英语听书《海底两万里》第498期 第31章 章鱼(6)

 It was about eleven o'clock when Ned Land drew my attention to a fearsome commotion¹ out in this huge seaweed. 大约11点时，尼德·兰提醒我注意大海藻丛中有着一阵阵可怕的骚动。

Well, I said, "these are real devilfish caverns², and I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those monsters hereabouts." “没什么！”我说，“那是真正的章鱼洞，在这里看到几只这样的怪物， 我并不引以为奇。”

What! Conseil put in. "Squid, ordinary squid from the class Cephalopoda?" “什么！”康塞尔说，“是枪乌贼，属于头足纲的普通枪乌贼吗？”

"No," I said, "devilfish of large dimensions.  “不，”我说，“是身体巨大的章鱼。

But friend Land is no doubt mistaken, because I don't see a thing." 但刚才我什么也没看到，尼德朋友可能弄错了。” 

"That's regrettable," Conseil answered. “我感到遗憾，”康塞尔接着说，

"I'd like to come face to face with one of those devilfish I've heard so much about, which can drag ships down into the depths.  “我想面对面地欣赏这类章鱼，我听人家说过那么多次这类鱼，听说它们能把一条船拖到海底深渊里。

Those beasts go by the name of krake--" 这种动物真被吹神了”

"Fake is more like it," the Canadian replied sarcastically³. “吹得够神吧，”加拿大人嘲弄地回答说。

Krakens! Conseil shot back, finishing his word without wincing⁴ at his companion's witticism⁵. “吹神了，”康塞尔不理会他的同伴的嘲笑，赶快纠正读音把话说完。

"Nobody will ever make me believe," Ned Land said, "that such animals exist." “但我从不相信世上真有这样的动物，”尼德·兰说。

Why not? Conseil replied. "We sincerely believed in master's narwhale." “为什么不信？”康塞尔回答说，“我们就很相信先生说的独角鲸。” 

"We were wrong, Conseil.""No doubt, but there are others with no doubts who believe to this day!" Probably, Conseil.  “我们错了，康塞尔。” “可能！但可能还有些人会相信。” “有可能，康塞尔。

But as for me, I'm bound and determined⁶ not to accept the existence of any such monster till I've dissected⁷ it with my own two hands. 但对于我来说，我只有亲手抓到这些怪物，我才会，相信它的存在。”

1 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

2 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

3 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

4 wincing   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯，突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。
• "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做，"他说，松了一口气，缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 witticism   

n.谐语，妙语

参考例句：

• He tries to lighten his lectures with an occasional witticism.他有时想用俏皮话使课堂活跃。
• His witticism was as sharp as a marble.他的打趣话十分枯燥无味。

6 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。

7 dissected   

adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Her latest novel was dissected by the critics. 评论家对她最近出版的一部小说作了详细剖析。
• He dissected the plan afterward to learn why it had failed. 他事后仔细剖析那项计划以便搞清它失败的原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》