英语听书《海底两万里》第287期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(18)

 　　A left-handed shell! Conseil repeated, his heart pounding. 一个左卷贝！康塞尔重复说，他心跳动着。

　　Look at its spiral! 你看一看这贝壳的螺旋纹便明白了。

　　Oh, master can trust me on this, Conseil said, taking the valuable shell in trembling hands, but never have I felt such excitement! 啊！先生可以相信我，康塞尔说，用发抖的手拿着这珍贵的贝壳，我从没有感到像现在这样的一种情绪呢！

　　And there was good reason to be excited! In fact, as naturalists¹ have ventured to observe, dextrality is a well-known law of nature.  这实在是可以使人情绪激动的！正是，像生物学家所观察到的一样，由右向左是自然的法则。

　　In their rotational² and orbital movements, stars and their satellites go from right to left.  天体的行星和它们的卫星公转和自转的运动，都是从右向左转。

　　Man uses his right hand more often than his left,  人类使用右手的机会比使用左手为多，

　　and consequently his various instruments and equipment (staircases, locks, watch springs, etc.) are designed to be used in a right-to-left manner.  因此，人类的工具和器械、楼梯、锁钥、钟表的法条等，都配合成由右向左来使用的。

　　Now then, nature has generally obeyed this law in coiling her shells.  大自然对于贝类的卷旋螺纹，通常也是按照这个法则。

　　They're right-handed with only rare exceptions, and when by chance a shell's spiral is left-handed, collectors will pay its weight in gold for it. 贝类纹基本是右转的，很少有例外，偶然有贝纹是左转的。爱好的人便以黄金的重阶来收买了。

　　So Conseil and I were deep in the contemplation of our treasure,  康塞尔和我因此都在欣赏我们所得的宝贝，

　　and I was solemnly promising³ myself to enrich the Paris Museum with it,  完全陶醉了，我正欣幸我们的博物馆又可以多一件珍品了；

　　when an ill-timed stone, hurled⁴ by one of the islanders, whizzed over and shattered the valuable object in Conseil's hands. 忽然一个土人投来一个石子，不幸地把康塞尔手中的珍品打碎了。

　　I gave a yell of despair! Conseil pounced⁵ on his rifle and aimed at a savage⁶ swinging a sling⁷ just ten meters away from him.  我发出了一声绝望的喊声！康塞尔拿起我的枪，对准在十米外挥动投石机的一个土人，就要打。

　　I tried to stop him, but his shot went off and shattered a bracelet⁸ of amulets⁹ dangling¹⁰ from the islander's arm. 我正要阻止他，但他的枪弹已经放出去了，粉碎了挂在土人胳膊上的护身灵镯。

　　Conseil! I shouted. Conseil! 康塞尔！康塞尔！我喊。

　　Eh? What? Didn't master see that this man-eater initiated¹¹ the attack? 怎么啦！先生没有看见这个土人开始攻击了吗？

　　A shell isn't worth a human life! I told him. 一个贝壳不能跟一个人的性命相比！我对他说。

　　Oh, the rascal¹²! Conseil exclaimed. I'd rather he cracked my shoulder! 啊！混蛋东西！康塞尔喊，他就是打碎我的肩骨，我觉得也比打碎这贝壳好一些！

1 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

2 rotational   

adj.回转的，轮流的

参考例句：

• A synchronous motor drives the measuring bob at a constant rotational speed.同步马达驱动测锤以恒速旋转。
• With some limitations,this is true also of rotational degrees of freedom.在某些限定条件下，这一说法对转动自由度也成立。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pounced   

v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击）

参考例句：

• As soon as I opened my mouth, the teacher pounced on me. 我一张嘴就被老师抓住呵斥了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police pounced upon the thief. 警察向小偷扑了过去。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

8 bracelet   

n.手镯，臂镯

参考例句：

• The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
• She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。

9 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

10 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

11 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

12 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。