英语听书《白鲸记》第63期

 Now when I looked about the quarter-deck, for some one having authority, in order to propose myself as a candidate for the voyage, at first I saw nobody;  我站在它的甲板上，想找个当头的，好自荐。

but I could not well overlook a strange sort of tent, or rather wigwam, pitched a little behind the main-mast.  可不但没见着当头的，一个人影也没见着。 

It seemed only a temporary erection used in port. It was of a conical shape, some ten feet high; consisting of the long,  主桅后面一顶临时帐篷引起了我的注意，它呈圆锥形，

huge slabs¹ of limber black bone taken from the middle and highest part of the jaws² of the right-whale.  是用一只露脊鲸的头部的几大片骨头搭成的。

Planted with their broad ends on the deck, a circle of these slabs laced together, mutually sloped towards each other,  把鲸鱼那些宽大的骨板插在甲板上，围成一个圆，用绳子相连，

and at the apex³ united in a tufted point, where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like the top-knot on some old Pottowottamie Sachem's head.  系紧，在顶部形成一个尖儿。向朝头的这一面开了一个三角形的入口，坐在里面，可以看到大船行驶的方向。 

A triangular⁴ opening faced towards the bows of the ship, so that the insider commanded a complete view forward.  这帐篷似乎是船靠岸以后才搭的。里面坐着个人，似乎是个头目。 

1 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

2 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

3 apex   

n.顶点，最高点

参考例句：

• He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
• His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

4 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。