英语听书《海底两万里》第463期 第28章 惊奇还是意外(5)

 Captain Nemo had picked an odd time to philosophize.  尼摩船长选择这时候来作这种哲学思考，真是太离奇了。

All in all, this reply told me nothing. 总之，他的答复对我没有什么帮助。

May I learn, sir, I asked him, what caused this accident? “先生，”我问，“我可以知道这件事故发生的原因吗？

An enormous block of ice, an entire mountain, has toppled over, he answered me. “一群巨大的冰，整整一座冰山，翻倒下来了，”他回答我，

 When an iceberg¹ is eroded² at the base by warmer waters or by repeated collisions, its center of gravity rises.  “当冰山下面或受温热的水流，或受来回的冲击耗损的时候，它们的重心就往上移。

Then it somersaults, it turns completely upside down. That's what happened here.  那时它们就大大的翻转，它门翻筋斗了。现在的情形就是这样。

When it overturned, one of these blocks hit the Nautilus as it was cruising under the waters.  其中有一大冰群，翻倒的时候，碰上了在水底行驶的诺第留斯号。

Sliding under our hull³, this block then raised us with irresistible⁴ power, lifting us into less congested strata⁵ where we now lie on our side. 然后在船身下溜过，又拿不可抗拒的力量把船顶起来，这冰群把船带到浅一些的水层，靠在船身上不动了。”

But can't we float the Nautilus clear by emptying its ballast tanks, to regain⁶ our balance? “我们把储水池的水排出去，使船重新得到平衡，诺第留斯号不就能脱身吗？”

That, sir, is being done right now. You can hear the pumps working. Look at the needle on the pressure gauge⁷. “目前就是做这种工作，先生。您可以听到抽水机正在那里动作。

It indicates that the Nautilus is rising, but this block of ice is rising with us, and until some obstacle halts its upward movement, our position won't change. 请看压力表上的针，它指出诺第留斯号正在上升，但冰群跟它一齐向上，一直要到它的向上运动被一件障碍物挡住，我们的地位才可能改变。”

Indeed, the Nautilus kept the same heel to starboard. No doubt it would straighten up once the block came to a halt.  果然，诺第留斯号老是右舷同样倾斜倒在那里。当然冰群自己停下的时候，船就可以站起来。

But before that happened, who knew if we might not hit the underbelly of the Ice Bank and be hideously⁸ squeezed between two frozen surfaces? 但在这个时候，谁知道我们会不会碰上冰山的上部，被挤在两个冰面中间呢？

I mused⁹ on all the consequences of this situation. Captain Nemo didn't stop studying the pressure gauge.  我思考我们所处的地位可能发生的一切后果。船长不停注视压力表。

Since the toppling of this iceberg, the Nautilus had risen about 150 feet, but it still stayed at the same angle to the perpendicular¹⁰. 诺第留斯号自冰群倒下来，只上升了一百五十英尺左右，但它跟垂直线所成的角度总是一样。

Suddenly a slight movement could be felt over the hull.  忽然船壳上感到一种轻微运动。

Obviously the Nautilus was straightening a bit.  很显然，诺第留斯号是站起一点来了。

1 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

2 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

3 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。

4 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

5 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

8 hideously   

adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地

参考例句：

• The witch was hideously ugly. 那个女巫丑得吓人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pitt's smile returned, and it was hideously diabolic. 皮特的脸上重新浮现出笑容，但却狰狞可怕。 来自辞典例句

9 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

10 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。