英语听书《海底两万里》第295期 第21章 在陆地上的两天(25)

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　　The propeller² was going so fast I could neither follow nor count its revolutions. 它的机轮推动得那么快，我简直不能看出它在运转，也不能加以计算。

　　I thought about how this marvelous electric force not only gave motion, heat, and light to the Nautilus  我想到这神奇的电，除了给诺第留斯号以动力、热力、光明之外，

　　but even protected it against outside attack, transforming it into a sacred ark no profane³ hand could touch without being blasted;  又能保护它不受外界的攻击，使它变为神圣不可侵犯的船，想来侵犯的人决不能不受到电击的，

　　my wonderment was boundless⁴, and it went from the submersible itself to the engineer who had created it. 我对它的赞美实在是没有止境，我的赞美立时又从这船转到制造这船的工程师。

　　We were traveling due west and on January 11 we doubled Cape⁵ Wessel, located in longitude⁶ 135 degrees and latitude⁷ 10 degrees north, the western tip of the Gulf⁸ of Carpentaria.  我们一直往西开行，1月11日，我们走过了韦塞尔角, 角在东经135度和南纬10度, 是卡彭塔里亚海湾的东尖端。

　　Reefs were still numerous but more widely scattered⁹ and were fixed¹⁰ on the chart with the greatest accuracy.  海中的礁石仍然很多，但较为零散，在地图上记载得很明确。

　　The Nautilus easily avoided the Money breakers to port and the Victoria reefs to starboard, positioned at longitude 130 degrees on the tenth parallel, which we went along rigorously. 诺第留斯号很容易躲开在它左舷的摩宜礁石，和右舷的维多利亚暗礁，它们同在东经130度和南纬10度，这时船正沿着这纬度行驶。

　　On January 13, arriving in the Timor Sea, Captain Nemo raised the island of that name at longitude 122 degrees.  1月13日，尼摩船长到了帝位海，在东经122度望见了跟海同名的帝文岛。

　　This island, whose surface area measures 1,625 square leagues, is governed by rajahs.  这岛面积为1，625平方里，由称为拉夜的王公们统治。

　　These aristocrats¹¹ deem themselves the sons of crocodiles,  这些王公们自称为鳄鱼的子孙，

　　in other words, descendants with the most exalted¹² origins to which a human being can lay claim.  就是说，他们的祖先是人类可能想到的最古的来源。

　　Accordingly, their scaly¹³ ancestors infest¹⁴ the island's rivers and are the subjects of special veneration¹⁵.  所以。他们的带鳞甲的祖宗在岛上河流中大量繁殖，是人们特殊尊敬的对象。

　　They are sheltered, nurtured¹⁶, flattered, pampered¹⁷, and offered a ritual diet of nubile¹⁸ maidens¹⁹; and woe²⁰ to the foreigner who lifts a finger against these sacred saurians. 岛人保护它们，娇养它们，奉承它们，给它们食物，把青年女子作它们的食料，如果有外来客人，敢把手去动这些神圣的晰蝎类，那他就将惹下大祸了。

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