英语听书《海底两万里》第536期 第33章 北纬47.24度, 西经17.28度(11)

 All day long on May 31, the Nautilus swept around the sea in a series of circles that had me deeply puzzled.  5月31日一整天，“鹦鹉螺号”一直在海上兜圈子，这使我深感纳闷。

It seemed to be searching for a locality that it had some trouble finding. 它似乎在寻找一个不太容易找到的地方。

At noon Captain Nemo himself came to take our bearings. 中午，尼摩船长亲自出来测定了方位。

He didn't address a word to me. 他没跟我说话，

He looked gloomier than ever. 我觉得他变得比以前更阴沉。

What was filling him with such sadness? 谁使他这么忧愁呢？

Was it our proximity¹ to these European shores? 是因为接近了欧洲海岸吗？

Was he reliving his memories of that country he had left behind? 难道他对那被他抛弃了的祖国产生了几丝感触吗？

If so, what did he feel? 那么他有何感想呢？

Remorse² or regret? 是后悔还是遗憾呢？

For a good while these thoughts occupied my mind,  这种想法在我的脑海中盘据了很久，

and I had a hunch³ that fate would soon give away the captain's secrets. 而且我有一种预感：不久，偶然的机会会把尼摩船长的秘密泄露出来的。

The next day, June 1, the Nautilus kept to the same tack⁴.  第二天，6月1日，“鹦鹉螺号”还是老样子。

It was obviously trying to locate some precise spot in the ocean.  显然它想尽力找到海里某个确定的地点，

Just as on the day before, Captain Nemo came to take the altitude of the sun. 尼摩船长就像前天那样出来测定太阳的高度。

The sea was smooth, the skies clear. 当时海面很美，晴空万里。

Eight miles to the east, a big steamship⁵ was visible on the horizon line. 在东面8海里处，一艘大汽轮出现在天际边。

No flag was flapping from the gaff of its fore-and-aft sail, and I couldn't tell its nationality. 船帆上没有挂任何旗帜，我无法辨认出它的国籍。

A few minutes before the sun passed its zenith,  在太阳经过子午线的前几分钟，

Captain Nemo raised his sextant and took his sights with the utmost precision.  尼摩船长拿着六分仪，十分仔细地观察起来。

1 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

2 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

3 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

4 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

5 steamship   

n.汽船，轮船

参考例句：

• The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
• It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大，汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。