英语听书《白鲸记》第39期

  Soon I proposed a social smoke;and,producing his pouch² and tomahawk,he quietly offered me a puff³. 

 And then we sat exchanging puffs⁴ from that wild pipe of his,and keeping it regularly passing between us. 

 If there yet lurked⁵ any ice of indifference⁶ towards me in the Pagan's breast,this pleasant,genial smoke we had, 

 soon thawed⁷ it out,and left us cronies.He seemed to take to me quite as naturally and unbiddenly as I to him;and when our smoke was over, 

 he pressed his forehead against mine,clasped me round the waist,and said that henceforth we were married;meaning, 

 in his country's phrase,that we were bosom⁸ friends;he would gladly die for me,if need should be. 

 In a countryman,this sudden flame of friendship would have seemed far too premature,a thing to be much distrusted; 

 but in this simple savage⁹ those old rules would not apply. 

 After supper,and another social chat and smoke,we went to our room together.He made me a present of his embalmed¹⁰ head; 

 took out his enormous tobacco wallet,and groping under the tobacco,drew out some thirty dollars in silver;then spreading them on the table, 

 and mechanically dividing them into two equal portions,pushed one of them towards me,and said it was mine.I was going to remonstrate;but he silenced me by pouring them into my trowsers ' pockets. 

 I let them stay.He then went about his evening prayers,took out his idol,and removed the paper fireboard. 

 By certain signs and symptoms,I thought he seemed anxious for me to join him;but well knowing what was to follow,I deliberated a moment whether,in case he invited me,I would comply or otherwise. 

 I was a good Christian;born and bred in the bosom of the infallible Presbyterian Church.How then could I unite with this wild idolator in worshipping his piece of wood? 

 But what is worship?thought I. Do you suppose now,Ishmael,that the magnanimous God of heaven and earth pagans and all included can possibly be jealous of an insignificant¹¹ bit of black wood? 

 Impossible!But what is worship?to do the will of God THAT is worship.And what is the will of God?to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow man to do to me. 

 THAT is the will of God.Now,Queequeg is my fellow man. And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me?Why,unite with me in my particular Presbyterian form of worship.Consequently, 

 I must then unite with him in his;ergo,I must turn idolator.So I kindled¹² the shavings;helped prop¹ up the innocent little idol; 

 offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg;salamed before him twice or thrice;kissed his nose;and that done,we undressed and went to bed, 

 at peace with our own consciences and all the world.But we did not go to sleep without some little chat. 

 How it is I know not;but there is no place like a bed for confidential¹³ disclosures between friends. 

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

3 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

4 puffs   

n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
• Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

5 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

7 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

9 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。

10 embalmed   

adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气

参考例句：

• Many fine sentiments are embalmed in poetry. 许多微妙的情感保存于诗歌中。 来自辞典例句
• In books, are embalmed the greatest thoughts of all ages. 伟大思想古今有，载入书中成不朽。 来自互联网

11 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

12 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

13 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。