英语听书《海底两万里》第441期 第26章 大头鲸和长须鲸(22)

 So the Ice Bank was higher here than we had found it on the outskirts¹.  这时冰层所有的高度，是超过我们在它边岸所记录的高度。

A circumstance less than encouraging. 情形有些使人不安呢。

Several times that day, the Nautilus repeated the same experiment and always it bumped against this surface that formed a ceiling above it.  在这一天内，诺第留斯号做了好几次试验，它总是碰着盖在它上面的天花板一样的冰墙。

At certain moments the ship encountered ice at a depth of 900 meters, denoting a thickness of 1,200 meters, of which 300 meters rose above the level of the ocean.  有时候，它在九百米的地方碰到了，那就是冰山有一千二百米厚，有三百米是浮在冰洋的而上。

This height had tripled since the moment the Nautilus had dived beneath the waves. 跟诺第留斯号潜入水底的时候相比，冰山的高度现在是增加了一倍。

I meticulously² noted³ these different depths, obtaining the underwater profile of this upside-down mountain chain that stretched beneath the sea. 我小心地记下这些不同的深度，这样，我就获得了罗列在海水下面的这条冰山脉的海底面影。

By evening there was still no improvement in our situation. The ice stayed between 400 and 500 meters deep.  晚上，我们所处的情况没有发现什么变化。在四百和五百米深度的中间老是有冰。

It was obviously shrinking, but what a barrier still lay between us and the surface of the ocean! 冰显然是减少了，但在我们和洋面之间，冰层还厚得很呢！

By then it was eight o'clock. The air inside the Nautilus should have been renewed four hours earlier, following daily practice on board.  时间是晚八点。按照每天的习惯，诺第留斯号内部空气早在四小时以前就应该调涣了。

But I didn't suffer very much, although Captain Nemo hadn't yet made demands on the supplementary⁴ oxygen in his air tanks. 不过，虽然尼摩船长没有要储藏库放出一些补充的氧气来，但我并不觉得怎样难过。

That night my sleep was fitful. Hope and fear besieged⁵ me by turns.  这一夜我的睡眠很不好。

I got up several times. The Nautilus continued groping.  希望和恐惧轮流地在我心中转来转去。我起来好几次。诺第留斯号探索性的上升仍然继续进行。

Near three o'clock in the morning, I observed that we encountered the Ice Bank's underbelly at a depth of only fifty meters.  早晨三点左右，我看见冰山的下层冰面只在五十米的深度才碰到了、这时把我们和水面隔开的只是一百五千英尺的冰层。

So only 150 feet separated us from the surface of the water.  冰山渐渐变成冰田了。山又成平原了 .我的两眼不离开压力表；

Little by little the Ice Bank was turning into an ice field again.  总是盯着一我们沿对角线，向着电光下闪闪发亮的光辉冰面，老是上升。

The mountains were changing back into plains. 冰山像腕蜒伸长的栏杆，上下两方减低了；它一海里一海里地变薄了。

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

5 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。