英语听书《海底两万里》第317期第23章 珊瑚王国(14)

 　　ON JANUARY 28, in latitude¹ 9 degrees 4' north, when the Nautilus returned at noon to the surface of the sea, it lay in sight of land some eight miles to the west.  1月28日正午，当诺第留斯号浮上水面来的时候，它在北纬9度4分，望见西边八海里远有一块陆地。

　　Right off, I observed a cluster of mountains about 2,000 feet high, whose shapes were very whimsically sculpted².  我首先注意一群山岭，这群山岭约二千英尺高，山形起伏，很不整齐。

　　After our position fix, I reentered the lounge, and when our bearings were reported on the chart,  测定了这陆地的方位后，我回到客厅中，把测好的经纬度跟地图一对时，

　　I saw that we were off the island of Ceylon, that pearl dangling³ from the lower lobe⁴ of the Indian peninsula. 我发现我们是在锡兰岛面前了，它是挂在印度半岛下端的一颗宝珠。

　　I went looking in the library for a book about this island, one of the most fertile in the world.  我到图书室去找一部关于这座岛的著作，它是地球上的岛屿中最富饶的一个岛。

　　Sure enough, I found a volume entitled Ceylon and the Singhalese by H. C. Sirr, Esq.  我正好找到西尔所写、题名为《锡兰和锡兰人》的一部书。

　　Reentering the lounge, I first noted⁵ the bearings of Ceylon, on which antiquity⁶ lavished⁷ so many different names.  回到客厅中来，我首先记下锡兰的方位，并且知道古时候这岛有各种不同的名称。

　　It was located between latitude 5 degrees 55' and 9 degrees 49' north, and between longitude⁸ 79 degrees 42' and 82 degrees 4' east of the meridian⁹ of Greenwich;  它的位置是在北纬5度55分和9度49分2red，东经79度42分和82度4分之间，

　　its length is 275 miles; its maximum width, 150 miles; its circumference¹⁰, 900 miles;  “岛长二百七十五英里，最宽的地方一瓦五十英里，周围900英里，

　　its surface area, 24,448 square miles, in other words, a little smaller than that of Ireland. 面积二万四千四百四十八平方英里，就是说，比爱尔兰岛面积小一些尼摩船长和他的副手这时候进来了。

1 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

2 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

3 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。

4 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

7 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

8 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

9 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

10 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。