英语听书《海底两万里》第275期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(7)

 　　After crossing a pretty lush prairie, we arrived on the outskirts¹ of a small wood, enlivened by the singing and soaring of a large number of birds. 穿过了一片相当广大的草原，我们来到一座小树林的边缘，林中有许多禽鸟飞舞歌唱，显得生气洋溢。

　　Still, they're merely birds, Conseil said. 这还不过是一些禽鸟呢。康塞尔说。

　　But some are edible², the harpooner³ replied. 但里面也有可吃的呢!鱼叉手回答。

　　Wrong, Ned my friend, Conseil answered, because I see only ordinary parrots here. 没有，尼德好朋友，康塞尔回答，因为我看见那里仅有一些鹦鹅。

　　Conseil my friend, Ned replied in all seriousness, parrots are like pheasant to people with nothing else on their plates. 康塞尔好朋友，尼德·兰严肃地回答，对没有别的东西吃的人来说，鹦鹉就等于山鸡。

　　And I might add, I said, that when these birds are properly cooked, they're at least worth a stab of the fork. 再说，我说，这种鸟烹调得好，也很值得动刀叉。

　　Indeed, under the dense⁴ foliage⁵ of this wood, a whole host of parrots fluttered from branch to branch, needing only the proper upbringing to speak human dialects.  正是这样，在树林的浓密树叶底下，一大群鹦鹉在树枝间飞来飞去，只要细心地教育它们，便可以说人类的语言了。

　　At present they were cackling in chorus with parakeets of every color, with solemn cockatoos that seemed to be pondering some philosophical⁶ problem,  目前它们只是陪着所有各种颜色的雌鹦鹅，叽叽喳喳说个不休：有神气严肃的五彩鹦鹉，好像在思考些哲学问题；

　　while bright red lories passed by like pieces of bunting borne on the breeze, in the midst of kalao parrots raucously⁷ on the wing,  有大红色的赤鹦鹉，在飞时作响声的加罗西鹦鹅电间，好像一块随凤飘荡的红纱；

　　Papuan lories painted the subtlest shades of azure,  有染上最美的天蓝色的巴布亚樱鹅，以及各种各样的美丽可爱的飞禽，

　　and a whole variety of delightful⁸ winged creatures, none terribly edible. 但一般来看，都是属于不可食用的一类。

　　However, one bird unique to these shores, which never passes beyond the boundaries of the Aru and Papuan Islands, was missing from this collection.  但是，这地方特产的一种鸟，它从不走过阿卢群岛和巴布亚群岛的边界，现在在这一群禽鸟中我并没有看到。

　　But I was given a chance to marvel⁹ at it soon enough. 命运暂时把这鸟保留起来，但不久我就能欣赏它了。

　　After crossing through a moderately dense thicket¹⁰, we again found some plains obstructed¹¹ by bushes.  穿过了一座不很浓密的丛林，我们又到了一片有许多树丛堆垛着的平原。

　　There I saw some magnificent birds soaring aloft, the arrangement of their long feathers causing them to head into the wind.  我看到了好些华丽的鸟飞在空中，它们身上很长的羽毛使它们一定要逆凤才能飞行。

　　Their undulating flight, the grace of their aerial curves, and the play of their colors allured¹² and delighted the eye.  它们的波状起伏的飞行，它们在空中的优美曲线，它们鲜艳夺目的色泽，吸引了和迷惑了人们的眼睛。

　　I had no trouble identifying them. 我一点不困难就认出是它们来了。

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 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。

3 harpooner   

参考例句：

• When a boat got close enough to the whale, the harpooner threw his harpoon at it. 等船非常接近鲸鱼时，鱼叉手就以鱼叉向它投射。 来自互联网

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

6 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

7 raucously   

adv.粗声地；沙哑地

参考例句：

• His voice rang raucously. 他的声音听起来很沙哑。 来自互联网
• Someone in the hushed bar suddenly laughed raucously at how stupid everyone had become. 沉默的酒吧中有人忽然沙哑地大笑起来，嘲笑每个人都变的如此的愚蠢。 来自互联网

8 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

9 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

10 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

11 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

12 allured   

诱引，吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They allured her into a snare. 他们诱她落入圈套。
• Many settlers were allured by promises of easy wealth. 很多安家落户的人都是受了诱惑，以为转眼就能发财而来的。