31 章鱼(5)
Its slanting fins drew it to depths of 2,000 and 3,500 meters. There animal life was represented by nothing more than sea lilies, starfish, delightful crinoids with bell-shaped heads like little chalices on straight stems, top-shell snails, blood-red tooth shells, and fissurella snails, a large species of coastal mollusk.
船的纵斜机板把船带到了2000至3500米的深海中。在那里，有生命的动物就只有海百合、海星、头像水母、修直的一茎一上长着一片小萼的可一爱一的五角海百合，马蹄螺，血红的齿鱼以及属于大种的沿海软体动物的裂纹鱼。
By April 20 we had risen to an a一verage level of 1,500 meters. The nearest land was the island group of the Bahamas, scattered like a batch of cobblestones over the surface of the water. There high underwater cliffs reared up, straight walls made of craggy chunks arranged like big stone foundations, among which there gaped black ca一ves so deep our electric rays couldn't light them to the far ends.
4月20日，我们又浮到150米的中层海水中。当时离我们最近的陆地是巴哈马一群一岛，它像一堆石堆一样散在海面上。在那里屹立着一些高高的海底悬崖，那是一些由粗糙石块砌成的、座基宽大的高墙，在它们之间，有一些我们的灯光照不到底的黑乎乎的坑洞。
These rocks were hung with huge weeds, immense sea tangle, gigantic fucus-- a genuine trellis of water plants fit for a world of giants.
这些岩石上铺着大海草，大型的昆布和巨大的墨角藻，真是一道道海产植物做成的墙壁，这里称得上是巨人泰坦的世界。
In discussing these colossal plants, Conseil, Ned, and I were naturally led into mentioning the sea's giganticanimals. The former were obviously meant to feed the latter. However, through the windows of our almost motionless Nautilus, I could see nothing among these long filaments other than the chief articulates of the divisionBrachyura: long-legged spider crabs, violet crabs, and sponge crabs unique to the waters of the Caribbean.
我、康塞尔和尼德一说到这些大型海洋植物，就自然而然地谈到了大型的海底动物。大型的海底动物显然是以这些大型的海洋植物为食。然而，透过几乎是丝纹不动的“鹦鹉螺号”船上的玻璃窗，在长长的海草叶子上，我只看到了一些腕足类的主要节肢动物，像长爪海蜘蛛蟹、紫海蟹和加勒比海特有的海绵蟹。