英语听书《海底两万里》第349期 第23章 珊瑚王国(46)

 　　Hence, Captain Nemo, this isn't the first time you've gone through the Red Sea aboard the Nautilus? 尼摩船长，这样说来，您乘诺第留斯号经过红海，难道这回不是第一次吗？

　　No, sir. 不是第一次，先生。

　　Then, since you've already mentioned the crossing of the Israelites and the catastrophe¹ that befell the Egyptians, I would ask if you've ever discovered any traces under the waters of that great historic event? 那么，您上面说过以色列人走过这海和埃及军队淹没水中的事，我要问问您，您在海底下曾经看到这件历史大事的一些痕迹吗？

　　No, professor, and for an excellent reason. 没看见，教授，因为有一个显明的理由。

　　What's that? 什么理由呢？

　　It's because that same locality where Moses crossed with all his people is now so clogged² with sand, camels can barely get their legs wet.  就是赐西带领他的人民走过的地方，现在完全是沙土了，差不多骆驼的腿也泡不湿了。

　　You can understand that my Nautilus wouldn't have enough water for itself. 您很明白，我的诺第留斯号没有足够的水，是不可能驶过那里。

　　And that locality is...? I asked. 这地方在哪儿？…我问。

　　That locality lies a little above Suez in a sound that used to form a deep estuary³ when the Red Sea stretched as far as the Bitter Lakes.  这地方在苏伊士上面一点，在从前是很深的河口的海汉里面，因为当时红海的水面还一直伸到这些咸水湖中。

　　Now, whether or not their crossing was literally⁴ miraculous⁵, the Israelites did cross there in returning to the Promised Land, and the Pharaoh's army did perish at precisely⁶ that locality.  现在这条水道是不是能发生奇迹，暂且不管，但从前以色列人就是通过这里走到巴勒斯但去的，法老的军队也就是在这里被水淹没的。

　　So I think that excavating⁷ those sands would bring to light a great many weapons and tools of Egyptian origin. 所以我想，在这些沙土中间来做发掘工作，一定可以发现埃及制造的大量武器和用具。

　　Obviously, I replied. And for the sake of archaeology⁸, let's hope that sooner or later such excavations⁹ do take place, once new towns are settled on the isthmus¹⁰ after the Suez Canal has been cut through-a canal, by the way, of little use to a ship such as the Nautilus! 那很显然，我回答，同时希望考古学家有一天要把这种发掘工作赶快进行，因为苏伊士运flpffi穿后，许多新的城市就要在这地峡上建设起来了。对于诺第留斯号这样的一只船来说，这条运河实在没有什么用处！

1 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

2 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

3 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

6 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。

7 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

8 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

9 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

10 isthmus   

n.地峡

参考例句：

• North America is connected with South America by the Isthmus of Panama.巴拿马海峡把北美同南美连接起来。
• The north and south of the island are linked by a narrow isthmus.岛的北部和南部由一条狭窄的地峡相连。