英语听书《海底两万里》第227期 第17章 海底森林(8)

 　　At a depth of ten meters, we walked amid a swarm¹ of small fish from every species, more numerous than birds in the air, more agile² too;  在十米深的地方，我们就走在一大群各种各类的小鱼中间，比空中飞乌的数量还多，也更敏捷，

　　but no aquatic³ game worthy⁴ of a gunshot had yet been offered to our eyes. 但还没有值得我们枪击的水产猎物在我们眼前出现。

　　Just then I saw the captain's weapon spring to his shoulder and track a moving object through the bushes.  这时候，我看见船长的枪急急顶在肩上，对着丛林间一个正在走动的东西瞄准。

　　A shot went off, I heard a faint hissing⁵, and an animal dropped a few paces away, literally⁶ struck by lightning. 枪响了，我听到轻微的啸声，那个动物在离几步远的地方被击中倒下来了。

　　It was a magnificent sea otter⁷ from the genus Enhydra, the only exclusively marine⁸ quadruped.  倒下来的是一只很好看的水獭，一只水兽，它可能是住在海中的唯一的四足兽了。

　　One and a half meters long, this otter had to be worth a good high price.  这水獭有一米半长，价值一定非常大。

　　Its coat, chestnut⁹ brown above and silver below, would have made one of those wonderful fur pieces so much in demand in the Russian and Chinese markets;  它的皮，表面是栗褐色，底面是银白色，可以制成十分好看的皮筒，在俄国和中国的市场上，是十分罕见的皮料。

　　the fineness and luster¹⁰ of its pelt¹¹ guaranteed that it would go for at least 2,000 francs.  皮毛的柔软精细和它的光滑色泽决定它的价格至少也是二千法郎。

　　I was full of wonderment at this unusual mammal, with its circular head adorned¹² by short ears,  我很赞美这新奇的哺乳类动物，圆突的头，上面有短短的耳朵，

　　its round eyes, its white whiskers like those on a cat, its webbed and clawed feet, its bushy tail.  圆圆的眼睛，像猫须一般的白色瓮须，掌形带甲的脚，团簇的尾巴。

　　Hunted and trapped by fishermen, this valuable carnivore has become extremely rare,  这种珍贵的内食动物，因为渔人的追赶和捕获，现在已经十分稀罕，

　　and it takes refuge chiefly in the northernmost parts of the Pacific, where in all likelihood its species will soon be facing extinction¹³ 它们主要是躲藏在太平洋的北极圈里，就是在北极圈里，它们这一族也快要灭绝了。

　　Captain Nemo's companion picked up the animal, loaded it on his shoulder, and we took to the trail again. 尼摩船长的同伴跑上前去把水獭捡起来，放在肩头上，我们又向前走。

1 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

2 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

3 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

4 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

5 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

10 luster   

n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉

参考例句：

• His great books have added luster to the university where he teaches.他的巨著给他任教的大学增了光。
• Mercerization enhances dyeability and luster of cotton materials.丝光处理扩大棉纤维的染色能力，增加纤维的光泽。

11 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

12 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

13 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。