英语听书《白鲸记》第24期

  These reflections just here are occasioned by the circumstance that after we were all seated at the table,and I was preparing to hear some good stories about whaling; 

 to my no small surprise,nearly every man maintained a profound silence.And not only that,but they looked embarrassed.Yes,here were a set of sea dogs, 

 many of whom without the slightest bashfulness had boarded great whales on the high seas entire strangers to them and duelled them dead without winking; 

 and yet,here they sat at a social breakfast table all of the same calling, 

 all of kindred tastes looking round as sheepishly at each other as though they had never been out of sight of some sheepfold among the Green Mountains.A curious sight;these bashful bears,these timid warrior¹ whalemen! 

 But as for Queequeg why,Queequeg sat there among them at the head of the table,too,it so chanced; 

 as cool as an icicle.To be sure I can not say much for his breeding.His greatest admirer could not have cordially justified² his bringing his harpoon³ into breakfast with him, 

 and using it there without ceremony;reaching over the table with it,to the imminent⁴ jeopardy⁵ of many heads,and grappling the beefsteaks towards him. 

 But THAT was certainly very coolly done by him,and every one knows that in most people's estimation,to do anything coolly is to do it genteelly. 

 We will not speak of all Queequeg's peculiarities⁶ here;how he eschewed⁷ coffee and hot rolls,and applied⁸ his undivided attention to beefsteaks,done rare. 

 Enough,that when breakfast was over he withdrew like the rest into the public room,lighted his tomahawk pipe, 

 and was sitting there quietly digesting and smoking with his inseparable hat on,when I sallied out for a stroll. 

 CHAPTER 6.The Street. 

 If I had been astonished at first catching⁹ a glimpse of so outlandish an individual as Queequeg circulating among the polite society of a civilized¹⁰ town, 

 that astonishment¹¹ soon departed upon taking my first daylight stroll through the streets of New Bedford. 

 In thoroughfares nigh the docks,any considerable seaport¹² will frequently offer to view the queerest looking nondescripts from foreign parts. 

 Even in Broadway and Chestnut¹³ streets,Mediterranean mariners¹⁴ will sometimes jostle the affrighted ladies.Regent Street is not unknown to Lascars and Malays; 

 and at Bombay,in the Apollo Green,live Yankees have often scared the natives. 

1 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

2 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

3 harpoon   

n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获

参考例句：

• The harpoon drove deep into the body of the whale.渔叉深深地扎进鲸鱼体内。
• The fisherman transfixed the shark with a harpoon.渔夫用鱼叉刺住鲨鱼。

4 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

5 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

6 peculiarities   

n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪

参考例句：

• the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

7 eschewed   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
• Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外，她还有商业计划，这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

11 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

12 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

13 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

14 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。