英语听书《海底两万里》第14期 第2章 正与反(3)

 　　The Chassepot rifle led to the torpedo¹, and the torpedo has led to this underwater battering² ram³,

　　机枪之后有水雷，水雷之后有潜水冲击机，

　　which in turn will lead to the world putting its foot down. At least I hope it will.

　　然后一又是各种互相克制的武器，至少我自己心中是这样想的。

　　But this hypothesis of a war machine collapsed⁴ in the face of formal denials from the various governments.

　　但是这个“潜水艇”的假设，由于各国欧府的声明又站不住了、

　　Since the public interest was at stake and transoceanic travel was suffering, the sincerity⁵ of these governments could not be doubted.

　　因为这是有关公共利益的问题，既然海洋交通受到了破坏，各国政府的真诚，当然不容有所怀疑。

　　Besides, how could the assembly of this underwater boat have escaped public notice?

　　并且，怎么能说这只“潜水艇”的建造竟可以逃避公众的耳目呢？

　　Keeping a secret under such circumstances would be difficult enough for an individual,

　　在这种情形下，就是拿个人来说，要想保守秘密，也十分困难，

　　and certainly impossible for a nation whose every move is under constant surveillance by rival powers.

　　对于一国政府，它的行动经常受到敌对国家的注意，那当然更是不可能的了。

　　So, after inquiries⁶ conducted in England, France, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Italy, America, and even Turkey,

　　所以，根据在英国，在法国，在俄国，在普鲁士,在西班吁，在意大利，在美国，甚至于在土耳其

　　the hypothesis of an underwater Monitor was ultimately rejected.

　　所做的调查，“潜水艇”的假设，也终于不能不放弃。

　　And so the monster surfaced again, despite the endless witticisms⁷ heaped on it by the popular press,

　　这个怪物尽管当时一些报刊对它不断加以嘲笑，

　　and the human imagination soon got caught up in the most ridiculous ichthyological fantasies.

　　但它又出现在波涛上了，于是人们的想象就从鱼类这一方面打主意而造出种种最荒诞不经的传说来。

1 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

2 battering   

n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。
• He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

6 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 witticisms   

n.妙语，俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We do appreciate our own witticisms. 我们非常欣赏自己的小聪明。 来自辞典例句
• The interpreter at this dinner even managed to translate jokes and witticisms without losing the point. 这次宴会的翻译甚至能设法把笑话和俏皮话不失其妙意地翻译出来。 来自辞典例句