英语听书《海底两万里》第531期 第33章 北纬47.24度, 西经17.28度(6)

 As we skimmed the depths of the Grand Banks, I could see perfectly¹ those long fishing lines, each armed with 200 hooks, that every boat dangled² by the dozens. 当我们穿过纽芬兰暗礁时，我清楚地看到了一些长长的钓鱼线，每条线上都有200个鱼钩，而每条船上都垂下十来根这样的线。

The lower end of each line dragged the bottom by means of a small grappling iron, and at the surface it was secured to the buoy-rope of a cork³ float.  每条线的一头都拖着小钩，用固定在软木浮标上的浮标索拉在水面上。

The Nautilus had to maneuver⁴ shrewdly in the midst of this underwater spiderweb. 在这张海底渔网中行走， “鹦鹉螺号”不得不灵活地操作。

But the ship didn't stay long in these heavily traveled waterways.  此外，“鹦鹉螺号”在这片船只来往频繁的海域中并没停留多久。

It went up to about latitude⁵ 42 degrees.  它向上开到北纬42度。

This brought it abreast⁶ of St. John's in Newfoundland and Heart's Content, where the Atlantic Cable reaches its end point. 而在纽芬兰岛的圣—约翰港和赫尔斯堪敦港所在的纬度上，就埋着越洋海底电缆的终端。

Instead of continuing north, the Nautilus took an easterly heading, as if to go along this plateau on which the telegraph cable rests,  这时，“鹦鹉螺号”船只没有继续向北走，而是取道向东，它好像想沿着这片铺设有电缆，

where multiple soundings have given the contours of the terrain⁷ with the utmost accuracy. 经过多次探测，地形情况极为精确的电线高原走。

It was on May 17, about 500 miles from Heart's Content and 2,800 meters down, that I spotted⁸ this cable lying on the seafloor. 那天是5月17日，在离赫尔斯堪敦港500海里的2800海米深处，我看到了横卧在地上的电缆。

Conseil, whom I hadn't alerted, mistook it at first for a gigantic sea snake and was gearing up to classify it in his best manner. 因为我事先没跟康塞尔说过，所以康塞尔一开始以为那是一条巨大的海蛇，还准备按他的老一套对它进行分类呢。

But I enlightened the fine lad and let him down gently by giving him various details on the laying of this cable. 我提醒了这位老实的年轻人，为了安抚他的失望情绪，我告诉了他铺设电缆的各种特殊性。

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

3 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

4 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

5 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

6 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 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。