美国语文第五册 第273期:英吉利海峡追逐战(3)

 　　for they could not conceal¹ from themselves that each moment lessened² their velocity³ through the water, 因为敌方炮火猛烈，疯狂肆虐的轮番进攻，倾泻不断的炮火，接二连三地炸断防卫舰甲板桅杆，

　　as the shot of the enemy stripped the canvas from the yards, or dashed aside the lighter⁴ spars in their terrible progress. 造成多处桅杆毁损严重，船长和领航员清醒地意识到，乘风破浪中的防卫舰速度愈来愈慢。

　　“We find our equal here,” said Griffith to the stranger. “我们遇到对手了，”格里菲斯船长对新来的领航员说，

　　The ninety is heaving up again like a mountain; and if we continue to shorten sail at this rate, she will soon be down upon us! 九十根桅杆重新拉好了，风帆立起像座山；如果我们仍以目前速率持续减速，英国战舰会嘲笑我们的！

　　“You say true, sir,” returned the Pilot, musing⁵, “the man shows judgment⁶ as well as spirit; but—” “说得不错，先生，”领航员回答，内心暗自思忖，“船长眼光敏锐，犹如神助，但是——”

　　He was interrupted by Merry, who rushed from the forward part of the vessel⁷, 领航员思绪突然被打断，原来，水手梅里从船的前舷飞跑过来，

　　his whole face betokening⁸ the eagerness of his spirit and the importance of his intelligence. 满脸焦急万分，像有重大事情要报。

　　“The breakers!” he cried, when nigh enough to be heard amid the din⁹; “船，就要搁浅了！”他高声喊叫着，即使在两舰对决的炮火纷飞中，梅里的话依然清晰真切地在空中炸响，

　　we are running dead on a ripple¹⁰, and the sea is white not two hundred yards ahead. 我们身陷绝境，前方不到两百码已见大片滩涂。

　　The Pilot jumped on a gun, and, bending to catch a glimpse through the smoke, 领航员迅速爬上炮管，透过浓密的炮火硝烟，躬身往前仔细察看，不过迅速瞥看一眼，

　　he shouted, in those clear, piercing tones, that could be even heard among the roaring of the cannon¹¹, 他随即高喊起来，如此尖利刺耳的声音，在炮声轰鸣中愈发瘆人。

　　Port, port your helm! we are on the Devil’s Grip! Pass up the trumpet¹², sir; 快，左满舵！左满舵！我们马上就要玩完了。船长先生，请把喇叭递给我，伙计，

　　port your helm, fellow; give it to them, boys—give it to the proud English dogs! 劳驾，左满舵！快点！让英国佬撞上去，让那些英国猪去死吧！

　　Griffith unhesitatingly relinquished¹³ the symbol of his rank, fastening his own firm look on the calm but quick eye of the Pilot, 格里菲斯船长毫不犹豫地将他权力象征的喇叭递给领航员，一个目光坚毅，一个冷静急切，双方刹那间眼神在对视交流，

　　and gathering¹⁴ assurance from the high confidence he read in the countenance¹⁵ of the stranger. 格里菲斯觉得内心力量的聚集，从那个陌生的面容上，他清楚地看到力挽狂澜以拯救全船危难的坚定信心。

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

3 velocity   

n.速度，速率

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。
• The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

4 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

5 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 betokening   

v.预示，表示( betoken的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a clear blue sky betokening a fine day 预示着好天气的晴朗蓝天

9 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

10 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

11 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

12 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

13 relinquished   

交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She has relinquished the post to her cousin, Sir Edward. 她把职位让给了表弟爱德华爵士。
• The small dog relinquished his bone to the big dog. 小狗把它的骨头让给那只大狗。

14 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

15 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。