英语听书《海底两万里》第476期 第29章 缺少空气(8)

 he stopcocks of the ballast tanks were then opened wide, and 100 cubic meters of water rushed in, increasing the Nautilus's weight by 100,000 kilograms. 储水池的龙头于是完全打开来，一百立方米的水都流进去，把诺第留斯号的重量增加了十万公厅。

We waited, we listened, we forgot our sufferings, we hoped once more. 我们等着，我们听着，忘记了我们的痛苦，仍然抱着希望。

 We had staked our salvation¹ on this one last gamble. 我们好像赌博，得救与否，完全看这最后一着了。

Despite the buzzing in my head. I soon could hear vibrations² under the Nautilus's hull³. 不管我脑子中嗡嗡作响，但不久我听到诺第留斯号船身下颤抖了。

We tilted⁴. The ice cracked with an odd ripping sound, like paper tearing,  冰层破裂，发出新奇的声响，下陷的作用发生了，像撕纸的声音一样，

and the Nautilus began settling downward. 诺第留斯号渐渐沉下去。

"We're going through!" "我们穿过去了！

Conseil muttered in my ear. ”康塞尔在我耳边低声说。

I couldn't answer him. 我不能回答他。

I clutched his hand. 我抓着他的手。

I squeezed it in an involuntary convulsion. 我完全不由自主地抽搐，紧紧握住他的手。

All at once, carried away by its frightful⁵ excess load, the Nautilus sank into the waters like a cannonball, in other words, dropping as if in a vacuum! 突然间，诺第留斯号被它的过分重量所带走，像一颗炮弹沉入水中，就是说，它掉下去，像它在真空中尽可能快地掉下去那样！

Our full electric power was then put on the pumps, which instantly began to expel water from the ballast tanks. 于是把所有的电力都送到抽水机上，抽水机立即把储水池中的水排出。

After a few minutes we had checked our fall. 几分钟后，我们的下降停止。

The pressure gauge⁶ soon indicated an ascending⁷ movement. 并且不久，压力表就指出船是在上升。

Brought to full speed, the propeller⁸ made the sheet-iron hull tremble down to its rivets⁹, and we sped northward¹⁰. 推进器全速开行，船身钢板发生震动，一直在螺丝钉上都感到，它带我们向北方驶去。

But how long would it take to navigate¹¹ under the Ice Bank to the open sea? 但是，现在从冰山下到自由海的航行，要延长多少时候呢，

Another day? I would be dead first! 还要一天吗？如果是这样的话，那我仍不免要死在前头了！

Half lying on a couch in the library, I was suffocating¹². 我半身躺在图书室的长沙发椅上，我不能出气了。

My face was purple, my lips blue, my faculties¹³ in abeyance¹⁴. 我的脸孔发紫，我的双唇变蓝，我身体器官失灵。

I could no longer see or hear. 我看不见，我听不到。

I had lost all sense of time. 时间的概念在我心中消减了。

My muscles had no power to contract. 我的肌肉不能伸缩了。

I'm unable to estimate the hours that passed in this way. 这样度过的时间，我不可能估量。

But I was aware that my death throes had begun. 但我意识到我临死的痛苦开始了。

I realized that I was about to die... 我明白我是快要死了……

Suddenly I regained¹⁵ consciousness. 忽然我苏醒过来。

A few whiffs of air had entered my lungs. 几口空气吹入我的肺中。

Had we risen to the surface of the waves? 我们是回升到了水面吗？

Had we cleared the Ice Bank? 我们是越过冰山了吗？

1 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

2 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》

3 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。

4 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

5 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

8 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。

9 rivets   

铆钉( rivet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Straighten the rivets, please. 请把那铆钉铆直。
• Instead of rivets there came an invasion, an infliction, and a visitation. 但是铆钉并没有运来，来的却是骚扰、混乱和视察。

10 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

11 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

12 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

13 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 abeyance   

n.搁置，缓办，中止，产权未定

参考例句：

• The question is in abeyance until we know more about it.问题暂时搁置，直到我们了解更多有关情况再行研究。
• The law was held in abeyance for well over twenty years.这项法律被搁置了二十多年。

15 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。