英语听书《海底两万里》第537期 第33章 北纬47.24度, 西经17.28度(12)

 The absolute calm of the waves facilitated this operation. 海上风平浪静，十分有利于他进行观察。

The Nautilus lay motionless, neither rolling nor pitching. “鹦鹉螺号”一动不动地，不摇晃，也不颠簸。

I was on the platform just then. 这时，我也在平台上。

After determining our position, the captain pronounced only these words: "It's right here!" 当观测完成时，尼摩船长只吐出这几个字：“就是这里！” 

He went down the hatch. 他走下嵌板。

Had he seen that vessel¹ change course and seemingly head toward us? 难道他看到那艘海轮改变了方向，好像正朝我们开过来吗？

I'm unable to say. 这我说不准。

I returned to the lounge. 我回到客厅。

The hatch closed, and I heard water hissing² in the ballast tanks. 嵌板关上了，我听到储水器里海水发出的咝咝声。

The Nautilus began to sink on a vertical³ line, “鹦鹉螺号”船只开始垂直潜进水中，

because its propeller⁴ was in check and no longer furnished any forward motion. 这时成了绊脚绳的推进器并不能为它提供任何动力。

Some minutes later it stopped at a depth of 833 meters and came to rest on the seafloor. 几分钟后，“鹦鹉螺号”在830米深的地方停在地面上。

The ceiling lights in the lounge then went out, the panels opened,  这时，客厅天花板上的灯都熄灭了，嵌板打开着。

and through the windows I saw, for a half-mile radius⁵, the sea brightly lit by the beacon's rays. 透过玻璃窗，我看见了方圆半海里内的海水都被探照灯的灯光照得通明。

I looked to port and saw nothing but the immenseness of these tranquil⁶ waters. 我看了左舷一眼，除了宁静的海水，什么也没有。

To starboard, a prominent bulge⁷ on the sea bottom caught my attention. 右舷呢，海底上有一大堆东西引起了我的注意。

You would have thought it was some ruin enshrouded in a crust of whitened seashells, as if under a mantle⁸ of snow. 这似乎是一堆裹在灰白色介壳糊下的废墟，像裹在雪白外衣下一样。

1 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。

2 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

3 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

4 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

5 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

6 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

7 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

8 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。