英语听书《白鲸记》第27期

  SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF The late CAPTAIN EZEKIEL HARDY,Who in the bows of his boat was killed by a Sperm¹ Whale on the coast of Japan,AUGUST 3d,1833.THIS TABLET Is erected² to his Memory BY HIS WIDOW. 

 Shaking off the sleet³ from my ice glazed⁴ hat and jacket,I seated myself near the door,and turning sideways was surprised to see Queequeg near me. 

 Affected by the solemnity of the scene,there was a wondering gaze of incredulous curiosity in his countenance⁵. 

 This savage⁶ was the only person present who seemed to notice my entrance;because he was the only one who could not read,and,therefore, 

 was not reading those frigid⁷ inscriptions⁸ on the wall.Whether any of the relatives of the seamen⁹ whose names appeared there were now among the congregation, 

 I knew not;but so many are the unrecorded accidents in the fishery,and so plainly did several women present wear the countenance if not the trappings of some unceasing grief, 

 that I feel sure that here before me were assembled those,in whose unhealing hearts the sight of those bleak¹⁰ tablets sympathetically caused the old wounds to bleed afresh. 

 Oh!ye whose dead lie buried beneath the green grass;who standing¹¹ among flowers can say here,HERE lies my beloved;ye know not the desolation that broods in bosoms¹² like these. 

 What bitter blanks in those black bordered marbles which cover no ashes!What despair in those immovable inscriptions!What deadly voids and unbidden infidelities in the lines that seem to gnaw¹³ upon all Faith, 

 and refuse resurrections to the beings who have placelessly perished without a grave.As well might those tablets stand in the cave of Elephanta as here. 

 In what census¹⁴ of living creatures,the dead of mankind are included;why it is that a universal proverb says of them,that they tell no tales, 

 though containing more secrets than the Goodwin Sands;how it is that to his name who yesterday departed for the other world, 

 we prefix¹⁵ so significant and infidel a word,and yet do not thus entitle him,if he but embarks¹⁶ for the remotest Indies of this living earth; 

 why the Life Insurance Companies pay death forfeitures¹⁷ upon immortals;in what eternal,unstirring paralysis,and deadly,hopeless trance, 

 yet lies antique Adam who died sixty round centuries ago;how it is that we still refuse to be comforted for those who we nevertheless maintain are dwelling¹⁹ in unspeakable bliss; 

 why all the living so strive to hush²⁰ all the dead;wherefore but the rumor²¹ of a knocking in a tomb will terrify a whole city.All these things are not without their meanings. 

 But Faith,like a jackal,feeds among the tombs,and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope. 

 It needs scarcely to be told,with what feelings,on the eve of a Nantucket voyage,I regarded those marble tablets,and by the murky²² light of that darkened, 

 doleful day read the fate of the whalemen who had gone before me.Yes,Ishmael,the same fate may be thine.But somehow I grew merry again.Delightful²³ inducements to embark, 

 fine chance for promotion,it seems aye,a stove boat will make me an immortal¹⁸ by brevet.Yes,there is death in this business of whaling a speechlessly quick chaotic²⁴ bundling of a man into Eternity²⁵. 

 But what then?Methinks we have hugely mistaken this matter of Life and Death.Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance. 

 Methinks that in looking at things spiritual,we are too much like oysters²⁶ observing the sun through the water,and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air. 

 Methinks my body is but the lees of my better being.In fact take my body who will,take it I say,it is not me. 

 And therefore three cheers for Nantucket;and come a stove boat and stove body when they will,for stave my soul,Jove himself can not. 

1 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

2 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

3 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

4 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

8 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

9 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

10 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

13 gnaw   

v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨

参考例句：

• Dogs like to gnaw on a bone.狗爱啃骨头。
• A rat can gnaw a hole through wood.老鼠能啃穿木头。

14 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

15 prefix   

n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面

参考例句：

• We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
• In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。

16 embarks   

乘船( embark的第三人称单数 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• Patricia is a free-spirited girl who embarks on an erotic odyssey. 翠茜亚是个任性少女、毅然踏上一次性爱之旅。
• Passenger train driver: Punctually embarks. 客车司机：准时出发。

17 forfeitures   

n.（财产等的）没收，（权利、名誉等的）丧失( forfeiture的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Both face maximum forfeitures of about $1.2 million. 双方都面临最高120万美元左右的罚金。 来自辞典例句
• These statutes often make the contracts void andthe parties involved to various penalties and forfeitures. 这些法规通常导致合同无效，并且给予涉案当事人各种处罚或者没收财物。 来自互联网

18 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

19 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

20 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

21 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

22 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

23 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

24 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

25 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

26 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。