英语听书《海底两万里》第330期 第23章 珊瑚王国(27)

 　　Near seven o'clock we finally surveyed the bank of shellfish, where pearl oysters¹ reproduce by the millions.  七点左右，我们终于到了小纹贝礁石岩脉上，岩脉上繁殖着不可数计的亿万珍珠贝、

　　These valuable mollusks stick to rocks, where they're strongly attached by a mass of brown filaments² that forbids their moving about.  这些宝贵的软体动物粘附着岩石，它们被那些棕色的纤维结实地缚在石上，摆脱不开。

　　In this respect oysters are inferior even to mussels, to whom nature has not denied all talent for locomotion³. 从这点来看，珍珠贝甚至于不如谈菜，因为大自然还给淡菜有可能移动的能力。

　　The shellfish Meleagrina, that womb for pearls whose valves are nearly equal in size, has the shape of a round shell with thick walls and a very rough exterior⁴.  杂色小纹贝，所谓珍珠母的两片介壳差不多相等，壳作圆环形，壳壁很厚，外表很粗，凹凸不平。

　　Some of these shells were furrowed⁵ with flaky, greenish bands that radiated down from the top. These were the young oysters.  有些珍珠母的外壳上面带一条一条的淡青色线纹，线纹尽头处有些发亮。这是属于年轻一类的珍珠母。

　　The others had rugged⁶ black surfaces, measured up to fifteen centimeters in width, and were ten or more years old. 别的珍珠母，表面上粗一点，黑一点，有十岁以上的年龄了，宽大可以到十五厘米。

　　Captain Nemo pointed⁷ to this prodigious⁸ heap of shellfish,  尼摩船长用手指给我看一大堆小纹贝，

　　and I saw that these mines were genuinely inexhaustible, since nature's creative powers are greater than man's destructive instincts.  我了解这个宝藏是采不尽的，因为大自然的创造力远远胜过人类的破坏本能。

　　True to those instincts, Ned Land greedily stuffed the finest of these mollusks into a net he carried at his side. 尼德·兰行使他的这种本能，急急把那些最好的珍珠贝塞到他身边带着的鱼网中。

　　But we couldn't stop. We had to follow the captain, who headed down trails seemingly known only to himself.  但我们不能停步。我们要跟着船长走，他好像沿着只有他才认得的小路走去。

　　The seafloor rose noticeably, and when I lifted my arms, sometimes they would pass above the surface of the sea. Then the level of the oysterbank would lower unpredictably.  水底地面显然上升，我的胳膊有时候举起来，伸出在水面上了。其次，岩脉的水平面也任意地低下来。

　　Often we went around tall, pointed rocks rising like pyramids.  我们时常绕着切为一根一根的四角锥形的高大岩石走过去。

　　In their dark crevices⁹ huge crustaceans¹⁰, aiming their long legs like heavy artillery¹¹, watched us with unblinking eyes,  在岩石的阴暗凹凸的地方，有粗大的甲壳动物，长长的爪架起来，好像一门大炮，眼睛不动，盯住我们。

　　while underfoot there crept millipedes, bloodworms, aricia worms, and annelid worms, whose antennas¹² and tubular tentacles¹³ were incredibly long. 在我们脚下，爬着无数的多须鱼、藤萝鱼、卷鱼类和环鱼类，它们在那里特别伸长它们的触角和卷须。

1 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

2 filaments   

n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物

参考例句：

• Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide\" by the thick filaments. 此外，肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
• Wetting-force data on filaments of any diameter and shape can easily obtained. 各种直径和形状的长丝的润湿力数据是易于测量的。 来自辞典例句

3 locomotion   

n.运动，移动

参考例句：

• By land,air or sea,birds are masters of locomotion.无论是通过陆地，飞越空中还是穿过海洋，鸟应算是运动能手了。
• Food sources also elicit oriented locomotion and recognition behavior patterns in most insects.食物源也引诱大多数昆虫定向迁移和识别行为。

4 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

5 furrowed   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
• The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠，在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句

6 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

9 crevices   

n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It has bedded into the deepest crevices of the store. 它已钻进了店里最隐避的隙缝。 来自辞典例句
• The wind whistled through the crevices in the rock. 风呼啸着吹过岩石的缝隙。 来自辞典例句

10 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

11 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

12 antennas   

[生] 触角，触须（antenna的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Marconi tied several antennas to kites. 马可尼在风筝上系了几根天线。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Radio astronomy today is armed with the largest antennas in the world. 射电天文学拥有世界上最大的天线。

13 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》