英语听书《海底两万里》第491期 第30章 从合恩角到亚马逊河(14)

 Their hunting was not a fascinating sport.  但这样的打猎并没有什么意思，

The manatees¹ let themselves be struck down without offering any resistance. 因为这些海牛面对捕捉丝毫不做反抗。

Several thousand kilos of meat were hauled below, to be dried and stored. 就这样，几千公斤的肉被晾得干干的放进船内库存起来。

The same day an odd fishing practice further increased the Nautilus's stores, so full of game were these seas. 这一带海域的物产丰富，那一天，另一次大规模的捕鱼又使“鹦鹉螺号”船上的食品储备大增。

Our trawl brought up in its meshes² a number of fish whose heads were topped by little oval slabs³ with fleshy edges. 船上的鱼网捞上来了很多头上隆起一块椭圆形肉边骨片的鱼。

These were suckerfish from the third family of the subbrachian Malacopterygia.  那是属于亚鳃软骨目第三科的印鱼。

These flat disks on their heads consist of crosswise plates of movable cartilage, 它们身上的扁平圆盘是由活动的横软骨组成的，

between which the animals can create a vacuum, enabling them to stick to objects like suction cups. 这种鱼可以在这些软骨之间造成真空，使自己能像吸盘一样吸在物体上。

The remoras I had observed in the Mediterranean⁴ were related to this species. 我在地中海观察过的印鱼就属于这一类。

But the creature at issue here was an Echeneis osteochara, unique to this sea. 但这里的这一类，是这一海区特有的软骨鱼。

Right after catching⁵ them, our seamen⁶ dropped them in buckets of water. 我们的水手一捉到这些鱼，就把它们放进盛满海水的桶中。

Its fishing finished, the Nautilus drew nearer to the coast. 捕鱼结束了后，“鹦鹉螺号”船只就向海岸靠近。

In this locality a number of sea turtles were sleeping on the surface of the waves. 在那个地方，有不少海龟睡在水波上。

It would have been difficult to capture these valuable reptiles⁷, because they wake up at the slightest sound, and their solid carapaces⁸ are harpoon-proof. 但要想捉到这些珍贵的爬行动物是很困难的，因为稍微有动静，它们就会醒过来，而且它们坚硬的甲壳不怕鱼叉攻击。

But our suckerfish would effect their capture with extraordinary certainty and precision. 但用印鱼就可以特别有保障并准确地捕捉到海龟。

1 manatees   

n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
• Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网

2 meshes   

网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境

参考例句：

• The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
• This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。

3 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 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。

7 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 carapaces   

n.（龟、蟹等的）硬壳( carapace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In an increasingly callous world, we all exist with our own carapaces of scabbed-over sensibilities. 在一个日益麻木不仁的世界上，我们的知觉都已生了硬痂，我们都生活在自己的茧壳之中。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦
• They molt carapaces, I molt old body. 他们换壳，我换身体。 来自互联网