32 海湾暖流(15)

Their volume and power increased with the depth of the waters.

它们的水量和强度随着海水深度的增加而增加。

I then understood the role played by these waves, which trap air in their flanks and release it in the depths of the sea where its oxygen brings life.

于是我明白了,这些海把空气包抄起来压缩进海底,同时,它们也带走了生命和氧气。

Their utmost pressure—it has been calculated—can build to 3,000 kilograms on every square foot of surface they strike.

它们的极限压力——有人曾经算过——在它们冲击的表面上可以达到每平方英尺3000公斤。

It was such waves in the Hebrides that repositioned a stone block weighing 84,000 pounds.

正是这样的海,在赫布里德岛上推起了一块重84000磅的岩石。

It was their relatives in the tidal wave on December 23, 1854, that toppled part of the Japanese city of Tokyo,

也正是这样的海,在1864年12月23日的暴风雨中,在日本掀翻了一部分东京城后,

then went that same day at 700 kilometers per hour to break on the beaches of America.

以每小时700公里的速度,在同一天击向美洲海岸。

After nightfall the storm grew in intensity.

随着夜幕降临,暴风雨的强度增大了。

As in the 1860 cyclone on Réunion Island, the barometer fell to 710 millimeters.

晴雨表像1860年联合岛发生飓风时一样,降到了710毫米。

At the close of day, I saw a big ship passing on the horizon, struggling painfully.

日落时,我看到了天边走过一艘正在苦苦挣扎的船。

It lay to at half steam in an effort to hold steady on the waves.

它减弱蒸气动力,减速航行,以保持行驶在峰脚下。

It must have been a steamer on one of those lines out of New York to Liverpool or Le Havre.

这应该是一只从纽约开往利物浦或勒阿弗尔港的汽船。

It soon vanished into the shadows.

它一会儿就消失在黑暗中。

At ten o'clock in the evening, the skies caught on fire. The air was streaked with violent flashes of lightning.

晚上10点,天空中雷鸣电闪,大气被猛烈的闪电划出道道条纹。

I couldn't stand this brightness, but Captain Nemo stared straight at it, as if to inhale the spirit of the storm.

面对着这样的霹雳雷鸣,我再也忍受不了;而尼摩船长,他正视着它,好像要把暴风雨的灵魂吸进他的体似的。

A dreadful noise filled the air, a complicated noise made up of the roar of crashing breakers, the howl of the wind, claps of thunder.

一阵可怕的声响充斥空中,这是一声由压碎的海吼声、风啸声和炸雷声组成的完整的响声。

The wind shifted to every point of the horizon, and the cyclone left the east to return there after passing through north, west, and south,

风从天边各个方向吹来,从东边来的台风,吹向北边、南边,

moving in the opposite direction of revolving storms in the southern hemisphere.

又吹回东边,和北半球回旋风暴形成逆向流动。