英语听书《海底两万里》第319期 第23章 珊瑚王国(16)

 　　You mean, I said, that such primitive¹ methods are still all that they use? 那么，我说，他们总是使用这种原始方法吗？

　　All, Captain Nemo answered me, although these fisheries belong to the most industrialized people in the world, the English, to whom the Treaty of Amiens granted them in 1802. 总是使用这种原始方法，尼摩船长回答我，虽然这些采珠场是属于地球上最灵巧的人民一英国人—因为 1802年的阿米恩条约把采珠场转让给他们了。

　　Yet it strikes me that diving suits like yours could perform yeoman service in such work. 不过，我觉得，像您使用的那种潜水衣对于采珠可以大有用处。

　　Yes, since those poor fishermen can't stay long underwater.  是的，很有用，因为那些可怜的采珠人不能在水底下留得很久，

　　On his voyage to Ceylon, the Englishman Percival made much of a Kaffir who stayed under five minutes without coming up to the surface, but I find that hard to believe.  英国人培西华在他写的锡兰岛游记中，说有一个加非列利人在水下留了五分钟，没有上水面来，这件事我觉得不甚可靠。

　　I know that some divers² can last up to fifty-seven seconds, and highly skillful ones to eighty-seven;  我知道有些潜水人可以留到五十六秒，最有能耐的可以留到八十六秒，

　　but such men are rare, and when the poor fellows climb back on board, the water coming out of their noses and ears is tinted³ with blood.  不过这种人是很少的，并且，回到船上来，这些可怜人的鼻孔和耳朵都流出带血的水来。

　　I believe the average time underwater that these fishermen can tolerate is thirty seconds, during which they hastily stuff their little nets with all the pearl oysters⁴ they can tear loose.  我认为这些采珠人可以留在水里面忍受的平均时间为三十秒，在这三十秒内，他们得赶快把自己采得的珍珠贝塞在一个小网中。

　　But these fishermen generally don't live to advanced age:  一般的说，这些采珠人不能活得很久，

　　their vision weakens, ulcers⁵ break out on their eyes, sores form on their bodies, and some are even stricken with apoplexy on the ocean floor. 他们的眼力很早就衰退，眼睛上发生溃疡，他们的身上有许多创伤，他们有时甚至于在水底下就中凤了。

　　Yes, I said, it's a sad occupation, and one that exists only to gratify the whims⁶ of fashion.  是的，我说，这是一种凄惨的职业，这是为满足少数人的偏好的。

　　But tell me, captain, how many oysters can a boat fish up in a workday? 不过，船长，请您告诉我，一只船一整天可以采得多少珍珠贝呢？

　　About 40,000 to 50,000. It's even said that in 1814, when the English government went fishing on its own behalf, its divers worked just twenty days and brought up 76,000,000 oysters. 大约四万至五万左右。甚至有人说， 1814年，英国政府实行公营采珠，它的采珠人在二十天的工作中，一共采得七千六百万珍珠贝。

1 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

2 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

3 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

4 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。

5 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

6 WHIMS   

虚妄，禅病

参考例句：

• The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
• The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹