海底兩萬(wàn)里 第270期 第21章 在陸地上的兩天(2)
Ned Land was on familiar terms with this fruit. He had already eaten it on his many voyages and knew how to cook its edible substance. So the very sight of it aroused his appetite, and he couldn't control himself.
尼德·蘭很熟悉這些面包果。他從前在多次旅行中已經(jīng)吃過(guò)了，他很知道怎樣調(diào)制這種可吃的東西。所以看見這些果子，馬上就引起他的食欲，他再也忍耐不住了。
"Sir," he told me, "I'll die if I don't sample a little breadfruit pasta!"
“先生，”他跟我說(shuō)，“如果我不嘗一嘗這面包樹的面條子，真要急死我了！”
"Sample some, Ned my friend, sample all you like. We're here to conduct experiments, let's conduct them."
“嘗嘗吧，尼德·蘭好朋友，您隨意嘗吧。我們是到這里來(lái)獲得經(jīng)驗(yàn)的，那我們就試試看吧。”
"It won't take a minute," the Canadian replied.
“那費(fèi)不了很多的時(shí)間."加拿大人回答。
Equipped with a magnifying glass, he lit a fire of deadwood that was soon crackling merrily. Meanwhile Conseil and I selected the finest artocarpus fruit. Some still weren't ripe enough, and their thick skins covered white, slightly fibrous pulps. But a great many others were yellowish and gelatinous, just begging to be picked.
他于是拿了火鏡，利用陽(yáng)光，把干樹枝點(diǎn)著，火光熊熊燃燒起來(lái)了。這個(gè)時(shí)候，康塞爾和我選了面包樹上最好的果子摘下來(lái)。有些還沒有到足夠成熟的程度，厚的表皮上蒙了一層白肉，但很少帶纖維。其他的大多數(shù)變黃了，有粘性了，只等人去摘了。
This fruit contained no pits. Conseil brought a dozen of them to Ned Land, who cut them into thick slices and placed them over a fire of live coals, all the while repeating:
這些果子并沒有核仁?？等麪柲昧耸齻€(gè)給尼德蘭，他把它們切成厚片，放在紅火上，當(dāng)他切片的時(shí)候，總是說(shuō)：
"You'll see, sir, how tasty this bread is!"
“您瞧吧，先生，這面包是多么好吃呢！”
"Especially since we've gone without baked goods for so long," Conseil said.
“特別是我們很久都沒有吃面包了！”康塞爾說(shuō)。
"It's more than just bread," the Canadian added. "It's a dainty pastry. You've never eaten any, sir?"
加拿大人又說(shuō)：“甚至于可以說(shuō)，這并不是平常的面包，而是美味的糕點(diǎn)。先生，您從來(lái)沒有吃過(guò)嗎？”
"No, Ned."
“沒有吃過(guò)，尼德。”
"All right, get ready for something downright delectable! If you don't come back for seconds, I'm no longer the King of Harpooners!"
“那么，您快作準(zhǔn)備，來(lái)嘗嘗這別有風(fēng)味的東西吧。如果您吃了不再要的話，那我就不是天字第一號(hào)魚叉手了。
After a few minutes, the parts of the fruit exposed to the fire were completely toasted. On the inside there appeared some white pasta, a sort of soft bread center whose flavor reminded me of artichoke.
幾分鐘后，果子向著紅火的部分已經(jīng)完全烤焦了。里面露出白粉條，好像又軟又嫩的面包屑，吃起來(lái)像百葉菜的味兒。
