英语听书《海底两万里》第420期 第26章 大头鲸和长须鲸(1)

 DURING THE NIGHT of March 13-14, the Nautilus resumed its southward heading.  在8月13日至14日夜间，诺第留斯号航行的方向还是往南。

Once it was abreast¹ of Cape² Horn, I thought it would strike west of the cape, make for Pacific seas, and complete its tour of the world.  我想在合恩角的纬度上，它要把船头移转向西，这样就可以再到太平洋，完成它的世界周游。

It did nothing of the sort and kept moving toward the southernmost regions.  实际它并不这样做，仍然继续向南极地区驶去。

So where was it bound? The pole? That was insanity³.  那么，它要到哪里去呢？到南极去吗？那真是疯了。

I was beginning to think that the captain's recklessness more than justified⁴ Ned Land's worst fears. 我开始想，船长的大胆狂妄很足以证明尼德·兰的顾虑同恐惧是合理的。

For a good while the Canadian had said nothing more to me about his escape plans.  几天以来，加拿大人不跟我谈他的逃走计划。

He had become less sociable⁵, almost sullen⁶.  他变成不爱说话，差不多完全沉默了。

I could see how heavily this protracted⁷ imprisonment⁸ was weighing on him.  我看出这种无限期延长的囚禁使得他很难受。

I could feel the anger building in him.  我感到他心中所累积的愤怒是怎样强烈。

Whenever he encountered the captain, his eyes would flicker⁹ with dark fire, and I was in constant dread¹⁰ that his natural vehemence¹¹ would cause him to do something rash. 当他碰见船长的时候，他的眼睛燃起阴沉可怕的火光，我时常害怕他那暴烈天性可能使他走极端。

That day, March 14, he and Conseil managed to find me in my stateroom. I asked them the purpose of their visit. 3月14日这一天，康塞尔和他到我房中来找我，我问他们来看我的理由。

To put a simple question to you, sir, the Canadian answered me. 先生，加拿大人口答我，我只有一个问题向您提出来。

Go on, Ned. 您说吧，尼德。

How many men do you think are on board the Nautilus? 您想，诺第留斯号船上一共有多少人？

I'm unable to say, my friend. 我说不上来，我的朋友。

It seems to me, Ned Land went on, that it wouldn't take much of a crew to run a ship like this one. 我觉得，尼德·兰立即说，这船的驾驶并不需要很多的人员。

Correct, I replied. Under existing conditions some ten men at the most should be enough to operate it. 是的，我回答，在目前的情况中，大约至多有十个人就足以驾驶了。

All right, the Canadian said, then why should there be any more than that? 那么，加拿大人说，为什么可能有这么多的人呢？

Why? I answered. 为什么？我立即说。

1 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。

2 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

3 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

6 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

7 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

9 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

10 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

11 vehemence   

n.热切；激烈；愤怒

参考例句：

• The attack increased in vehemence.进攻越来越猛烈。
• She was astonished at his vehemence.她对他的激昂感到惊讶。