英语听书《海底两万里》第4期 第1章 飞走的暗礁(4)

 　　One after another, reports arrived that would profoundly affect public opinion: new observations taken by the transatlantic liner Pereire,

　　接连不断地传来的消息，横渡大西洋的贝雷尔号所做的种种观察，

　　the Inman line's Etna running afoul of the monster, an official report drawn¹ up by officers on the French frigate² Normandy,

　　茵曼轮船公司的越提那号跟这个怪物的一次相碰，法国二级军舰诺曼第号军官们所写的记录，

　　dead-earnest reckonings obtained by the general staff of Commodore Fitz-James aboard the Lord Clyde.

　　海军高级参谋弗兹一詹姆斯在克利德爵士号上所做的很精密的测算，这一切在当时的确曾经哄动一时。

　　In lighthearted countries, people joked about this phenomenon, but such serious, practical countries as England, America, and Germany were deeply concerned.

　　在民族性比较浮躁的国家里，大家都拿这件事作为谈笑资料，但在严肃和踏实的国家里，像英国、美国和德国就不同，它们对这事就非常关心。

　　In every big city the monster was the latest rage; they sang about it in the coffee houses, they ridiculed³ it in the newspapers,

　　在各大城市里，这怪物变成了家喻户晓的事件。咖啡馆里歌唱它，报刊上嘲笑它，

　　they dramatized it in the theaters. The tabloids⁴ found it a fine opportunity for hatching all sorts of hoaxes⁵.

　　舞台上扮演它。谣言正好有了机会，从这怪物身上捏造出各种各样的奇闻。

　　In those newspapers short of copy, you saw the reappearance of every gigantic imaginary creature, from "Moby Dick,"

　　在一些发行量不多的报刊上，出现了关于各种离奇的巨大动物的报道，从白鲸、北极海中可怕的莫比·狄克,

　　that dreadful white whale from the High Arctic regions, to the stupendous kraken whose tentacles⁶ could entwine a 500-ton craft and drag it into the ocean depths.

　　一直到庞大的克拉肯这种怪鱼的触须可以缠住一只载重五百吨的船而把它拖到海底下去都应有尽有。

　　They even reprinted reports from ancient times: the views of Aristotle and Pliny accepting the existence of such monsters,

　　有些人甚至不惜引经据典，或者搬出古代的传说如亚里士多德和蒲林尼的见解：

　　then the Norwegian stories of Bishop⁷ Pontoppidan, the narratives⁸ of Paul Egede, and finally the reports of Captain Harrington whose good faith is above suspicion

　　或者搬出彭土皮丹主教的挪威童话，保罗·埃纪德的记述，以及哈林顿的报告；这报告是不容怀疑的，

　　in which he claims he saw, while aboard the Castilian in 1857,

　　他说，1857年，他在嘉斯第兰号上看见过一种大蛇，

　　one of those enormous serpents that, until then, had frequented only the seas of France's old extremist newspaper, The Constitutionalist.

　　那种蛇以前只在那立宪号到过的海面上才能看见。

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 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。

3 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tabloids   

n.小报，通俗小报（版面通常比大报小一半，文章短，图片多，经常报道名人佚事）( tabloid的名词复数 )；药片

参考例句：

• The story was on the front pages of all the tabloids. 所有小报都在头版报道了这件事。
• The story made the front page in all the tabloids. 这件事成了所有小报的头版新闻。

5 hoaxes   

n.恶作剧，戏弄( hoax的名词复数 )v.开玩笑骗某人，戏弄某人( hoax的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The disc jockey, a young separatist named Pierre Brassard, has made his name with such hoaxes. 这位名叫彼埃尔 - 布拉萨尔的音乐节目主持人，是一名年轻的分离主义者，以制造这类骗局闻名。 来自百科语句
• This chain-letter hoaxes, has mutated over the years. 这一骗局多年来在互联网上不断发展和变异。 来自互联网

6 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

8 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。