英语听书《海底两万里》第311期 第23章 珊瑚王国(8)

 　　The light from our glass coils produced magical effects at times, lingering on the wrinkled roughness of some natural arch,  我们的蛇形玻璃管中的光学，照在这些天然的凹凸不平的拱形建筑物上面，

　　or some overhang suspended like a chandelier, which our lamps flecked with fiery¹ sparks.  照在像水晶烛台一般安排着的、火星点缀起来的下垂花板上，

　　Amid these shrubs² of precious coral, I observed other polyps no less unusual:  时时发生魔术般迷人的力量，在珊瑚的丛枝中间，我又看到一样新奇古怪的珊瑚树，

　　melita coral, rainbow coral with jointed³ outgrowths, then a few tufts of genus Corallina, some green and others red,  海虱形珊瑚，节肢蝶形珊瑚，又有些团聚成堆的珊瑚，有的是青，有的是红，

　　actually a type of seaweed encrusted with limestone⁴ salts, which, after long disputes, naturalists⁵ have finally placed in the vegetable kingdom.  真的像是铺在石灰地上的海藻，这些珊瑚堆，生物学家经过长久的讨论后，才明确地把它们列入植物中。

　　But as one intellectual has remarked, "Here, perhaps, is the actual point where life rises humbly⁶ out of slumbering⁷ stone,  但根据一位思想家所指出，“它们或者就是生命刚从无知觉的沉睡中挣扎起来，

　　but without breaking away from its crude starting point." 又还没有完全脱离矿物的物性。

　　Finally, after two hours of walking, we reached a depth of about 300 meters, in other words, the lowermost limit at which coral can begin to form.  走了两个钟头，我们到了t9百米深的地方，那地方就是珊瑚在上面开始形成的最后边界。

　　But here it was no longer some isolated⁸ bush or a modest grove⁹ of low timber.  但在这里的，不是孤立隔开的珊瑚丛，不是低树林的丛木，

　　It was an immense forest, huge mineral vegetation, enormous petrified¹⁰ trees linked by garlands of elegant hydras from the genus Plumularia, those tropical creepers of the sea,  而是，广大的森林，巨大的矿物草木，粗大的石树，由那些海葛藤，漂亮好看的羽毛草花圈坏结合起来，

　　all decked out in shades and gleams. We passed freely under their lofty boughs¹¹, lost up in the shadows of the waves,  受到各样色彩和反光的点缀，非常好看。它们的高大树枝深入海水阴暗中不见了，我们就在下面自由自在地走过，

　　while at our feet organ-pipe coral, stony¹² coral, star coral, fungus¹³ coral, and sea anemone¹⁴ from the genus Caryophylia formed a carpet of flowers all strewn with dazzling gems¹⁵. 我们脚下有管状珊瑚，脑形贝，星状贝，菌状贝，石竹形珊瑚，形成一条花卉织成的地毯，现出光辉夺目的各种颜色。

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

3 jointed   

有接缝的

参考例句：

• To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她，那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
• It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。

4 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

5 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

6 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

7 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。

8 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

9 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

10 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

12 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

13 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

14 anemone   

n.海葵

参考例句：

• Do you want this anemone to sting you?你想让这个海葵刺疼你吗？
• The bodies of the hydra and sea anemone can produce buds.水螅和海葵的身体能产生芽。

15 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。