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

8 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。