英语听书《海底两万里》第228期 第17章 海底森林(9)

 　　For an hour plains of sand unrolled before our steps.  在一小时内，一片细沙的平原在我们脚下摆开。

　　Often the seafloor rose to within two meters of the surface of the water.  平原时常升至距海面不及两米的深度。

　　I could then see our images clearly mirrored on the underside of the waves,  我当时看见我们的影子反映在水中，清楚地现出来，

　　but reflected upside down: above us there appeared an identical band that duplicated our every movement and gesture;  方向正相反：在我们上面，现出同样的一群人，表演我们的动作和姿势，

　　in short, a perfect likeness¹ of the quartet near which it walked, but with heads down and feet in the air. 一切都相同，就是脑袋垂在下面，两脚倒悬在空中。

　　Another unusual effect. Heavy clouds passed above us, forming and fading swiftly.  值得记下的还有另一种情况。一阵阵的浓云飞掠过去，这些云很快地形成，也很快地消失；

　　But after thinking it over, I realized that these so-called clouds were caused simply by the changing densities² of the long ground swells,  但仔细一想，我明白，这些所谓云只不过是海底厚薄不一的波浪所反映出来的。

　　and I even spotted³ the foaming⁴ white caps that their breaking crests⁵ were proliferating⁶ over the surface of the water.  我又看到浪头向下折落时演成无数泡沫飞溅的滚滚白祷，像羊群一样。

　　Lastly, I couldn't help seeing the actual shadows of large birds passing over our heads, swiftly skimming the surface of the sea. 我也见过那些在我们头上的巨大鸟类的阴影，它们从海面疾飞掠过。

　　On this occasion I witnessed one of the finest gunshots ever to thrill the marrow⁷ of a hunter.  这个时候，我亲眼看到一次射击，也许从来没有一个猎人曾经发射过这样准确、漂亮的枪。

　　A large bird with a wide wingspan, quite clearly visible, approached and hovered⁸ over us.  一只大鸟，可以看得很清楚，两翼张得很大的飞翔前来。

　　When it was just a few meters above the waves, Captain Nemo's companion took aim and fired.  尼摩船长的同伴看见大鸟在离水波仅仅几米的上面，尼摩就瞄准，射击。

　　The animal dropped, electrocuted, and its descent brought it within reach of our adroit⁹ hunter,who promptly¹⁰ took possession of it.  大鸟被击落下来，一直掉到这位敏捷的猎人的近旁，他立即把鸟捉住。

　　It was an albatross of the finest species, a wonderful specimen¹¹ of these open-sea fowl¹². 这是最美丽的一种海鹅，海鸟中最使人赞美的一个鸟类品种。

1 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

2 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 foaming   

adj.布满泡沫的；发泡

参考例句：

• He looked like a madman, foaming at the mouth. 他口吐白沫，看上去像个疯子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is foaming at the mouth about the committee's decision. 他正为委员会的决定大发其火。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

6 proliferating   

激增( proliferate的现在分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Computerized data bases are proliferating fast. 计算机化的数据库正在激增。
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。

7 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

8 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

9 adroit   

adj.熟练的，灵巧的

参考例句：

• Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。
• His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。

10 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

11 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

12 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。