英语听书《海底两万里》第225期 第17章 海底森林(6)

 　　I say 150 meters, although I had no instruments for estimating this distance.  我说我们是在一百五十米的深度；虽然没有什么器械可以让我测量，

　　But I knew that the sun's rays, even in the clearest seas, could reach no deeper.  但我知道，即最清澈的海水，阳光也不能再往下照了。

　　So at precisely¹ this point the darkness became profound.  正是在这时候，周围变得漆黑。

　　Not a single object was visible past ten paces.  在十步外什么也看不见。

　　Consequently, I had begun to grope my way when suddenly I saw the glow of an intense white light.  所以我只能摸索着走，这时我看见一道相当明亮的白光忽然闪出来。

　　Captain Nemo had just activated² his electric device.  原来是尼摩船长使用他的电光机器。

　　His companion did likewise. Conseil and I followed suit.  他的同伴照他那样做。康塞尔和我也学着他们的榜样。

　　By turning a switch,  我转动螺丝钉，

　　I established contact between the induction³ coil and the glass spiral, and the sea, lit up by our four lanterns, was illuminated⁴ for a radius⁵ of twenty-five meters. 使电磁铁跟曲玻璃管接通，灯亮了，海中有我们四盏探照灯的照射，周围二十五米内都明亮起来。

　　Captain Nemo continued to plummet⁶ into the dark depths of this forest, whose shrubbery grew ever more sparse⁷.  尼摩船长继续走人森林中最幽深的地方，沿途树木渐渐稀少。

　　I observed that vegetable life was disappearing more quickly than animal life.  我注意到，在海底，植物界要比动物界消失得早些。

　　The open-sea plants had already left behind the increasingly arid⁸ seafloor, where a prodigious⁹ number of animals were still swarming:  海产植物虽然已经放弃了这些变为贫瘠的土地，但数量很多的动物、植虫动物、

　　zoophytes, articulates, mollusks, and fish. 节肢动物、软体动物和鱼类仍然到处皆是。

　　While we were walking, I thought the lights of our Ruhmkorff devices would automatically attract some inhabitants of these dark strata¹⁰.  我一边走一边想，我们带的兰可夫灯的灯光必然要引起那些沉黑的海底下居民的注意，齐集前来。

　　But if they did approach us, at least they kept at a distance regrettable from the hunter's standpoint.  可是，它们虽然前来，但总是留在猎人力量不可及，距离相当远的地方。

　　Several times I saw Captain Nemo stop and take aim with his rifle;  好几次，我看见尼摩船长停步，瞄准他的枪，

　　then, after sighting down its barrel for a few seconds, he would straighten up and resume his walk. 但经过一些时候的观察后，他又把枪放下，再向前行。

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

3 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

4 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

5 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

6 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

7 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

8 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

9 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

10 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。