英语听书《海底两万里》第325期 第23章 珊瑚王国(22)

 　　Captain Nemo took me to the central companionway whose steps led to the platform. Ned and Conseil were there, enraptured¹ with the "pleasure trip" getting under way.  尼摩船长领我到中央楼梯，梯上通至平台。尼德·兰和康塞尔早在那里了，他们对于准备做的“海底游玩”很为高兴。

　　Oars² in position, five of the Nautilus's sailors were waiting for us aboard the skiff, which was moored³ alongside.  诺第留斯船上的五个水手拿着桨，在紧靠着大船的小艇中等待我们。

　　The night was still dark. Layers of clouds cloaked the sky and left only a few stars in view.  夜色还很黑暗。片片的云彩遮满天空，只露出很稀微的星光。

　　My eyes flew to the side where land lay, but I saw only a blurred⁴ line covering three-quarters of the horizon from southwest to northwest.  我两眼向陆地方面看，我只见一条摇曳不定的直线，封住了从西南到西北的四分之三的天边。

　　Going up Ceylon's west coast during the night, the Nautilus lay west of the bay, or rather that gulf⁵ formed by the mainland and Mannar Island.  在夜间上溯了锡兰岛西部海岸，现在到了这海口的西边，或不如说，到了马纳尔岛陆地形成的这个海湾的西边。

　　Under these dark waters there stretched the bank of shellfish, an inexhaustible field of pearls more than twenty miles long. 这里深水底下，罗列着小纹贝礁石岩脉，长度超过二十英里，真是采不尽的珍珠生产常尼摩船长。

　　Captain Nemo, Conseil, Ned Land, and I found seats in the stern of the skiff.  康塞尔、尼德·兰和我，我们坐在小艇后面、小艇挺长用手把着舵，

　　The longboat's coxswain took the tiller; his four companions leaned into their oars; the moorings were cast off and we pulled clear. 他的四个同伴抉着桨，解了绳索，我们就离开大船了。

　　The skiff headed southward. The oarsmen took their time.  小艇向南驶去，艇中的潜水人并不急子下水。

　　I watched their strokes vigorously catch the water, and they always waited ten seconds before rowing again, following the practice used in most navies.  他们的桨使劲地在水中划，我注意到这是海军战舰上常用的方法。

　　While the longboat coasted, drops of liquid flicked⁶ from the oars and hit the dark troughs of the waves, pitter-pattering like splashes of molten lead.  每寸秒划一下。小艇在一定的速度上前进，水珠像熔铅散射出的液体一样，落在漆黑的水波中嘶嘶作响。

　　Coming from well out, a mild swell⁷ made the skiff roll gently, and a few cresting⁸ billows lapped at its bow. 一阵不大的波浪从海面冲来，使小艇发生轻微的颠簸，有些浪花飞溅到它的前头。

1 enraptured   

v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was enraptured that she had smiled at him. 她对他的微笑使他心荡神驰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were enraptured to meet the great singer. 他们和大名鼎鼎的歌手见面，欣喜若狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 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。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

4 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

7 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

8 cresting   

n.顶饰v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的现在分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The old man stood with his back to the fire, cresting up erect. 老人背火昂然而立。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Various shapes of returns like triangular, semi-circular are available for cresting your own office. 极富创意的办公桌，有着不同形装如三角形、半圆形、曲尺形及四边形，以创造您个人品位的办公室。 来自互联网