海底兩萬里 第36期 第4章 尼德蘭(5)

With his eye and his throwing arm, he was worth the whole crew all by himself.

這個人，單單他一人，從手和眼兩點來看，就相當(dāng)于全體的：船員。

I can do no better than to compare him with a powerful telescope that could double as acannon always ready to fire.

我不能有再好的比方，只能說他是一架強度的望遠鏡，而且是一門隨時可以發(fā)射的大炮。

To say Canadian is to say French, and as unsociable as Ned Land was, I must admit he took a definite liking to me.

說是加拿大人，就幾乎可以說是法國人。盡管尼、德·蘭不多跟人接觸，但我應(yīng)當(dāng)承認(rèn)，他對我卻有一種特別的好感。

No doubt it was my nationality that attracted him. It was an opportunity for him to speak, and for me to hear, that old Rabelaisian dialect still used in some Canadian provinces.

無疑地，那是由于我的國籍吸引了他,在他;這是一個機會，在我也是一個機會，可以聽聽這種法國話。可以說說加拿大某些省份現(xiàn)在還通行的拉伯雷的法國話，

The harpooner's family originated in Quebec, and they were already a line of bold fishermen back in the days when this town still belonged to France.

這位魚叉手的老家是在魁北克，當(dāng)這城市還屬于法國的時候，他家里就已經(jīng)出了一批大膽的打魚人了。

Little by little Ned developed a taste for chatting, and I loved hearing the tales of his adventures in the polar seas.

尼德，蘭漸漸有了談話的興趣，我很愛聽他談在北極海中冒險的故事。

He described his fishing trips and his battles with great natural lyricism.

他常用詩一般的句子有聲有色他講述他打魚和戰(zhàn)斗的故事。

His tales took on the form of an epic poem, and I felt I was hearing some Canadian Homer reciting his Iliad of the High Arctic regions.

他的故事具有史詩的形式，我聽他講，好像是在聽一位加拿大的荷馬在朗誦著北極的《伊利亞特》。