英语听书《海底两万里》第224期 第17章 海底森林(5)

 　　A few paces away, a monstrous¹, meter-high sea spider was staring at me with beady eyes, poised² to spring at me.  离我们几步远的地方，有一只高一米的梅蜘蛛，斜着眼注视我，就要向我身上扑来。

　　Although my diving suit was heavy enough to protect me from this animal's bites, I couldn't keep back a shudder³ of horror.  虽然我的潜水衣相当厚重，可以保护我不会被它咬伤，但我也不能不害怕，不能不颤抖。

　　Just then Conseil woke up, together with the Nautilus's sailor.  康塞尔和诺第留斯号的水手就在这个时候醒来。

　　Captain Nemo alerted his companion to this hideous⁴ crustacean⁵, which a swing of the rifle butt⁶ quickly brought down,  尼摩船长把这个怕人的甲壳类动物指给他的同伴看，他的同伴一枪托打死了它，

　　and I watched the monster's horrible legs writhing⁷ in dreadful convulsions. 我看见这个怪物的丑陋脚爪作怕人的抽搐，拼命挣扎。

　　This encounter reminded me that other, more daunting⁸ animals must be lurking⁹ in these dark reaches,  这次碰见这个怪物就使我想到一定还有其他更可怕的动物时常到这黑沉沉的海底下来，

　　and my diving suit might not be adequate protection against their attacks.  我的潜水衣可能无力保护我，无法抵抗它们的袭击。

　　Such thoughts hadn't previously¹⁰ crossed my mind, and I was determined¹¹ to keep on my guard.  我起先没有想到这事，现在我决心要时刻警惕。

　　Meanwhile I had assumed this rest period would be the turning point in our stroll,  此外，我又以为这次休息是我们这次旅行的结束，

　　but I was mistaken; and instead of heading back to the Nautilus, Captain Nemo continued his daring excursion. 但我错了，尼摩船长并不让我们回到船上去，仍然继续他的大胆的旅行。

　　The seafloor kept sinking, and its significantly steeper slope took us to greater depths.  地面总是往下陷，斜度更是明显，把我们拉到最深的海底。

　　It must have been nearly three o'clock when we reached a narrow valley gouged¹² between high, vertical¹³ walls and located 150 meters down.  这时候，想是快要到三点了，我们到了一座狭小的山谷中，这山谷在峭壁间，在一百五十米深的海底下。

　　Thanks to the perfection of our equipment, we had thus gone ninety meters below the limit that nature had,until then, set on man's underwater excursions. 由于我们使用的器械极完善，我们可以超越好像大自然拿来限制人的在海底旅行不得超过丸十米的深度。

1 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

2 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

3 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

4 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

5 crustacean   

n.甲壳动物；adj.甲壳纲的

参考例句：

• Seafood is a valuable lobster crustacean section.名贵海珍品龙虾属甲壳科。
• The illustrious Cuvier did not perceive that a barnacle was a crustacean.大名鼎鼎的居维叶也未看出藤壶是一种甲壳动物。

6 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

7 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

8 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

9 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 gouged   

v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• The lion's claws had gouged a wound in the horse's side. 狮爪在马身一侧抓了一道深口。
• The lovers gouged out their names on the tree. 情人们把他们的名字刻在树上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。