英语听书《白鲸记》第140期

 Good again; but then all confess that somehow whaling is not respectable.  又有人说，捕鲸业不大体面。 

WHALING NOT RESPECTABLE? Whaling is imperial! By old English statutory law, the whale is declared a royal fish. 这大概要看一下捕鲸者所捕的鲸在人们心目中的地位了：在古代的英国，鲸鱼是皇族崇尚的钦定鱼。

Oh, that's only nominal¹! The whale himself has never figured in any grand imposing² way.  哦,这只是名义上的!我记得史实中有这样的记载：

THE WHALE NEVER FIGURED IN ANY GRAND IMPOSING WAY?  又有人说了，捕鲸吗，总归是不大威风吧！

In one of the mighty³ triumphs given to a Roman general upon his entering the world's capital, the bones of a whale, brought all the way from the Syrian coast,  在为一个罗马将军进行的欢迎仪式上，摆着一架特意从叙利亚运来的鲸骨， 

were the most conspicuous⁴ object in the cymballed procession. 以示隆重。

See subsequent chapters for something more on this head.  鲸座是天上的一个星座，捕鲸者是何等的威风也便可想而知了。如果你对沙皇脱帽的话，那么我相信你也会对魁魁格脱帽的！

Grant it, since you cite it; but, say what you will, there is no real dignity in whaling.  噢，天知道，人们除了捕鲸还有什么可以称为威风的事呢？  

NO DIGNITY IN WHALING?  总归是不大威风?

1 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

2 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。