英语听书《海底两万里》第279期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(11)

 　　What! Conseil exclaimed. They make counterfeit¹ birds of paradise? 怎么!康塞尔喊，有人做假无双鸟吗？

　　Yes, Conseil. 是的，康塞尔。

　　And is master familiar with how the islanders go about it? 那么，先生知道土人的制造方法吗?

　　Perfectly² familiar.  知道。

　　During the easterly monsoon³ season, birds of paradise lose the magnificent feathers around their tails that naturalists⁴ call 'below-the-wing' feathers.  当东方的季候凤起来的时候，无双鸟便脱掉了它尾巴周围的美丽羽毛，这些脱下的羽毛，生物学家把它们叫做副翼羽毛。

　　These feathers are gathered by the fowl⁵ forgers and skillfully fitted onto some poor previously⁶ mutilated parakeet.  假造鸟类的人把这些羽毛收拾起来，很巧妙地把它们装在预先打死、拔了毛的可怜的鹦鹉身上。

　　Then they paint over the suture, varnish⁷ the bird, and ship the fruits of their unique labors⁸ to museums and collectors in Europe. 然后他们把皮毛接合的地方粘起来，粉饰好鸟身，他们就把这些新奇的制作品送到欧洲各地的博物馆和喜爱鸟类的人。

　　Good enough! Ned Land put in. If it isn't the right bird, it's still the right feathers, and so long as the merchandise isn't meant to be eaten, I see no great harm! 好的尼德·兰说，虽然这不是鸟的本体，但总是鸟的羽毛，如果鸟不是拿来食用，我想也没有什么坏处！

　　But if my desires were fulfilled by the capture of this bird of paradise, those of our Canadian huntsman remained unsatisfied.  我的欲望虽然因为捕得这只无双鸟得到满足，但加拿：大猎人的欲望还没有得到满足。

　　Luckily, near two o'clock Ned Land brought down a magnificent wild pig of the type the natives call bari-outang.  很运气，在两点左右，尼德·兰打到一只肥大的林中野猪，这是土人叫做巴利奥唐的一种猪。

　　This animal came in the nick of time for us to bag some real quadruped meat, and it was warmly welcomed.  这猪正好在我们追求真正四足兽肉的时候到来了，所以它很受欢迎，被留下了。

　　Ned Land proved himself quite gloriously with his gunshot. Hit by an electric bullet, the pig dropped dead on the spot. 尼德·兰对自己打枪的准确，表示很得意。野猪中了电气弹，倒在地上死了。

　　The Canadian properly skinned and cleaned it, after removing half a dozen cutlets destined⁹ to serve as the grilled¹⁰ meat course of our evening meal.  加拿大人从猪身上割下六七块腰窝肉准备晚上烤着吃，他又把它的皮毛剥去，开膛，清出内脏。

　　Then the hunt was on again, and once more would be marked by the exploits of Ned and Conseil. 然后又来打猎，这次打猎又显出了尼德·兰和康塞尔的劳绩。

　　In essence, beating the bushes, the two friends flushed a herd¹¹ of kangaroos that fled by bounding away on their elastic¹² paws.  果然，这一对朋友在搜索树丛的时候，赶出了一大群袋鼠，它们伸开有弹性的腿来，一蹦一跳地逃走。

　　But these animals didn't flee so swiftly that our electric capsules couldn't catch up with them. 这些动物虽然跳、走得快，但还没有逃远，电气弹已经追上它们了。

1 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

4 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

5 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 varnish   

n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰

参考例句：

• He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实，但那是徒劳的。
• He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。

8 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

9 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

10 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

11 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

12 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。