英语听书《海底两万里》第532期 第33章 北纬47.24度, 西经17.28度(7)

 The first cable was put down during the years 1857-1858; but after transmitting about 400 telegrams, it went dead.  第一条电缆是在1857年和1858年铺设的。但传送了大约400次电报后，它就失灵了。

In 1863 engineers built a new cable that measured 3,400 kilometers, weighed 4,500 metric tons, and was shipped aboard the Great Eastern.   在1863年，工程师们又制造了一条长3400公里、重4500吨的新电缆，由“大东方号”船只装船。

This attempt also failed. 但这次试验还是失败了。

Now then, on May 25 while submerged to a depth of 3,836 meters,  而5月25日，“鹦鹉螺号”船只潜入了3836米的深海底，

the Nautilus lay in precisely¹ the locality where this second cable suffered the rupture² that ruined the undertaking³. 正好是在电缆中断而导致工程失败的地点。

It happened 638 miles from the coast of Ireland. 这里距爱尔兰海岸有638海里。

At around two o'clock in the afternoon, all contact with Europe broke off. 那时有人发现，下午2点钟时，和欧洲的电讯联系刚刚中断。

The electricians on board decided⁴ to cut the cable before fishing it up, 于是船上的电工决定把电缆打捞出来之前，先把它切断。

and by eleven o'clock that evening they had retrieved⁵ the damaged part. 晚上11点，他们就把损坏的部分拉了上来。

They repaired the joint⁶ and its splice⁷; then the cable was resubmerged. 人们又重新做了一个联轴和接口，然后再把电缆沉入海中。

But a few days later it snapped again and couldn't be recovered from the ocean depths. 但几天后，它又断了，而且再也不能从深海中打捞上来。

These Americans refused to give up.  但美国人并不泄气。

The daring Cyrus Field, who had risked his whole fortune to promote this undertaking, called for a new bond issue.  勇敢的塞路斯·菲尔德，这项工程的倡导者，冒险投入自己所有的财产，发起了又一次募捐行动。

It sold out immediately. 他不久就筹足了款项。

Another cable was put down under better conditions.  这样，另一条电缆在更好的条件下制造出来了。

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

3 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 splice   

v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处

参考例句：

• He taught me to edit and splice film.他教我剪辑和粘接胶片。
• The film will be spliced with footage of Cypress Hill to be filmed in America.这部电影要和将在美国拍摄的柏树山乐队的音乐片段粘接在一起。