英语听书《海底两万里》第397期 第25章 地中海四十八小时(23)

 Wait a little while. Our beacon¹ is about to go on, and if you want some light on the subject, you'll be satisfied. 您等待一下。我们的探照灯就要亮起来。如果您喜欢把情况弄明白，那您一定可以得到满足。

I set foot on the platform and waited. The darkness was so profound I couldn't see even Captain Nemo.  我走到平台上，我在那里等着。黑暗是完全绝对的，就是尼摩船长的影子我也看不见。

However, looking at the zenith directly overhead, I thought I caught sight of a feeble glimmer², a sort of twilight³ filtering through a circular hole.  同时我注视空中的顶点，正在我的头上面，我觉得是看到一种隐约浮游的微光，一称在圆涧中所有的曙光。

Just then the beacon suddenly went on, and its intense brightness made that hazy⁴ light vanish. 这时候，探照灯忽然亮了，它那辉煌的光把那模糊的光驱散了。

This stream of electricity dazzled my eyes, and after momentarily shutting them, I looked around.  我受电光的突然照耀，觉得晃眼，略为闲了一下眼睛。我再睁开来注视。

The Nautilus was stationary⁵. It was floating next to an embankment shaped like a wharf⁶.  诺第留斯号静止不动。它靠近作为码头的岸边浮着。

As for the water now buoying⁷ the ship, it was a lake completely encircled by an inner wall about two miles in diameter, hence six miles around.  这时浮起它来的海面是有高墙围起来的圆形的湖，长二海里，周围六海里。

Its level-as indicated by the pressure gauge-would be the same as the outside level, because some connection had to exist between this lake and the sea.  压力表指出，它的水平面等于外海的水平面，这湖必然跟大海相通。

Slanting⁸ inward over their base, these high walls converged⁹ to form a vault¹⁰ shaped like an immense upside-down funnel¹¹ that measured 500 or 600 meters in height.  周围的高墙，下部倾斜，上面是穹窿的圆顶，形状很像倒过来的漏斗，高度为为五百至六百米。

At its summit there gaped¹² the circular opening through which I had detected that faint glimmer, obviously daylight. 顶上有一个圆孔，我刚才就从这孔看到一些稀微的光线，这光的来源显然是那白日的光。

Before more carefully examining the interior features of this enormous cavern¹³, and before deciding if it was the work of nature or humankind, I went over to Captain Nemo. 在更仔细地考察这巨大岩洞的内部情形之前，在自己没有想想这洞是天然的或人为的作品之前，我就向尼摩船长面前走去。我说。

1 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。

2 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

3 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

4 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

5 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

6 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

7 buoying   

v.使浮起( buoy的现在分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• For years, the government has been buoying up cotton prices. 多年来政府一直保持棉花高价格。 来自互联网
• He is buoying the channel. 他在用浮标指示航道。 来自互联网

8 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

9 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

11 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

12 gaped   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• A huge chasm gaped before them. 他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front door was missing. A hole gaped in the roof. 前门不翼而飞，屋顶豁开了一个洞。 来自辞典例句

13 cavern   

n.洞穴，大山洞

参考例句：

• The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
• It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。