英语听书《白鲸记》第31期

  As sinful men,it is a lesson to us all,because it is a story of the sin,hard heartedness,suddenly awakened¹ fears, 

 the swift punishment,repentance,prayers,and finally the deliverance and joy of Jonah.As with all sinners among men, 

 the sin of this son of Amittai was in his wilful² disobedience of the command of God never mind now what that command was, 

 or how conveyed which he found a hard command.But all the things that God would have us do are hard for us to do remember that and hence, 

 he oftener commands us than endeavors to persuade.And if we obey God,we must disobey ourselves;and it is in this disobeying ourselves,wherein the hardness of obeying God consists. 

 With this sin of disobedience in him,Jonah still further flouts³ at God,by seeking to flee from Him. 

 He thinks that a ship made by men will carry him into countries where God does not reign,but only the Captains of this earth. 

 He skulks⁴ about the wharves⁵ of Joppa,and seeks a ship that's bound for Tarshish.There lurks,perhaps,a hitherto unheeded meaning here. 

 By all accounts Tarshish could have been no other city than the modern Cadiz.That's the opinion of learned men.And where is Cadiz,shipmates? 

 Cadiz is in Spain;as far by water,from Joppa,as Jonah could possibly have sailed in those ancient days,when the Atlantic was an almost unknown sea. 

 Because Joppa,the modern Jaffa,shipmates,is on the most easterly coast of the Mediterranean,the Syrian;and Tarshish or Cadiz more than two thousand miles to the westward⁶ from that, 

 just outside the Straits of Gibraltar.See ye not then,shipmates,that Jonah sought to flee world wide from God?Miserable⁷ man!Oh! 

 most contemptible⁸ and worthy⁹ of all scorn;with slouched hat and guilty eye,skulking from his God;prowling among the shipping¹⁰ like a vile¹¹ burglar hastening to cross the seas. 

 So disordered,self condemning¹² is his look,that had there been policemen in those days,Jonah,on the mere¹³ suspicion of something wrong,had been arrested ere he touched a deck. 

 How plainly he's a fugitive¹⁴!no baggage,not a hat box,valise,or carpet bag,no friends accompany him to the wharf¹⁵ with their adieux.At last,after much dodging¹⁶ search, 

 he finds the Tarshish ship receiving the last items of her cargo;and as he steps on board to see its Captain in the cabin, 

 all the sailors for the moment desist from hoisting¹⁷ in the goods,to mark the stranger's evil eye.Jonah sees this; 

 but in vain he tries to look all ease and confidence;in vain essays his wretched smile. 

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

3 flouts   

v.藐视，轻视( flout的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

4 skulks   

v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The lonely man skulks down the main street all day. 这个孤独的人整天在这条大街上躲躲闪闪。 来自互联网

5 wharves   

n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are seaworthy and can stand rough handling on the wharves? 适用于海运并能经受在码头上的粗暴装卸。 来自外贸英语口语25天快训
• Widely used in factories and mines, warehouses, wharves, and other industries. 广泛用于厂矿、仓库、码头、等各种行业。 来自互联网

6 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

7 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

8 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

11 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

12 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

15 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

16 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

17 hoisting   

起重，提升

参考例句：

• The hoisting capacity of that gin pole (girder pole, guy derrick) is sixty tons. 那个起重抱杆（格状抱杆、转盘抱杆）的起重能力为60吨。 来自口语例句
• We must use mechanical hoisting to load the goods. 我们必须用起重机来装载货物。