英语听书《海底两万里》第288期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(19)

 　　Conseil was in dead earnest, but I didn't subscribe¹ to his views.  康塞尔说的是老实话，不过我不赞同他的意见。

　　However, the situation had changed in only a short time and we hadn't noticed.  可是目前的情形已经很不对了，这一点我们还没有觉察到。

　　Now some twenty dugout canoes were surrounding the Nautilus.  这时，有二十多只独木舟正围绕着诺第留斯号。

　　Hollowed from tree trunks, these dugouts were long, narrow, and well designed for speed,  这种独木舟是中空的树身做的，很长，很窄。

　　keeping their balance by means of two bamboo poles that floated on the surface of the water.  为了便于行驶，配上两条浮在水面的竹制长杆，使舟身可以平衡不倾斜地摆动。

　　They were maneuvered² by skillful, half-naked paddlers, and I viewed their advance with definite alarm. 独木舟由半光着身体、巧妙使用自由桨板的上人驾驶，我看见他们驶向前来，心中不能不害怕起来。

　　It was obvious these Papuans had already entered into relations with Europeans and knew their ships.  很显然，这些巴布亚人已经跟欧洲人有过来往，他们见过而且能够识别欧洲人的船只。

　　But this long, iron cylinder³ lying in the bay, with no masts or funnels-what were they to make of it?  但我们这只躺在湾中的钢铁圆锥，没有桅槁，没有烟突，他们会怎么想呢？

　　Nothing good, because at first they kept it at a respectful distance.  他们一定认为这是没有一点好处的坏东西，因为他们首先站在距离相当远的地方，不敢近前。

　　However, seeing that it stayed motionless, they regained⁴ confidence little by little and tried to become more familiar with it.  可是，看见船停住不动，他们渐渐恢复了信心，想法子跟船熟识。

　　Now then, it was precisely⁵ this familiarity that we needed to prevent.  正是这种要求熟识的行动，人们应加以阻止。

　　Since our weapons made no sound when they went off, they would have only a moderate effect on these islanders, who reputedly respect nothing but noisy mechanisms⁶.  我们的武器没有砰砰的声响，对于这些土人只能有一种很平常的效力，因为他们所害怕的是宏大的炮声，雷电的危险虽然在闪光而不在声响。

　　Without thunderclaps, lightning bolts would be much less frightening, although the danger lies in the flash, not the noise. 但如果没有隆隆的轰击，也很少有人害怕。

　　Just then the dugout canoes drew nearer to the Nautilus, and a cloud of arrows burst over us. 这时候，独木舟更逼近诺第留斯号了，一阵一阵的箭落在船身上了。

　　Fire and brimstone, it's hailing! Conseil said. And poisoned hail perhaps! 真怪! 下雹子了!康塞尔说，可能是有毒的雹子呢!

　　We've got to alert Captain Nemo, I said, reentering the hatch. 应当通知尼摩船长。我说，同时我就从嵌板中进来。

　　I went below to the lounge. I found no one there. I ventured a knock at the door opening into the captain's stateroom. 我走到客厅中，客厅里没有人。我冒昧敲一敲朝着船长房间开的那扇门。

　　The word Enter! answered me. I did so and found Captain Nemo busy with calculations in which there was no shortage of X and other algebraic signs. 一声请进回答我；我进去，我见船长正聚精会神地作计算，上面有很多X 未知数和其它的代数符号。

1 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

2 maneuvered   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行，来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
• The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句

3 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

4 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》