英语听书《海底两万里》第327期 第23章 珊瑚王国(23)

 　　We were silent. What was Captain Nemo thinking?  我们沉默不作声，尼摩船长在想什么呢？

　　Perhaps that this approaching shore was too close for comfort, contrary to the Canadian's views in which it still seemed too far away.  可能在想现在靠近的陆地，他觉得自己太靠近陆地了，这正跟加拿大人的意见相反，加拿大人却觉得自己跟陆地相距太远了。

　　As for Conseil, he had come along out of simple curiosity. 至于康塞尔，他坐在那里什么也不理会，只是看着新鲜。

　　Near 5:30 the first glimmers¹ of light on the horizon defined the upper lines of the coast with greater distinctness.  五点半左右，天边刚放出来的曙光把海岸的上层轮廓更清楚地衬托出来。

　　Fairly flat to the east, it swelled² a little toward the south. Five miles still separated it from us, and its beach merged³ with the misty⁴ waters.  在东边，海岸相当平坦，向南部分又有点突起。我们跟海岸相距还有五英里，它的边岸跟蒙蒙的雾水相混起来。

　　Between us and the shore, the sea was deserted⁵. Not a boat, not a diver. Profound solitude⁶ reigned⁷ over this gathering⁸ place of pearl fishermen.  在边岸和我们之间，海上什么也没有，没有一只船，没有一个采珠人。在这采珠人聚会的场所，是沉重的孤寂。

　　As Captain Nemo had commented, we were arriving in these waterways a month too soon. 本来尼摩船长已经向我说过，我们到这一带海中来早了一个月。

　　At six o'clock the day broke suddenly, with that speed unique to tropical regions, which experience no real dawn or dusk.  六点，天忽然亮了，日夜很快来临是热带地区特有的情形，这些地区是没有晨暖和黄昏的。

　　The sun's rays pierced the cloud curtain gathered on the easterly horizon, and the radiant orb⁹ rose swiftly. 太阳光线穿过堆在东方天边的云幕，灿烂的红日很快就升起来了。

　　I could clearly see the shore, which featured a few sparse¹⁰ trees here and there. 我清楚地看见陆地，稀疏的树木散在各处。

　　The skiff advanced toward Mannar Island, which curved to the south. Captain Nemo stood up from his thwart¹¹ and studied the sea. 小艇向马纳尔岛前进，岛南部渐渐扩大。尼摩船长站起来，看一下海回

　　At his signal the anchor was lowered, but its chain barely ran because the bottom lay no more than a meter down,  他点一点头，锚就抛下去了，但铁链只下沉了一点，因为水底只有一米左右深、

　　and this locality was one of the shallowest spots near the bank of shellfish. Instantly the skiff wheeled around under the ebb¹² tide's outbound thrust. 这里形成了一处小纹贝礁岩脉突起来的最高峰。小艇受了向大海方面排去的退潮力量，立即转过头来。

1 glimmers   

n.微光，闪光( glimmer的名词复数 )v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A faint lamp glimmers at the end of the passage. 一盏昏暗的灯在走廊尽头发出微弱的光线。 来自互联网
• The first glimmers of an export-led revival are apparent. 拉动出库复苏的第一缕曙光正出现。 来自互联网

2 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

3 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。

4 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

5 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

6 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

7 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 orb   

n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形

参考例句：

• The blue heaven,holding its one golden orb,poured down a crystal wash of warm light.蓝蓝的天空托着金色的太阳，洒下一片水晶般明亮温暖的光辉。
• It is an emanation from the distant orb of immortal light.它是从远处那个发出不灭之光的天体上放射出来的。

10 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

11 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

12 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。