英语听书《海底两万里》第506期 第31章 章鱼(13)

 I continued sketching¹. 我继续工作。

These monsters kept pace in our waters with such precision, 这些怪物非常准确地保持在船的水域中，

they seemed to be standing² still, and I could have traced their outlines in miniature on the window. 以致于它们看上，去好像是一动不动地，我简直可以在玻璃窗上把它们缩小临摹下来。

But we were moving at a moderate speed. 再说，船是中速行驶的。

All at once the Nautilus stopped. A jolt³ made it tremble through its entire framework.  突然，“鹦鹉螺号”停了下来。一阵撞击使整个船体都颤动了。 

"Did we strike bottom?" I asked.  “我们触礁了吗？”我问。 

"In any event we're already clear," the Canadian replied, "because we're afloat." “总之，”加拿大人回答说，“船是浮在水面的，我们已经脱身。 

The Nautilus was certainly afloat, but it was no longer in motion.  “鹦鹉螺号”船只可能是浮在水面，但它走不动了。

The blades of its propeller⁴ weren't churning the waters. 它的推进器轮叶没有拍打出水花。

A minute passed. Followed by his chief officer, Captain Nemo entered the lounge. 一分钟后，尼摩船长走进客厅，大副跟在他身后。

I hadn't seen him for a good while. He looked gloomy to me. 我已经有一段时间没见到船长了，他看起来神色黯淡。

Without speaking to us, without even seeing us perhaps, 船长没跟我们说话，可能是没看到我们。

he went to the panel, stared at the devilfish, and said a few words to his chief officer. 他径直地走到嵌板前，看了一下章鱼，然后对他的，大副说了几句话。

The latter went out. 大副走出去。

Soon the panels closed. The ceiling lit up. 过了一会儿，嵌板关上了，天花板的灯亮了。

I went over to the captain.  我朝船长走过去。

"An unusual assortment⁵ of devilfish," I told him, as carefree as a collector in front of an aquarium⁶. “一群好奇的章鱼，”我口气轻松地对他说，就像一个鱼类爱好者站在一个透明的鱼缸前说话一样。

Correct, Mr. Naturalist⁷, he answered me, "and we're going to fight them at close quarters." “没错，博物学家先生，”他回答我说，“不过，我们要跟它们进行肉搏。”

I gaped⁸ at the captain. 我看了看船长。

I thought my hearing had gone bad. 我想我没听明白他说什么。

"At close quarters?" I repeated. “肉搏？”我重复说。

1 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

4 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

5 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

6 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

7 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

8 gaped   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• A huge chasm gaped before them. 他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front door was missing. A hole gaped in the roof. 前门不翼而飞，屋顶豁开了一个洞。 来自辞典例句