英语听书《海底两万里》第301期 第22章 强逼睡眠(6)

 　　I had climbed onto the platform just as the chief officer was taking his readings of hour angles.  我在船副来测量角度的时候，走到平台上。

　　Out of habit I waited for him to pronounce his daily phrase.  我等待他照平常的习惯，说每日要说的那句话。

　　But that day it was replaced by a different phrase, just as incomprehensible.  可是，那天，这句话被另一句一样不可懂的话所替了。

　　Almost at once I saw Captain Nemo appear, lift his spyglass, and inspect the horizon. 我立即看见尼摩船长出来，眼睛对着望远镜，向天边隙望。

　　For some minutes the captain stood motionless, rooted to the spot contained within the field of his lens.  在几分钟内，船长站住不动，不离开他目标内的那个点。

　　Then he lowered his spyglass and exchanged about ten words with his chief officer.  一会儿，他把镜子放下，跟船副交换了十多句话。

　　The latter seemed to be in the grip of an excitement he tried in vain to control.  船副好像情绪很激动，没有法子抑制的样子。

　　More in command of himself, Captain Nemo remained cool.  尼摩船长比较有主意，神气很冷静。

　　Furthermore, he seemed to be raising certain objections that his chief officer kept answering with flat assurances.  他好像提出了些反对的意见，船副带着肯定明确的语气回答他。

　　At least that's what I gathered from their differences in tone and gesture. 至少，我是从他们的口气和他们的姿势作这样的了解。

　　As for me, I stared industriously¹ in the direction under observation but without spotting a thing.  至于我，也细心地注视他们所指的方向，什么也看不见。

　　Sky and water merged² into a perfectly³ clean horizon line. 天和水完全清楚地相交在一条水平线上。

　　Meanwhile Captain Nemo strolled from one end of the platform to the other, not glancing at me, perhaps not even seeing me.  但是，尼摩船长在平台的两极端间走来走去，没有留心我，可能没有看见我。

　　His step was firm but less regular than usual.  他的脚步很坚定，但没有平时一样的规律。

　　Sometimes he would stop, cross his arms over his chest, and observe the sea.  他有时停住，两手交叉在胸前，观察大海。

　　What could he be looking for over that immense expanse?  他要在这个浩瀚的空间中找些什么呢？

　　By then the Nautilus lay hundreds of miles from the nearest coast! 诺第留斯号这时距最近的边岸也已经有好几百海里了！

　　The chief officer kept lifting his spyglass and stubbornly examining the horizon, walking up and down, stamping his foot,  船副又拿过望远镜来，固执地搜索着天际，走来走去，不停地跺脚，

　　in his nervous agitation⁴ a sharp contrast to his superior. 他神经质的激动跟船长的冷静正成一个对比。

　　But this mystery would inevitably⁵ be cleared up, and soon, because Captain Nemo gave orders to increase speed;  此外，这个神秘必须弄清楚，并且要很快弄清楚，因为船上得到尼摩船长的命令，

　　at once the engine stepped up its drive power, setting the propeller⁶ in swifter rotation⁷. 机器增加推动力，机器转动更快了。

1 industriously   

参考例句：

• She paces the whole class in studying English industriously. 她在刻苦学习英语上给全班同学树立了榜样。
• He industriously engages in unostentatious hard work. 他勤勤恳恳，埋头苦干。

2 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

3 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。

4 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

5 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

6 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

7 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。