英语听书《海底两万里》第472期 第29章 缺少空气(4)

 I didn't tell my two companions about this new danger. 我并不让我的两个同伴知道这个危险。

There was no point in dampening the energy they were putting into our arduous¹ rescue work. 以免他们做这种辛苦救护工作的勇气受到打击。

But when I returned on board, I mentioned this serious complication to Captain Nemo. 不过，当我回到船上的时候，我向尼摩船长提出，要他注意这种严重的复杂情形。

I know, he told me in that calm tone the most dreadful outlook couldn't change. “我知道这事，”他对我说，他总是这样，最可怕的意外也不能更改他的镇定。

"It's one more danger, but I don't know any way of warding² it off. “这是多加了一个危险，我看不见有什么方法可以躲过。

Our sole chance for salvation³ is to work faster than the water solidifies⁴.  我们得救的唯一机会，就是我们的工作比冻结作用进行得更快。

We've got to get there first, that's all."  问题在于谁先抢在前面。”

Get there first! By then I should have been used to this type of talk! 抢在前面！我早就应该习惯于这种说法了！

For several hours that day, I wielded⁵ my pick doggedly⁶. 这一天，在好几个钟头内，我坚持顽强地挥动铁锨。

The work kept me going. 这工作支持和鼓励我。

Besides, working meant leaving the Nautilus, which meant breathing the clean oxygen drawn⁷ from the air tanks and supplied by our equipment, 并且，工作就等于离开诺第留斯号，也就是直接呼吸那现在是从储藏库取来的、由空气箱供应的纯洁空气， 

which meant leaving the thin, foul⁸ air behind.  就是离开那贫乏和恶浊的船上空气。

Near evening one more meter had been dug from the trench⁹. 到了晚上，坑又挖去了一米。。

When I returned on board, I was wellnigh asphyxiated¹⁰ by the carbon dioxide saturating¹¹ the air.  当我回到船上时，我吸了空气中饱和的碳酸气，差不多窒息了

Oh, if only we had the chemical methods that would enable us to drive out this noxious¹² gas! 啊！我们为什么没有方法来消除这种有害的气体呢！

There was no lack of oxygen. 我们并不缺乏氧。

All this water contained a considerable amount, and after it was decomposed¹³ by our powerful batteries, this life-giving elastic¹⁴ fluid could have been restored to us. 这海水中含有大量的氧，我们的强力电池可以把它分解出来，它可能给我们把那兴奋刺激人的气体回复了原来状态。

I had thought it all out, but to no avail because the carbon dioxide produced by our breathing permeated¹⁵ every part of the ship.  我想过这事，但无济于事，因为，由我们呼吸产生的碳酸气已经侵入船上各部分了。

To absorb it, we would need to fill containers with potassium hydroxide and shake them continually. 吸收碳酸气，要把氯化钾放在排气管中，不停地摇动玻璃管。

But this substance was missing on board and nothing else could replace it. 可是船上缺乏氯化钾，没有别的物质可以替代。

That evening Captain Nemo was forced to open the spigots of his air tanks and shoot a few spouts¹⁶ of fresh oxygen through the Nautilus's interior. 这一晚上，尼摩船长必须打开储藏库的龙头，放出数阵纯洁空气到诺第留斯号内部。

Without this precaution we wouldn't have awakened¹⁷ the following morning. 没有这种措施，也许我们早上就不能醒来。

The next day, March 26, I returned to my miner's trade, working to remove the fifth meter. 第二天，3月26日，我又做矿工的工作，要把第五米的冰挖出来。

The Ice Bank's side walls and underbelly had visibly thickened. 冰山的两侧和底层显然加厚了。

Obviously they would come together before the Nautilus could break free. 很显然，这些冰块在诺第留斯号可能脱身之前，都要凝结起来。

For an instant I was gripped by despair. 我一时感到绝望。

My pick nearly slipped from my hands. 我的铁锨差不多要从我手中掉下来了。

What was the point of this digging if I was to die smothered¹⁸ and crushed by this water turning to stone, a torture undreamed of by even the wildest savages¹⁹! 挖有什么用处，既然我要被窒息死，被这变为石头的水所压扁，就是野蛮人的残酷也没有发明出这样的一种酷刑。

I felt like I was lying in the jaws²⁰ of a fearsome monster, jaws irresistibly²¹ closing. 好像我是夹在一个怪物的牙床里面，无法抵抗，逐渐收紧在利齿中了。

Supervising our work, working himself, Captain Nemo passed near me just then. 尼摩船长指挥工作，他自己也工作，这时候，从我身边走过。

I touched him with my hand and pointed²² to the walls of our prison.  我手挨他，把我们冰监牢的墙壁指给他看。

The starboard wall had moved forward to a point less than four meters from the Nautilus's hull²³. 船右舷的冰墙挨近诺第留斯号的船身不及四米了。

1 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

2 warding   

监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Magina channels a powerful warding magic damping the negative effects of spells. 敌法师用守护魔法来抵御负面法术的攻击。
• Indeed, warding off disruption is the principal property of complex systems. 的确，避免破损解体是复杂系统主要的属性。

3 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。

4 solidifies   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的第三人称单数 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Jelly solidifies as it gets cold. 肉冻冷却就凝固。
• It is stirred with 10%sodium carbonate solution(50ml)and then with water (50ml), after which It'solidifies. 与10％碳酸钠溶液（50毫升）混合搅拌，然后再用50毫升水混合搅拌，从而析出固体。

5 wielded   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气
• He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者，但实际上是别人掌握实权。

6 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

9 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

10 asphyxiated   

v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人

参考例句：

• The men trapped in the mine were asphyxiated by gas. 那些困在矿井中的人因瓦斯中毒窒息死亡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The men in the coal-mine were asphyxiated by the bad gas. 煤矿坑里的工人们为毒气所窒息。 来自辞典例句

11 saturating   

浸湿，浸透( saturate的现在分词 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物

参考例句：

• In the last days before the vote, both sides are saturating the airwaves. 选举前最后几天，竞选双方占用了所有的广播电台和电视台。
• A saturating rain was expected to end the drought. 只盼下场透雨，解除旱情。

12 noxious   

adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
• Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。

13 decomposed   

已分解的，已腐烂的

参考例句：

• A liquid is decomposed when an electric current passes through it. 当电流通过时，液体就分解。
• Water can be resolved [decomposed] into hydrogen and oxygen. 水可分解为氢和氧。

14 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

15 permeated   

弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• The smell of leather permeated the room. 屋子里弥漫着皮革的气味。
• His public speeches were permeated with hatred of injustice. 在他对民众的演说里，充满了对不公正的愤慨。

16 spouts   

n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• A volcano spouts flame and lava. 火山喷出火焰和岩浆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher. 石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。 来自辞典例句

17 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

19 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

20 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

21 irresistibly   

adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地

参考例句：

• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside. 她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was irresistibly attracted by her charm. 他不能自已地被她的魅力所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 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。

23 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。