英语听书《白鲸记》第49期

 Chapter 14. Nantucket.  第14章 南塔开特

Nothing more happened on the passage worthy¹ the mentioning; so, after a fine run, we safely arrived in Nantucket.  一路无话，我们安抵南塔开特。 

Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it.  你可以找一张地图，在上面找一找，看看南塔开特在哪儿。 

See what a real corner of the world it occupies; how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse.  寻访世界的一个真实的角落在哪里;离开岸边,比埃迪斯通灯塔更为孤独。

Look at it—a mere² hillock, and elbow of sand; all beach, without a background.  看看这个，只有沙子，所有的海滩都是这样的景象。

There is more sand there than you would use in twenty years as a substitute for blotting³ paper.  是的，它远离大陆，只是大海中的一个小山丘，一片沙滩而已。 

Some gamesome wights will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don't grow naturally;  有人开玩笑说，南塔开特人要想种点杂草也得种在沙滩上，因为这里寸草不生；

that they import Canada thistles; that they have to send beyond seas for a spile to stop a leak in an oil cask;  还有人说他们从加拿大运来了野草；为了堵住一个漏油的桶，

that pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried about like bits of the true cross in Rome;  必须远涉重洋才能买回那堵洞用的木塞；

that people there plant toadstools before their houses, to get under the shade in summer time;  这儿的人都在门前种上几棵蘑菇，为的是夏天乘凉；

that one blade of grass makes an oasis⁴, three blades in a day's walk a prairie;  还说这里有一叶草即可称绿洲，三叶草就可以叫草原了；

that they wear quicksand shoes, something like Laplander snow-shoes;  他们穿着流沙的鞋子,像拉普兰人的雪地鞋一样;

that they are so shut up, belted about, every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of by the ocean,  所以他们都是闭着嘴,系上腰带,围住全身,这完全是岛的海洋,

that to their very chairs and tables small clams⁵ will sometimes be found adhering, as to the backs of sea turtles.  说这里人家的椅子上、桌子上经常可以看到粘上去的小贝壳，就像海边的乌龟身上粘着的贝壳似的。 

But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois.  所有这些不无善意的调侃，都是在极言南塔开特的弹丸之大和寸草不生。 

1 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。

2 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。

3 blotting   

吸墨水纸

参考例句：

• Water will permeate blotting paper. 水能渗透吸水纸。
• One dab with blotting-paper and the ink was dry. 用吸墨纸轻轻按了一下，墨水就乾了。

4 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

5 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句