国家地理 加里曼丹岛的地底洞天(12)

Sarawak Chamber¹ was so big, Mad Phil explained, that it almost certainly contained new passages—particularly in the roof, where no one had ever searched. Although it's tempting² to think of caves as similar to mine shafts—tunnels that slope relatively³ straightforwardly⁴ down—natural caves are nonlinear and ex-pand and contract according to the movement of rocks, the meandering⁵ of water, the work of chaos⁶.

疯狂菲尔解释道，砂拉越洞穴太大了，几乎可以肯定里面还有新通道--尤其是在洞顶，那里还没有人搜寻过。虽然人们很可能觉得洞穴与矿井很相似--都是斜向下的隧道--但自然洞穴是非线性的，并且是随着岩石运动、水流流淌和混乱兴起而扩张和收缩的。

Concepts of "up" and "down" assume subtler meanings underground, where directions can be utterly⁷ inverted⁸ over a few million years. If someone is exploring the down part of the cave, another caver might try looking up. And up was Mad Phil's specialty⁹.

“上”和“下”的概念是指地下的细微差别，在几百万年的时间里，地下的方向可能会完全颠倒。如果一个探险者在探索洞穴底部，那么另一个探险者就应该试着在顶部探险。而顶部探险正是疯狂菲尔的专长。

His nickname apparently¹⁰ had come from a canoeing stunt¹¹ during his university years, but Mad Phil was known for climbing cave walls that no one else would even attempt. He and Eavis planned to ascend¹² into the roof of Sarawak Chamber, searching for tunnels that ran through it like hidden passages in the ceiling of a mansion¹³.

显然，他的绰号来自他大学时代的一次皮划艇特技表演，但人们知道疯狂菲尔是因为他能够攀爬别人连试都不敢的岩壁。他和艾维斯计划爬上砂拉越洞穴的顶部，寻找贯穿其中的隧道，就像大厦天花板上隐藏的通道一样。

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 straightforwardly   

adv.正直地

参考例句：

• He hated her straightforwardly, making no effort to conceal it. 他十分坦率地恨她，从不设法加以掩饰。 来自辞典例句
• Mardi, which followed hard on its heels, was another matter. Mardi begins straightforwardly. 紧跟着出版的《玛地》，却是另一回事。《玛地》开始时平铺直叙。 来自辞典例句

5 meandering   

蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天

参考例句：

• The village seemed deserted except for small boys and a meandering donkey. 整个村子的人都像是逃光了，只留下了几个小男孩和一头正在游游荡荡的小毛驴。 来自教父部分
• We often took a walk along the meandering river after supper. 晚饭后我们常沿着那条弯弯曲曲的小河散步。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

12 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

13 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。