英语听书《海底两万里》第364期 第23章 珊瑚王国(62)

 Professor, he said to me, would you like to go with me to the wheelhouse? 他对我说：教授，您高兴同我一起到领航人笼间里去吗？

I was afraid to ask, I replied. 我不敢请求您，我正是求之不得呢！我回答说。

Come along, then. This way, you'll learn the full story about this combination underwater and underground navigating¹. 那么，请来吧。您这样就可以看见，这次同时是地下又是海底航行的一切情况。

Captain Nemo led me to the central companionway. In midstair he opened a door, went along the upper gangways, and arrived at the wheelhouse, which, as you know, stands at one end of the platform. 尼摩船长领我到中央楼梯，在楼梯栏杆的中腰，他打开一扇门，沿上层的长廊走去，到了领航人的笼间里，上面说过，这笼间在平台的前方尖端。

It was a cabin measuring six feet square and closely resembling those occupied by the helmsmen of steamboats on the Mississippi or Hudson rivers.  那是一门每面有六英尺宽的小舱房，跟密西西比…和哈得逊河汽船上领航人所占的笼问差不多一样。

In the center stood an upright wheel geared to rudder cables running to the Nautilus's stern.  舱房中间，有一架垂直放着的机轮转动，轮齿接在舵缆上，缆直通到比第留斯号的后面。

Set in the cabin's walls were four deadlights, windows of biconvex glass that enabled the man at the helm to see in every direction. 叼个装上两面凸镜片的船窗，缺在舱间的复壁上，使守舵人四面八方都可以看见。

The cabin was dark; but my eyes soon grew accustomed to its darkness and I saw the pilot, a muscular man whose hands rested on the pegs² of the wheel.  这笼间是黑暗的，但我的眼睛不久就习惯了这种黑暗，我看见里面的领肮人。他很精壮，两手扶住机轮的车辆。

Outside, the sea was brightly lit by the beacon³ shining behind the cabin at the other end of the platform. 在外面，平台上另一端的探照灯在笼间后面照耀，光映海面，分外明亮。

Now, Captain Nemo said, let's look for our passageway. 现在，尼摩船长说，我们来找地道吧。

Electric wires linked the pilothouse with the engine room, and from this cabin the captain could simultaneously⁴ signal heading and speed to his Nautilus.  有好些电线把领肮人的笼间跟机器房接连，从笼间里面，船长同时可以对诺第留斯号发出航行方向和速度快慢的指示。

He pressed a metal button and at once the propeller⁵ slowed down significantly. 他按一下金属钮，机轮的速度就立即减低。

I stared in silence at the high, sheer wall we were skirting just then, the firm base of the sandy mountains on the coast.  我默默地注视我们此刻走过的十分陡峭险峻的高墙，

For an hour we went along it in this fashion, staying only a few meters away.  这是沿海高厚沙地的坚牢基矗我们在一个钟头内沿着这座高墙走，相距只不过几米，

Captain Nemo never took his eyes off the two concentric circles of the compass hanging in the cabin.  尼摩船长两眼不离那个挂在笼间，有两个大小同心圆的罗盘，

At a mere⁶ gesture from him, the helmsman would instantly change the Nautilus's heading. 看他做一个手势，领航人就每时每刻改变诺第留斯号行驶的方向。

1 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

2 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

3 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

4 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

5 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。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。