万物简史 第392期:浩瀚的海洋(11)

 　　After their record-breaking descent of 1934, Beebe lost interest in diving and moved on to other adventures, but Barton persevered¹. 在1934年那次破记录的下海以后，毕比对潜水失去了兴趣，开始转向别的冒险工作，但巴顿依然坚持不懈。

　　To his credit, Beebe always told anyone who asked that Barton was the real brains behind the enterprise, 值得称道的是，每当有人问起，毕比总是承认这项活动的真正策划人物是巴顿，

　　but Barton seemed unable to step from the shadows. 但巴顿似乎始终未能走出阴影。

　　He, too, wrote thrilling accounts of their underwater adventures and even starred in a Hollywood movie called Titans of the Deep, 巴顿还写了许多关于他们水下冒险活动的精彩故事，甚至在一部名叫《大海深处的庞然大物》的电影中担任角色，

　　featuring a bathysphere and many exciting and largely fictionalized encounters with aggressive giant squid and the like. 描述一个探海球以及许多次与凶猛的大乌贼等的遭遇。那些故事是激动人心的，不过在很大程度上是虚梅的。

　　He even advertised Camel cigarettes ("They don't give me jittery² nerves"). 他甚至还为骆驼牌香烟做广告（“我抽了会神经不紧张”）。

　　In 1948 he increased the depth record by 50 percent, with a dive to 4,500 feet in the Pacific Ocean near California,  1948年，他在加利福尼亚附近的太平洋潜到了1370米的深度，把深度记录提高了50%，

　　but the world seemed determined³ to overlook him. 但世界似乎决心不予理解。

　　One newspaper reviewer of Titans of the Deep actually thought the star of the film was Beebe. 有家报纸在评论《大海深处的庞然大物》时认为，那部电影的明星其实是毕比。

　　Nowadays, Barton is lucky to get a mention. 如今，巴顿运气不错，我们总算还提到他的名字。

　　At all events, he was about to be comprehensively eclipsed by a father-and-son team from Switzerland, Auguste and Jacques Piccard, 无论如何，他快要在一个瑞士的父子小组面前黯然失色。父亲叫做古斯搭·皮卡尔，儿子叫做雅克·皮卡尔。

　　who were designing a new type of probe called a bathyscaphe (meaning "deep boat"). 他们设计了一种新型的探测器，名叫探海艇（意思是探海潜水船）。

　　Christened Trieste, after the Italian city in which it was built, 它是在意大利的里雅斯特市制造的，因此被命名为“的里雅斯特”号，

　　the new device maneuvered⁴ independently, though it did little more than just go up and down. 新的装置可以独立操作，虽然也只能上上下下。

　　On one of its first dives, in early 1954, it descended⁵ to below 13,287 feet, 该艇建成之初，在1954年初的一次潜水中，它下潜到4000米深处。

　　nearly three times Barton's record-breaking dive of six years earlier. 差不多是6年前巴顿创造的记录的3倍。

　　But deep-sea dives required a great deal of costly⁶ support, and the Piccards were gradually going broke. 但是，深海潜水的成本很大，皮卡尔父子渐渐面临破产。

1 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

2 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 maneuvered   

v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵

参考例句：

• I maneuvered my way among the tables to the back corner of the place. 我在那些桌子间穿行，来到那地方后面的角落。 来自辞典例句
• The admiral maneuvered his ships in the battle plan. 舰队司令按作战计划进行舰队演习。 来自辞典例句

5 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。