英语听书《海底两万里》第286期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(17)

 　　Fine, Conseil! And I agree that there are honorable cannibals who decently devour¹ their prisoners.  对！康塞尔，我同意你的说法，他们是吃人肉的诚实人,他们是老老实实地吃俘虏的肉。

　　However, I'm opposed to being devoured², even in all decency³, so I'll keep on my guard, especially since the Nautilus's commander seems to be taking no precautions.  不过我不想被他们吞食，即使是老老实实的吞食，我也不愿意。我要时时警戒，十分小心，因为诺第留斯号的船长好像一点不注意，不加防范。

　　And now let's get to work! 现在我们动手捞吧。

　　For two hours our fishing proceeded energetically but without bringing up any rarities.  在两个钟头内，我们打鱼进行得相当活跃，但没有打到罕见的珍品。

　　Our dragnet was filled with Midas abalone, harp⁴ shells, obelisk⁵ snails⁶, and especially the finest hammer shells I had seen to that day.  打捞器里面装满了驴耳贝、竖琴贝、河贝子，特别又打到了我今天才看见的最好看的糙鱼，

　　We also gathered in a few sea cucumbers, some pearl oysters⁷, and a dozen small turtles that we saved for the ship's pantry. 我们又打了一些海参，产珍珠的牡蛎和一打左右的小鳖，这些都打来作为船上的食用品。

　　But just when I least expected it, I laid my hands on a wonder, a natural deformity I'd have to call it, something very seldom encountered.  但是，在绝对的无意中，我却找到一件珍奇品，我应该说，找到一件自然变形的珍品，这种东西最不容易碰见。

　　Conseil had just made a cast of the dragnet, and his gear had come back up loaded with a variety of fairly ordinary seashells,  康塞尔把打捞器放下去又捞起来的时候，器中装满很平常的各种贝类，他忽然看见我的胳膊很快伸进网里面去，

　　when suddenly he saw me plunge⁸ my arms swiftly into the net, pull out a shelled animal, and give a conchological yell,  取出一个贝壳来，发出贝类学家的喊声，

　　in other words, the most piercing yell a human throat can produce. 即是说，发出人类喉咙可以发出的最尖锐的喊声。

　　Eh? What happened to master? Conseil asked, very startled. Did master get bitten? 哎！先生怎么啦？康塞尔问，他非常惊怪，先生被咬了吗？

　　No, my boy, but I'd gladly have sacrificed a finger for such a find! 没有，老实人，我实在愿意用我的一个指头来换取我：的发现呢。

　　What find? 什么发现呢？

　　This shell, I said, displaying the subject of my triumph. 就是这个贝壳。我手指着我的战利品说。

　　But that's simply an olive shell of the 'tent olive' species, genus Oliva, order Pectinibranchia, class Gastropoda, branch Mollusca-- 但这不过是一个普通的斑红橄榄贝,橄榄贝属，节鳃图，腹足纲，软体类门…

　　Yes, yes, Conseil! But instead of coiling from right to left, this olive shell rolls from left to right! 对，康塞尔，但这个橄榄贝纹跟普通的不一样，不是从右往左卷过来，而是从左往右转过去。

　　It can't be! Conseil exclaimed. 可能吗？康塞尔喊道。

　　Yes, my boy, it's a left-handed shell! 一点不错，老实人，这是一个左卷贝！

1 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

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 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

4 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

5 obelisk   

n.方尖塔

参考例句：

• The obelisk was built in memory of those who died for their country.这座方尖塔是为了纪念那些为祖国献身的人而建造的。
• Far away on the last spur,there was a glittering obelisk.远处，在最后一个山峦上闪烁着一个方尖塔。

6 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

8 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。