英语听书《海底两万里》第500期 第31章 章鱼(8)

 People not only claimed these devilfish could drag ships under,  人们不仅说这些章鱼能把船只拖走，

but a certain Olaus Magnus tells of a cephalopod a mile long that looked more like an island than an animal. 而且还有一位名叫奥拉乌斯·马纽的人说过，有一种长1海里的头足类动物，说它是动物，还不如说它是小岛。

There's also the story of how the Bishop¹ of Trondheim set up an altar one day on an immense rock. 人们也说过，尼德罗斯的主教有一天在一块大岩石上设了一个祭坛，

After he finished saying mass, this rock started moving and went back into the sea. 他一做完弥撒，这块岩石就移动起来，沉入海里。

The rock was a devilfish." 原来这块岩石是一只章鱼。”

And that's everything we know? the Canadian asked. “说完了吗？”加拿大人问。

No, I replied, "another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen, also tells of a devilfish so large a whole cavalry² regiment³ could maneuver⁴ on it." “还没有，”我回答，“另一个主教，篷多比丹·德·柏乐根，也同样说过一只章鱼，在它上面还能操练一队骑兵呢！”

"They sure did go on, those oldtime bishops⁵!" Ned Land said. “他们可真会说啊，这些从前的主教们！”尼德·兰说。

Finally, the naturalists⁶ of antiquity⁷ mention some monsters with mouths as big as a gulf,  “最后，古代的博物学家也记载过这种怪物，它们的嘴就像一个海湾，

which were too huge to get through the Strait of Gibraltar. 身体大得连直布罗陀海峡都走不过去。”

Good work, men! the Canadian put in.“ 真神！”加拿大人说。

But in all these stories, is there any truth? Conseil asked. “可在所有的记载中，有真实的吗？”康塞尔问。 

"None at all, my friends, at least in those that go beyond the bounds of credibility and fly off into fable⁸ or legend. “没有，我的朋友们，从上升为神话或传说要超出真实界限这个角度看是完全没有的。

Yet for the imaginings of these storytellers there had to be, if not a cause, at least an excuse. 但是，神话作者的想象必须有一个原因，要不至少要有一个假托。

It can't be denied that some species of squid and other devilfish are quite large, though still smaller than cetaceans.  我们不能否认存在着一些非常巨型的章鱼和枪乌贼，但它们应是比鲸类动物小的。

1 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

2 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

3 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

4 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

5 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

6 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

7 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

8 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。