英语听书《海底两万里》第278期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(10)

 　　Meanwhile I was examining this unusual bird. Conseil was not mistaken.  我于是检查一下这只奇异的鸟。康塞尔没有搞错。

　　Tipsy from that potent¹ juice, our bird of paradise had been reduced to helplessness.  无双乌被豆寇汁迷醉了，使得它瘫软无力。它不能飞，走路也很困难。

　　It was unable to fly. It was barely able to walk. But this didn't alarm me, and I just let it sleep off its nutmeg. 但我用不着为它担心，让它好好地睡它的酒后觉就是了。

　　This bird belonged to the finest of the eight species credited to Papua and its neighboring islands.  这只无双鸟属于巴布亚和邻近群岛出产的八种无双鸟中最美的一种。

　　It was a great emerald, one of the rarest birds of paradise. It measured three decimeters long.  这是大翡翠无双鸟，最罕有的一种。它有三分米长，

　　Its head was comparatively small, and its eyes, placed near the opening of its beak², were also small.  头比较小，眼睛也不大，就在嘴近边。它的嘴是黄色，脚爪和指甲是褐色，

　　But it offered a wonderful mixture of hues³: a yellow beak, brown feet and claws, hazel wings with purple tips,  翼是臻子色，翼端是朱红色，头上和颈后是淡黄色，喉间是翡翠色，

　　pale yellow head and scruff of the neck, emerald throat, the belly⁴ and chest maroon⁵ to brown.  腹部和胸部是栗子色，因此，它看来像是十分华丽的各种色彩的综合。

　　Two strands⁶, made of a horn substance covered with down, rose over its tail, which was lengthened⁷ by long, very light feathers of wonderful fineness,  而且尾巴上耸起两个角形的绒毛绿球，和很细腻的很轻飘的细长羽毛连接，好像拖垂的长带，

　　and they completed the costume of this marvelous bird that the islanders have poetically⁸ named the sun bird. 于是这一切就把这只奇鸟的整个形象完全美化起来了，所以当地上人很诗意地称它为太阳的鸟。

　　How I wished I could take this superb bird of paradise back to Paris, to make a gift of it to the zoo at the Botanical Gardens, which doesn't own a single live specimen⁹. 我很希望能把这只好看的无双鸟带回巴黎去，送给植物园，因为园中还没有一只活的无双鸟。

　　So it must be a rarity or something? the Canadian asked, in the tone of a hunter who, from the viewpoint of his art, gives the game a pretty low rating. 这鸟真是很罕见吗广加拿大人问，用一种不从美术的观点来估计猎物的口气。

　　A great rarity, my gallant¹⁰ comrade, and above all very hard to capture alive. And even after they're dead, there's still a major market for these birds.  十分罕见，我老实的同伴，特别是十分难得捉到活的。就是死了，这些鸟仍然是重要的贸易对象。

　　So the natives have figured out how to create fake ones, like people create fake pearls or diamonds. 所以上人想法制造假的，像制造珍珠和钻石一样。

1 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

2 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

3 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

4 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 maroon   

v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的

参考例句：

• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
• Robinson Crusoe has been marooned on a desert island for 26 years.鲁滨逊在荒岛上被困了26年。

6 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

8 poetically   

adv.有诗意地，用韵文

参考例句：

• Life is poetically compared to the morning dew. 在诗歌中，人生被比喻为朝露。 来自辞典例句
• Poetically, Midsummer's Eve begins in flowers and ends in fire. 仲夏节是富有诗意的节日，它以鲜花领航，在篝火旁完美落幕。 来自互联网

9 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

10 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。