英语听书《海底两万里》第440期 第26章 大头鲸和长须鲸(21)

 The Nautilus adopted an average speed of twenty-six miles per hour, the speed of an express train.  诺第留斯号这时的速度是每小时二十六海里的中常速度，即特别快车的速度。

If it kept up this pace, forty hours would do it for reaching the pole. 如果它保持这个速度行驶，那么四十小时就足够它驶到南极了。

For part of the night, the novelty of our circumstances kept Conseil and me at the lounge window.  夜间一部分时间，由于所在环境的新奇，使康塞尔和我留在客厅的玻璃边，

The sea was lit by our beacon's electric rays.  大海受探照灯电光的照耀，晶莹雪亮，

But the depths were deserted¹.  但水中荒凉，看不见什么踪影。

Fish didn't linger in these imprisoned² waters.  鱼类不居留在这种监牢般的海水中；

Here they found merely a passageway for going from the Antarctic Ocean to open sea at the pole.  它们要从南冰洋到南极那个自由通行的海，这里只有一条通路。

Our progress was swift.  我们的船行驶很迅速；

You could feel it in the vibrations³ of the long steel hull⁴. 我们从长形钢铁船壳的振动可以感觉出来。

Near two o'clock in the morning, I went to snatch a few hours of sleep. Conseil did likewise.  早晨两点左右，我要回房中休息几小时。康塞尔也和我一样，

I didn't encounter Captain Nemo while going down the gangways.  要回房休息，穿行过道的时候，

I assumed that he was keeping to the pilothouse. 我没有碰见尼摩船长，我想他一定在那领航人的笼间中了。

The next day, March 19, at five o'clock in the morning, I was back at my post in the lounge.  第二天，3月19日，早晨五点的时候，我又在客厅中。

The electric log indicated that the Nautilus had reduced speed.  电力侧程器给我指出，诺第留斯号的速度慢了一些，

By then it was rising to the surface, but cautiously, while slowly emptying its ballast tanks. 这时，它是很小心的，慢慢排出储水池中的水，往水而上升。

My heart was pounding. Would we emerge into the open and find the polar air again? 我的心在跳动。我们是要浮起来，找到南极的自由空气吗？

No. A jolt⁵ told me that the Nautilus had bumped the underbelly of the Ice Bank, still quite thick to judge from the hollowness of the accompanying noise.  不。一次冲击，从发出了不爽朗的声音来判断，使我知道诺第留斯号碰上了冰山的下层冰面，这冰面还是很厚，

Indeed, we had "struck bottom," to use nautical⁶ terminology⁷, but in the opposite direction and at a depth of 3,000 feet.  的确，用航海的语言来说，我们是撞上了，不过现在是方向倒转过来，在三千英尺的深处撞上了。

That gave us 4,000 feet of ice overhead, of which 1,000 feet emerged above water.  这就是，在我们头上有四千英尺的冰层，有一千英尺是浮出在水面。

1 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。

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

5 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

6 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

7 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。