英语听书《海底两万里》第262期 第20章 托列斯海峡(10)

 　　I was mulling this over when the captain approached, cool and calm, forever in control of himself, looking neither alarmed nor annoyed. 我正在这样想的时候，尼摩船长很冷静，好像一点也不激动，一点也不失望地走近前来，他总是那样胸有成竹。

　　An accident? I said to him. 出了什么事故吗?我对他说。

　　No, an incident, he answered me. 不,是偶然的事件。他回答我。

　　But an incident, I replied, that may oblige you to become a resident again of these shores you avoid! 是偶然的事件，我又说，但它或者要使您重新做您不愿意做的陆上居民呢！

　　Captain Nemo gave me an odd look and gestured no. Which told me pretty clearly that nothing would ever force him to set foot on a land mass again. Then he said: 尼摩船长拿奇异的眼光注视我，做一个否定的手势。这就足够清楚地对我说明，没有什么东西能够再强迫他又回到陆地上去。一会儿他又对我说：

　　No, Professor Aronnax, the Nautilus isn't consigned¹ to perdition.  阿龙纳斯先生，诺第留斯号现在还没有损坏呢。

　　It will still carry you through the midst² of the ocean's wonders.  它仍然可以送您去看海洋的秘密。

　　Our voyage is just beginning, and I've no desire to deprive³ myself so soon of the pleasure of your company. 我们的海底旅行仅仅是一个开端呢，我很荣幸能够陪伴您，我不愿让旅行这样快就结束了。

　　Even so, Captain Nemo, I went on, ignoring his ironic⁴ turn of phrase, the Nautilus has run aground at a moment when the sea is full.  尼摩船长，我并没有注意他这一句话的讽刺语气，我又说，但诺第留斯号是在高潮来的时候搁浅了。

　　Now then, the tides aren't strong in the Pacific, and if you can't unballast the Nautilus, which seems impossible to me, I don't see how it will float off. 一般说来，太平洋的潮水上涨时是不高的，如果您不能把诺第留斯号浮起来—在我看来这是不可能的—那我就看不到它有什么法子，能够离开暗礁，重回大海。

　　You're right, professor, the Pacific tides aren't strong, Captain Nemo replied.  太平洋的潮水涨得不高，教授，您说得对，尼摩船长回答我，

　　But in the Torres Strait, one still finds a meter-and-a-half difference in level between high and low seas.  但是托列斯海峡，高潮和低潮之间，仍然有一米半的差别。

　　Today is January 4, and in five days the moon will be full.  今天是1月4日，过五天月亮就圆了。

　　Now then, I'll be quite astonished if that good-natured satellite doesn't sufficiently⁵ raise these masses of water and do me a favor for which I'll be forever grateful. 如果这个讨人喜欢的月球，不掀起足够的水量，不给我出一把力做我只想由它来做的这件好事，我才十分奇怪呢！

1 consigned   

v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃

参考例句：

• I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
• The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。

3 deprive   

vt.（of）夺去，剥夺，使丧失

参考例句：

• This law will deprive us of our most basic rights.这条法律将剥夺我们最基本的权利。
• We have no right to deprive their life.我们没有权利去剥夺它们的生命。

4 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

5 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。