地下墓穴（15）

 

“What would happen if the light went out?” he asked, as they hurried onwards.

“I have a spare candle and a box of matches in my pocket. By the way, Kennedy, have you any matches?”

“No; you had better give me some.”

“Oh, that is all right. There is no chance of our separating.”

“How far are we going? It seems to me that we have walked at least a quarter of a mile.”

“More than that, I think. There is really no limit to the tombs—at least, I have never been able to find any. This is a very difficult place, so I think that I will use our ball of string.”

He fastened one end of it to a projecting stone and he carried the coil in the breast of his coat, paying it out as he advanced. Kennedy saw that it was no unnecessary precaution, for the passages had become more complex and tortuous¹ than ever, with a perfect network of intersecting corridors. But these all ended in one large circular hall with a square pedestal of tufa topped with a slab² of marble at one end of it.

“By Jove!” cried Kennedy in an ecstasy³, as Burger swung his lantern over the marble. “It is a Christian⁴ altar—probably the first one in existence. Here is the little consecration⁵ cross cut upon the corner of it. No doubt this circular space was used as a church.”

“Precisely,” said Burger. “If I had more time I should like to show you all the bodies which are buried in these niches⁶ upon the walls, for they are the early popes and bishops⁷ of the Church, with their mitres, their croziers, and full canonicals. Go over to that one and look at it!”

Kennedy went across, and stared at the ghastly head which lay loosely on the shredded⁸ and mouldering⁹ mitre.

两人继续快步往前走。“如果灯油用完了怎么办？”他问道。

“我还有一枝备用的蜡烛和一盒火柴，肯尼迪，你带火柴了吗？”

“没有。你最好给我几根。”

“哦，没问题。咱俩不会分开的。”

“还有多远？我觉得咱们已经走了至少四分之一英里了，”

“前面的路更长，我觉得这个墓穴没边，至少我没发现哪儿是尽头。从这儿开始就不容易辨认了，咱们恐怕得用线绳了。”

他把线的一头拴在一块凸起的石头上，把线团放在外衣的胸袋里，一边走一边往外拉。肯尼迪渐渐明白这种谨慎不是多余的一一通道越来越复杂，越来越曲折，岔道越来越纷乱。不过，这一切终于结束了，他们来到一个圆形大厅，大厅一端有个四方形台子，石灰岩基座，大理石面板。

伯格把油灯在大理石台面上一晃，肯尼迪惊喜地叫起来：“天哪！这是基督教祭坛，很可能是现存最古老的一个。

你看，这个角上刻着一个小小的献祭十字。毫无疑问，这个圆形大厅是当作教堂用的。"“完全正确，”伯格说。“如果时间允许，我愿意向你展示全部壁愈里的尸体，他们都是早期的教皇和主教，还有他们的法冠，牧杖，整套的法衣。过去看看那边那个吧！”

肯尼迪走过去，凝视着僵尸的头颅，头颅下面是破碎不堪的法冠。

 

1 tortuous   

adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的

参考例句：

• We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
• They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。

2 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

3 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 consecration   

n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式

参考例句：

• "What we did had a consecration of its own. “我们的所作所为其本身是一种神圣的贡献。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• If you do add Consecration or healing, your mana drop down lower. 如果你用了奉献或者治疗，你的蓝将会慢慢下降。 来自互联网

6 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。

7 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

8 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mouldering   

v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌

参考例句：

• The room smelt of disuse and mouldering books. 房间里有一股长期不用和霉烂书籍的味道。
• Every mouldering stone was a chronicle. 每块崩碎剥落的石头都是一部编年史。 来自辞典例句