英语听书《白鲸记》第42期

  Be it said,that though I had felt such a strong repugnance¹ to his smoking in the bed the night before,yet see how elastic² our stiff prejudices grow when love once comes to bend them. 

 For now I liked nothing better than to have Queequeg smoking by me,even in bed,because he seemed to be full of such serene³ household joy then. 

 I no more felt unduly⁴ concerned for the landlord's policy of insurance.I was only alive to the condensed confidential⁵ comfortableness of sharing a pipe and a blanket with a real friend. 

 With our shaggy jackets drawn⁶ about our shoulders,we now passed the Tomahawk from one to the other,till slowly there grew over us a blue hanging tester of smoke,illuminated by the flame of the new lit lamp. 

 But this fine young savage⁷ this sea Prince of Wales,never saw the Captain's cabin.They put him down among the sailors,and made a whaleman of him. 

 But like Czar Peter content to toil⁸ in the shipyards of foreign cities,Queequeg disdained⁹ no seeming ignominy,if thereby¹⁰ he might happily gain the power of enlightening his untutored countrymen. 

 For at bottom so he told me he was actuated by a profound desire to learn among the Christians¹¹,the arts whereby to make his people still happier than they were;and more than that,still better than they were. 

 But,alas!the practices of whalemen soon convinced him that even Christians could be both miserable¹² and wicked;infinitely more so,than all his father's heathens. 

 Arrived at last in old Sag¹³ Harbor;and seeing what the sailors did there;and then going on to Nantucket,and seeing how they spent their wages in that place also,poor Queequeg gave it up for lost. 

 Thought he,it's a wicked world in all meridians;I 'll die a pagan. 

 And thus an old idolator at heart,he yet lived among these Christians,wore their clothes,and tried to talk their gibberish.Hence the queer ways about him,though now some time from home. 

 By hints,I asked him whether he did not propose going back,and having a coronation;since he might now consider his father dead and gone,he being very old and feeble at the last accounts. 

 He answered no,not yet;and added that he was fearful Christianity,or rather Christians,had unfitted him for ascending¹⁴ the pure and undefiled throne of thirty pagan Kings before him.But by and by,he said,he would return, 

 as soon as he felt himself baptized again.For the nonce,however,he proposed to sail about,and sow his wild oats in all four oceans.They had made a harpooneer of him,and that barbed iron was in lieu of a sceptre now. 

 I asked him what might be his immediate¹⁵ purpose,touching his future movements.He answered,to go to sea again,in his old vocation¹⁶. 

 Upon this,I told him that whaling was my own design,and informed him of my intention to sail out of Nantucket,as being the most promising¹⁷ port for an adventurous¹⁸ whaleman to embark¹⁹ from. 

 He at once resolved to accompany me to that island,ship aboard the same vessel,get into the same watch,the same boat,the same mess with me, 

 in short to share my every hap;with both my hands in his,boldly dip into the Potluck of both worlds.To all this I joyously²⁰ assented;for besides the affection I now felt for Queequeg,he was an experienced harpooneer,and as such, 

 could not fail to be of great usefulness to one,who,like me,was wholly ignorant of the mysteries of whaling,though well acquainted with the sea,as known to merchant seamen²¹. 

 His story being ended with his pipe's last dying puff,Queequeg embraced me,pressed his forehead against mine,and blowing out the light,we rolled over from each other,this way and that,and very soon were sleeping. 

1 repugnance   

n.嫌恶

参考例句：

• He fought down a feelings of repugnance.他抑制住了厌恶感。
• She had a repugnance to the person with whom she spoke.她看不惯这个和她谈话的人。

2 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

3 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

4 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

5 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。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 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。

8 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

9 disdained   

鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做

参考例句：

• I disdained to answer his rude remarks. 我不屑回答他的粗话。
• Jackie disdained the servants that her millions could buy. 杰姬鄙视那些她用钱就可以收买的奴仆。

10 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

11 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

12 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。

13 sag   

v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流

参考例句：

• The shelf was beginning to sag beneath the weight of the books upon it.书架在书的重压下渐渐下弯。
• We need to do something about the sag.我们须把下沉的地方修整一下。

14 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

17 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

18 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

19 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

20 joyously   

ad.快乐地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She opened the door for me and threw herself in my arms, screaming joyously and demanding that we decorate the tree immediately. 她打开门，直扑我的怀抱，欣喜地喊叫着要马上装饰圣诞树。
• They came running, crying out joyously in trilling girlish voices. 她们边跑边喊，那少女的颤音好不欢快。 来自名作英译部分

21 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。