英语听书《海底两万里》第13期 第2章 正与反(2)

 　　And indeed, unless this reef had an engine in its belly¹, how could it move about with such prodigious² speed?

　　理由是：除非这暗礁在腹部有一架机器，不然的话，它怎能这样快地一会儿到达这里一会儿又到那里呢?

　　Also discredited³ was the idea of a floating hull⁴ or some other enormous wreckage⁵, and again because of this speed of movement.

　　同样地，说它是一只浮动的船壳或是一只巨大的破船，这假设也不能成立，理由仍然是因为它转移得那么快。

　　So only two possible solutions to the question were left, creating two very distinct groups of supporters:

　　归根结底，这问题只可能有下面两种解释，因此人们分成了抱着不同主张的两派：

　　on one side, those favoring a monster of colossal⁶ strength; on the other, those favoring an "underwater boat" of tremendous motor power.

　　一派说这是一个力大无穷的怪物，另一派说这是一艘动力十分强大的“潜水艇”。

　　Now then, although the latter hypothesis was completely admissible, it couldn't stand up to inquiries⁷ conducted in both the New World and the Old.

　　后面那种假设虽然很可以成立，但到欧美两洲调查之后，便站不住了。

　　That a private individual had such a mechanism⁸ at his disposal was less than probable. Where and when had he built it, and how could he have built it in secret?

　　如果说私人可以有这样一种机器，实在是不大可能的事。

　　Only some government could own such an engine of destruction, and in these disaster-filled times,

　　在什么地方，什么时候。他造了这个东西?他又怎能保守秘密而不泄露呢？

　　when men tax their ingenuity⁹ to build increasingly powerful aggressive weapons, it was possible that,

　　只有一国政府可以拥有这种破坏性的机器，在人们绞尽脑汁要增强武器威力的不幸时代，

　　unknown to the rest of the world, some nation could have been testing such a fearsome machine.

　　一个国家瞒着其他国家制造这种武器是可能的。

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 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。

3 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

4 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。

5 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

6 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

7 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。