英语听书《白鲸记》第168期

 Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed¹ in ocean reveries.  那市镇的四周就象布着一匝沉默的哨兵似的,成千上万的人都站在那儿盯着海洋出神。

Some leaning against the spiles; some seated upon the pier-heads; some looking over the bulwarks² glasses of ships from China; 有的倚着桩子;有的坐在码头边上;有的在望着从中国驶来的船只的舷墙;

some high aloft in the rigging, as if striving to get a still better seaward peep.  有的高高地爬在索具上,仿佛要尽量把海景看个痛快似的。

But these are all landsmen; of week days pent up in lath and plaster-tied to counters, nailed to benches, clinched³ to desks. 但是,这些都是陆地人,他们平日都给幽闭在木架泥糊的小屋里...拴在柜台上,钉在板凳上,伏在写字台上。

How then is this? Are the green fields gone? What do they here? 那么,这是怎么回事呀?翠绿的田野都消失了吗?他们到这里来干什么?

But look! here come more crowds, pacing straight for the water, and seemingly bound for a dive. Strange!  可是瞧哪!又有一群群的人来喽,他们直向海边走去,象是要跳水似的。怪事!

Nothing will content them but the extremest limit of the land;  只有陆地的尽头才称得了他们的心;

loitering under the shady lee of yonder warehouses⁴ will not suffice.  在仓库那边的背荫里闲逛一番,都还不够味儿。

No.They must get just as nigh the water as they possibly can without falling in. 不够。他们只要不掉进海里,是一定要尽可能走近海洋的。

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 bulwarks   

n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙

参考例句：

• The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty. 新闻自由是自由最大的保障之一。 来自辞典例句
• Surgery and X-irradiation nevertheless remain the bulwarks of cancer treatment throughout the world. 外科手术和X射线疗法依然是全世界治疗癌症的主要方法。 来自辞典例句

3 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

4 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。