英语听书《白鲸记》第194期

 I thought so. All right; take a seat. Supper?you want supper? Supper'll be ready directly. 我本来也这么想.很好;请坐吧.晚饭呢?你要吃晚饭么?饭立刻就好啦。

I sat down on an old wooden settle, carved all over like a bench on the Battery.  我在一只老式的木头高背长靠椅上坐下,这只椅子就象炮台公园里的长椅一样,全都刻划满了,

At one end a ruminating¹ tar² was still further adorning³ it with his jack-knife, stooping over and diligently⁴ working away at the space between his legs.  椅子的另一头,一个若有所思的水手用他那把大折刀还在往上面添着花样,他伛着身子,在他两腿间的木头上用劲地刻着。

He was trying his hand at a ship under full sail, but he didn't make much headway, I thought. 我心里想,他是想雕出一艘满篷而驶的船,却又不很得手。

At last some four or five of us were summoned to our meal in an adjoining room.  最后,我们中间有四五个人被叫到隔壁的房间里去吃饭了。

It was cold as Iceland-no fire at all-the landlord said he couldn't afford it.  那里冷得象冰岛...根本就没生火...店老板说他生不起火。

Nothing but two dismal⁵ tallow candles, each in a winding⁶ sheet.  什么也没有,只燃了两支丧气的牛油烛,烛泪结得都满了,就象死人裹上一层尸衣。

We were fain to button up our monkey jackets, and hold to our lips cups of scalding tea with our half frozen fingers.  我们只好把短外衣扣上,用我们冻得半僵的双手捧起滚烫的茶杯凑到嘴边。

But the fare was of the most substantial kind-not only meat and potatoes, but dumplings; good heavens! dumplings for supper!  不过,饭菜却挺丰盛...不但有肉有土豆,还有汤团;天哪!把汤团拿来当晚饭吃!

One young fellow in a green box coat, addressed himself to these dumplings in a most direful manner. 一个穿着一件绿色的车夫外套的年青小伙子,神情极其可怕地在忙着吃这些汤团.

1 ruminating   

v.沉思( ruminate的现在分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth. 他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is ruminating on what had happened the day before. 他在沉思前一天发生的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

3 adorning   

修饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• Many have gems adorning their foreheads, and gold bands on their arms. 许多人在前额上挂着宝石，手臂上戴着金饰。
• The commandments, or rules, are like pure white pearls adorning the wearer. （喻）戒律洁白，可以庄严人身，好像晶莹可爱的宝珠。

4 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

5 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

6 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。