美国语文第五册 第274期:英吉利海峡追逐战(4)

 　　The seamen¹ were too busy with their cannon² and the rigging to regard the new danger; 此刻甲板上忙乱成团，有的水兵在发射炮弹，有的在桅杆上扯拉风帆索具，

　　and the frigate³ entered one of the dangerous passes of the shoals, in the heat of a severely⁴ contested battle. 在战事最为白热化阶段，水兵们全然不知美军防卫舰已驶入最危险的滩涂地带，一场灭顶之灾咫尺之遥。

　　The wondering looks of a few of the older sailors glanced at the sheets of foam⁵ that flew by them, 炮声间隙中，突然船底水流清晰不安的冲刷声，让几位老水手好生疑惑，他们匆忙中发现，

　　in doubt whether the wild gambols⁶ of the waves were occasioned by the shot of the enemy, 军舰疾驶过的水域几乎无法激起涌浪，不由心中疑惑，

　　when suddenly the noise of cannon was succeeded by the sullen⁷ wash of the disturbed element, 是否敌舰炮弹造成海浪的消失？此刻，炮声歇息了但海浪的冲刷声令人令严躁不安。

　　and presently the vessel⁸ glided⁹ out of her smoky shroud¹⁰, and was boldly steering¹² in the center of the narrow passages. 不一会，军舰悄悄地驶出那片烟雾缭绕、充满裹尸布气息的恐怖海域，终于，在那条极为狭窄的通道中勇敢地转舵成功。

　　For ten breathless minutes longer the Pilot continued to hold an uninterrupted sway, 十分钟窒息时光，似乎如此漫长，领航员冷静沉着地指挥，

　　during which the vessel ran swiftly by ripples¹³ and breakers, by streaks¹⁴ of foam and darker passages of deep water, 军舰迅速地转向，一路上浪花不惊，危机四伏，渐渐地浪花变大，最后驶入海水颜色渐深的海域，

　　when he threw down his trumpet¹⁵ and exclaimed—What threatened to be our destruction has proved our salvation¹⁶. 领航员突然扔下喇叭，发出大声尖叫， 说，拯救顺利啦！我们终于将要摆脱死亡的魔爪！

　　Keep yonder hill crowned with wood one point open from the church tower at its base, and steer¹¹ east and by north; 注意那边林木茂密的山顶，就是那处冒出教堂塔尖的地方，注意转舵，保持朝东偏北的航线方向，

　　you will run through these shoals on that course in an hour, 一小时后，我们就能穿过这片危险的滩涂地带。

　　and by so doing you will gain five leagues of your enemy, who will have to double their trail. 这样看来，我舰就会比敌舰快五海里，他们路程肯定会增倍。

　　Every officer in the ship, after the breathless suspense¹⁷ of uncertainty¹⁸ had passed, 船上官兵人人无不屏住呼吸，等到熬过这段艰险万分的航程后，

　　rushed to those places where a view might be taken of their enemies. 大家纷纷冲到最佳位置，寻找可以清楚看清敌舰方位的地方。

1 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 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。

3 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

6 gambols   

v.蹦跳，跳跃，嬉戏( gambol的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

7 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

8 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。

9 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 shroud   

n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏

参考例句：

• His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
• How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下，我该怎么做呢？

11 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

12 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

13 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

14 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 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。

16 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。

17 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。