英语听书《海底两万里》第285期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(16)

 　　During this whole time of low tide, the islanders lurked¹ near the Nautilus, but they weren't boisterous².  在整个低潮期间，这些土人在诺第留斯号周围转来转去；但他们并不大声喧闹。

　　I often heard them repeat the word assai, and from their gestures I understood they were inviting³ me to go ashore⁴, an invitation I felt obliged to decline. 我常常听到他们一再说阿洗这句话，从他们的手势来看，我懂得他们是要我到岛上去，但我想对他们这个邀请还是谢绝的好。

　　So the skiff didn't leave shipside that day, much to the displeasure of Mr.Land who couldn't complete his provisions.  所以这一天小艇不能离大船了，使得尼德·兰师傅很是失望，他不可能补足他所要的食物了。

　　The adroit⁵ Canadian spent his time preparing the meat and flour products he had brought from Gueboroa Island.  这个手巧的加拿大人于是利用他的时间，来准备他从格波罗尔岛上带回来舶肉类和面粉。

　　As for the savages⁶, they went back to shore near eleven o'clock in the morning, when the heads of coral began to disappear under the waves of the rising tide.  至于那些土人，在早晨十一点左右，当珊瑚石尖顶开始在上涨的潮水下隐没不见时，都回到岸上去了。

　　But I saw their numbers swell⁷ considerably⁸ on the beach.  但我看见他们在海滩上的人数大量增加了。

　　It was likely that they had come from neighboring islands or from the mainland of Papua proper. However, I didn't see one local dugout canoe. 大约他们是从邻近小岛来的，或者就是从巴布亚本岛来的。不过我还没有看到一只上人的独木舟。

　　Having nothing better to do, I decided⁹ to dredge these beautiful, clear waters, which exhibited a profusion¹⁰ of shells, zoophytes, and open-sea plants.  我因为目前没有什么可做的，就想到要在这些清澈的海水中去捞捞看，好像水里面有丰富的贝壳类、植虫类和海产植物。

　　Besides, it was the last day the Nautilus would spend in these waterways, if, tomorrow, it still floated off to the open sea as Captain Nemo had promised. 并且今天又是诺第留斯号在这一带海面停留的最后一天了，因为照尼摩船长的诺言，在明天潮涨的时候，船就要浮出去了。

　　So I summoned Conseil, who brought me a small, light dragnet similar to those used in oyster¹¹ fishing. 因此我叫康塞尔，他给我拿了一个轻便的小捞器，就像拿来打牡蛎的捞器一般的网。

　　What about these savages? Conseil asked me. With all due respect to master, they don't strike me as very wicked! 那些野蛮人呢？康塞尔问我，不怕先生见怪，我觉得他们并不十分凶恶！

　　They're cannibals even so, my boy. 可是他们要吃人的，老实人。

　　A person can be both a cannibal and a decent man, Conseil replied, just as a person can be both gluttonous¹² and honorable.  一个人同时可以是吃人肉的又是老实的，康塞尔回答就像一个人同时可以是贪食的又是诚实的一样，

　　The one doesn't exclude the other. 彼此中不对立。

1 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 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。

6 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。

7 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 profusion   

n.挥霍；丰富

参考例句：

• He is liberal to profusion.他挥霍无度。
• The leaves are falling in profusion.落叶纷纷。

11 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

12 gluttonous   

adj.贪吃的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• He is a gluttonous and lazy guy.他是个好吃懒做之徒。
• He is a selfish, gluttonous and lazy person.他是一个自私、贪婪又懒惰的人。