美国语文第五册 第275期:英吉利海峡追逐战(5)

 　　The ninety was still steering¹ boldly onward², and had already approached the two thirds, 此时，载有九十人的军舰勇猛地转舵向前，劈风斩浪，安全驶过差不多三分之二的航程，

　　which lay a helpless wreck³, rolling on the unruly seas that were rudely tossing her on their wanton billows. 包括那片可怕的搁浅滩。浪花汹涌翻腾扑来，防卫舰剧烈地颠簸不停，舰艇最终抵达深海边缘。

　　The frigate⁴ last engaged was running along the edge of the ripple⁵, with her torn sails flying loosely in the air, 放眼望去，猎猎飞舞的船帆支离破碎，多处断裂的桅杆在微风中摇摆晃荡，

　　her ragged⁶ spars tottering⁷ in the breeze, 甲板上一片悲惨狼藉。

　　and everything above her hull⁸ exhibiting the confusion of a sudden and unlooked-for check to her progress. 所有这些，无不显示一场突如其来、无法预料的战事如此惨烈不堪。

　　The exulting⁹ taunts¹⁰ and mirthful congratulations of the seamen¹¹, as they gazed at the English ships, 防卫舰官兵们的欢声笑语夹杂诙谐逗乐在整个甲板响起，望着远方的英国舰队，

　　were, however, soon forgotten in the attention that was required to their own vessel¹². 但好景不长，

　　The drums beat the retreat, the guns were lashed¹³, the wounded again removed, 战鼓已擂起撤退令，枪炮很快悉数收起，伤痛将再度消除；

　　and every individual able to keep the deck was required to lend his assistance in repairing the damages to the frigate, and securing her masts. 每位官兵将迅速投身到战事给舰艇造成损伤的紧张修复中，以确保船上桅杆等相关设施安全无虞。

　　The promised hour carried the ship safely through all the dangers, which were much lessened¹⁴ by daylight; 满怀希望之光，伴随战舰驶过危难重重的征途，美军防卫舰终于迎来了温馨黎明，

　　and by the time the sun had begun to fall over the land, Griffith, who had not quitted the deck during the day, 明媚阳光荡除了死亡阴霾，整整一天中，格里菲斯船长没有从甲板上退下。此刻的他，看着他可爱战舰从恐怖危险中冲出到得以弥合战斗创伤；

　　beheld¹⁵ his vessel once more cleared of the confusion of the chase and battle, and ready to meet another foe¹⁶. 从激烈追逐的战场到安全返航；英勇的战舰将再度焕发新生，准备迎接下一场激烈战斗。

1 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。

2 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

3 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

4 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。

5 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。

6 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

7 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 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。

9 exulting   

vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜

参考例句：

• He leaned back, exulting at the success of his plan. 他向后一靠，为自己计划成功而得意扬扬。
• Jones was exulting in the consciousness of his integrity. 琼斯意识到自己的忠贞十分高兴。

10 taunts   

嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He had to endure the racist taunts of the crowd. 他不得不忍受那群人种族歧视的奚落。
• He had to endure the taunts of his successful rival. 他不得不忍受成功了的对手的讥笑。

11 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。

12 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。

13 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

16 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。