美国小学英语教材5:第8课 与海军上将伯德同游小亚美利加(6)

 　　No small part of those winter months was lived underground by Byrd and his men, or nearly underground. 在冬季的那几个月的大多数时间里，伯德和他的手下都住在地下，或是接近地下的地方。

　　They went by tunnel from the Administration Building to the Mess Hall. 他们穿过隧道从行政大楼进入食堂。

　　By tunnel, too, they could reach others of the most important buildings. 通过隧道也可能进入其他地方。

　　Poking¹ their heads out of doors into the gray blackness of the night, Byrd's men were almost sure at times that they heard the singing of birds. 伯德的手下把头伸到门外就会感到无尽的黑暗，有时有人几乎确定听到了鸟儿的歌唱声。

　　Often two of the men would look sharply at each other in wondering surprise as their ears caught sounds which were strangely like the shrill², sharp cries of animals. 通常是两个人警惕地盯着对方，他们惊讶地听到了奇怪的声音，就像动物们尖锐刺耳的叫声。

　　At other times there were curious groans³ and moans. 有时也会听到奇怪的叹息和呻吟。

　　And even in the shelter of their quarters sometimes the men caught a rumbling⁴, rolling murmur⁵ which could have been nothing but a trolley⁶ car in the distance, except that they knew that there were no such things as trolley cars about. 甚至在他们住处的掩蔽处，有时他们听到一阵轰隆隆滚动的杂音，有时那可能只是远方的电车，只是他们知道根本没有电车这种东西。

　　All these magic sounds, and more were made by the restless shifting of the ice upon which their houses stood; 这些神奇的声音，更多是由于他们的房子所处的冰层不停地移动而发出的；

　　by the pressure of the water beneath the ice; and by the furious winds which tore constantly at the roofs. 这是由于冰下的水的压力引起的；还有狂风不停地挂着屋顶引起的。

　　These magic sounds would have been even more disturbing than they were if the inside of the Mess Hall and the Administration Building had been as dark as was the icy snow-field without. 如果食堂和行政大楼的内部和外面冰冷的雪地一样黑暗，这些神奇的声音会比它们更令人不安。

　　Happily, the Byrd expedition brought with it a complete outfit⁷ of electric equipment to brighten its antarctic home. 令人高兴的是，伯德探险队带来了一套完整的电力设备来照亮南极的家园。

1 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

2 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

3 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

5 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

6 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

7 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。