英语听书《海底两万里》第451期第27章 南极(10)

 Only if they're attacked, I replied.  不，我回答，除非是人家要攻击它们。

But when these giant seals defend their little ones, their fury is dreadful, and it isn't rare for them to smash a fisherman's longboat to bits. 当一条海豹保卫它的子女的时候，它是愤怒得怕人，它把渔人的小船弄成碎片，并不是希罕的事。

They're within their rights, Conseil answered. 那是它的正当权利。康塞尔立即说。

I don't say nay¹. 我没有说不是呀。

Two miles farther on, we were stopped by a promontory² that screened the bay from southerly winds.  再走两海里远，我们就被保护港湾不受南风吹打的尖峡挡住了。

It dropped straight down to the sea, and surf foamed³ against it.  尖峡靠海矗立，回潮打来，泡沫飞溅，

From beyond this ridge⁴ there came fearsome bellows⁵, such as a herd⁶ of cattle might produce. 呷外有隆隆的吼叫声发出，就像一群牛羊反刍类可能发出的声响那么利害。

Gracious, Conseil put in, a choir⁷ of bulls? 怎么，康塞尔说，是水牛的音乐会吗？

No, I said, a choir of walruses⁸. 不，我说，是海马的音乐会。

Are they fighting with each other? 它们打架吗？

Either fighting or playing. 它们或者是打架，或者是玩耍。

With all due respect to master, this we must see. 请先生原谅，我们应当去看一下。

Then see it we must, Conseil. 我们应当去看一下，康塞尔。

And there we were, climbing these blackish rocks amid sudden landslides⁹ and over stones slippery with ice.  我们于是在意想不到的乱石间，被冰块弄得很滑溜的碎石上走过那些灰黑的岩石地。

More than once I took a tumble at the expense of my backside.  不止一次，我滑倒了，弄得腰部酸痛。

Conseil, more cautious or more stable, barely faltered¹⁰ and would help me up, saying: 康塞尔，或者是因为他比较小心，或者是因为他比较结实，没有摔过：他把我扶起来，说：

If master's legs would kindly¹¹ adopt a wider stance, master will keep his balance. 如果先生愿意把两腿挪开一些，先生就更能保持身体的平衡了。

Arriving at the topmost ridge of this promontory, I could see vast white plains covered with walruses.  到了尖呷的高脊背上，我望见一片白色的广大平原，上面全是海马。

These animals were playing among themselves.  这些海马正在成群玩耍，刚才听到的是它们的快乐的声音，

They were howling not in anger but in glee. 不是它们愤怒的壕叫。

Walruses resemble seals in the shape of their bodies and the arrangement of their limbs.  海马从躯体的外形上看，从四肢的安排上看，跟海豹很相象。

But their lower jaws¹² lack canines¹³ and incisors, and as for their upper canines, they consist of two tusks¹⁴ eighty centimeters long with a circumference¹⁵ of thirty-three centimeters at the socket¹⁶.  可是它们的下鄂没有虎牙和门牙，至于上鄂的虎牙，那是两枚长八十厘米，下槽周圆三十三厘米的角牙，这些牙由致密无疵的牙质上成，比象牙更硬，又比较不易变黄。

1 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

2 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

3 foamed   

泡沫的

参考例句：

• The beer foamed up and overflowed the glass. 啤酒冒着泡沫，溢出了玻璃杯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The man foamed and stormed. 那人大发脾气，暴跳如雷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

5 bellows   

n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• His job is to blow the bellows for the blacksmith. 他的工作是给铁匠拉风箱。 来自辞典例句
• You could, I suppose, compare me to a blacksmith's bellows. 我想，你可能把我比作铁匠的风箱。 来自辞典例句

6 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

7 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

8 walruses   

n.海象( walrus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Walruses have enormous appetites and hunt for food almost constantly. 海象食欲极大，几乎一直在猎取食物。 来自互联网
• Two Atlantic walruses snuggle on an ice floe near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. 加拿大努勒维特伊格卢利克附近，两头大西洋海象在浮冰上相互偎依。 来自互联网

9 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

10 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

11 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

12 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

13 canines   

n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物

参考例句：

• For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如，牙齿更为原始，有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
• Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

14 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

15 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

16 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。