英语听书《海底两万里》第386期 第25章 地中海四十八小时(12)

 Crossing through the lounge, I arrived at the door, contrived¹ in one of the canted corners, that opened into the captain's stateroom.  在客厅中这样走来走去，我走近门边，这门在屋角墙上，是通船长的舱房的。

Much to my astonishment², this door was ajar.  我很惊异，这门半开着。

I instinctively³ recoiled⁴. If Captain Nemo was in his stateroom, he might see me.  我自然而外地退回来。如果尼摩船长在里面，他可能看见我。

But, not hearing any sounds, I approached. The stateroom was deserted⁵. I pushed the door open. I took a few steps inside. Still the same austere⁶, monastic appearance. 同时我听不见声响，我走近前去，但房中没有人。我推开门，走进几步，房中还是那朴实严肃的情景，隐士僧家的风味。

Just then my eye was caught by some etchings hanging on the wall, which I hadn't noticed during my first visit.  这时候，房中墙上挂着的几幅我第一次进来没有留心到的铜版画引起我眼光的注意，

They were portraits of great men of history who had spent their lives in perpetual devotion to a great human ideal:  那是肖像画，历史上伟大人物的画像，他门一生是永远忠诚于献身人类这个伟大思想的：

Thaddeus Kosciusko, the hero whose dying words had been Finis Poloniae; Markos Botzaris, for modern Greece the reincarnation of Sparta's King Leonidas;  他是哥修斯哥，听到“波兰完了”的喊声就跌倒的英雄；波查里斯，近代希腊的列盎尼达斯；

Daniel O'Connell, Ireland's defender⁷; George Washington, founder⁸ of the American Union; Daniele Manin, the Italian patriot;  俄康乃尔，爱尔兰独立的保卫者：华盛顿，北美合众国的创始人；马宁，意大利的爱国志士；

Abraham Lincoln, dead from the bullet of a believer in slavery; and finally, that martyr⁹ for the redemption of the black race, John Brown, hanging from his gallows¹⁰ as Victor Hugo's pencil has so terrifyingly depicted¹¹. 林肯，被拥护奴隶制的人所刺杀的美国总统；最后，那位主张黑人解放的殉道者约翰·布朗，吊在绞架上，就像维克多·雨果用铅笔画出来的那个很可怕的样子。

What was the bond between these heroic souls and the soul of Captain Nemo?  在这些英雄人物的心灵和尼摩船长的心灵中间有什么联系呢？

From this collection of portraits could I finally unravel¹² the mystery of his existence?  究竟从这一群肖像画中，我可能找出他生平的秘密来吗？

Was he a fighter for oppressed peoples, a liberator¹³ of enslaved races?  他是被压迫人民的保护者，奴隶种族的解放者吗？

Had he figured in the recent political or social upheavals¹⁴ of this century? Was he a hero of that dreadful civil war in America, a war lamentable¹⁵ yet forever glorious? 他是现世纪最近政治的或社会动荡中的一位人物吗？他是这次可悲的和永远是光荣的、美洲可怕内战中的一位英雄吗？

1 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

2 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

3 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 recoiled   

v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回

参考例句：

• She recoiled from his touch. 她躲开他的触摸。
• Howard recoiled a little at the sharpness in my voice. 听到我的尖声，霍华德往后缩了一下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

6 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

10 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

11 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

12 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

13 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

14 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

15 lamentable   

adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的

参考例句：

• This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
• His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。