英语听书《海底两万里》第269期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(1)

 　　Ned! Oh horrors! Conseil exclaimed. 尼德·兰，您怎么啦—康塞尔喊。

　　Ye gods, the Canadian shot back, I'm starting to appreciate the charms of cannibalism¹! 说真的，加拿大人回答，我现在开始懂得人肉味的诱惑力了！

　　Ned, Ned! Don't say that! Conseil answered. You a cannibal?  尼德！尼德！您说的什么？康塞尔问，您，吃人肉的动物！

　　Why, I'll no longer be safe next to you, I who share your cabin! Does this mean I'll wake up half devoured² one fine day? 那我，跟您住在一个舱房，在您身边，简直性命都不安全了!难道我会一天醒来, 身子被咬去了一半吗？

　　I'm awfully³ fond of you, Conseil my friend, but not enough to eat you when there's better food around. 康塞尔好朋友，我很喜欢您，但不到紧要关头我不吃你。

　　Then I daren't delay, Conseil replied. The hunt is on!  这我不敢相信—康塞尔回答，快打猎去！

　　We absolutely must bag some game to placate⁴ this man-eater, or one of these mornings master won't find enough pieces of his manservant to serve him. 我一定要打到一些猎物来满足这吃人肉的人的口腹，不然的话，总有一天早晨，先生只能看见他仆人一块一块的肉来服侍他了。

　　While exchanging this chitchat, we entered beneath the dark canopies⁵ of the forest, and for two hours we explored it in every direction. 当我们彼此说笑话，交换一些意见的时候，我们穿人了森林的阴沉的穹窿下，只有两小时的功夫，我们四面八方都走遍了。

　　We couldn't have been luckier in our search for edible⁶ vegetation,  偶然的意外满足了我们的心愿，使我们找到了许多可食的植物，

　　and some of the most useful produce in the tropical zones supplied us with a valuable foodstuff⁷ missing on board. 其中一种是热带地区最有用的产品，它成了我们船上所没有的宝贵食物。

　　I mean the breadfruit tree, which is quite abundant on Gueboroa Island, and there I chiefly noted⁸ the seedless variety that in Malaysia is called rima. 我说的是面包树，在格波罗尔岛上，这种树非常多，我特别留心那没有核仁的一种，马来亚语管它叫利马。

　　This tree is distinguished⁹ from other trees by a straight trunk forty feet high.  这种树跟别的树不同的地方是它的树干笔直，有四十英尺高。

　　To the naturalist's eye, its gracefully¹⁰ rounded crown, formed of big multilobed leaves,  树顶十分美丽，作环形，由耳珠很多的阔大树叶组成，

　　was enough to denote the artocarpus that has been so successfully transplanted to the Mascarene Islands east of Madagascar.  在一个生物学家看来，充分地显示出这是面包果树，很运气的是这树在马斯卡林群岛已经移植成功了。

　　From its mass of greenery, huge globular fruit stood out, a decimeter wide and furnished on the outside with creases¹¹ that assumed a hexangular pattern.  在团团的青绿丛中，垂下粗大的球形果子，约一分米大，外表凹凸不平，好像六角形。

　　It's a handy plant that nature gives to regions lacking in wheat; without needing to be cultivated, it bears fruit eight months out of the year. 这是大自然恩赐给不产麦地区的有用植物，不用耕种，一年中有八个月都结面包果供应人们。

1 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

2 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

3 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

4 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

5 canopies   

（宝座或床等上面的）华盖( canopy的名词复数 )； （飞行器上的）座舱罩； 任何悬于上空的覆盖物； 森林中天棚似的树荫

参考例句：

• Golf carts with bright canvas canopies wandered the raingreen fairways. 一场雨后显得愈加葱绿的高尔夫球场草地上，散放着一些带有色彩缤纷的帆布华盖的高尔夫小车。
• Rock permitted seven canopies, cornices floors, decorative glass, Ambilight, momentum magnificent, magnificent. 七檐佛殿背倚山岩，楼层飞檐翘角，殿顶琉璃装饰，流光溢彩，气势恢宏，蔚为壮观。

6 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

7 foodstuff   

n.食料，食品

参考例句：

• They handled groceries and foodstuff.他们经营食品杂货。
• Construct a international foodstuff promotion and exhibition trade center.建成国际食品会展经贸中心。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

10 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

11 creases   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
• She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。