英语听书《白鲸记》第259期

 Queequeg was a native of Kokovoko, an island far away to the West and South. It is not down on any map; true places never are. 魁魁格是科科伏柯人,那是一个远在西南方的岛屿。任何一张地图上都没有这个地方;真实的地方是从来不登上地图的。

When a new-hatched savage¹ running wild about his native woodlands in a grass clout², followed by the nibbling³ goats,  在他还是一个初出茅庐的野人,身披草蓑,在他故乡的林地里狂奔乱跑,背后跟着一群东啃一口西啃一口的山羊,

as if he were a green sapling; even then, in Queequeg's ambitious soul, lurked⁴ a strong desire to see something more of Christendom than a specimen⁵ whaler or two.  仿佛还是一个毛头小子的时候;甚至在那个时候,在魁魁格的抱负不凡的心中,就已经隐怀一种强烈的愿望:不但要看看一两个堪为楷模的捕鲸者,还要看一看文明人的国度。

His father was a High Chief, a King; his uncle a High Priest; and on the maternal⁶ side he boasted aunts who were the wives of unconquerable warriors⁷.  他父亲是个大酋长,是个国王;他叔父是个祭司长;他夸称他的母系方面,那些姨娘都是一些战无不胜的武士的妻室。

There was excellent blood in his veins-royal stuff; though sadly vitiated, I fear, by the cannibal propensity⁸ he nourished in his untutored youth. 他的血统里有高尚的血液....贵胄的品质,然而,我怕他在他那未受教育的少年时代所养成的生番习性已大大损害了他这种品质。

A Sag⁹ Harbor ship visited his father's bay, and Queequeg sought a passage to Christian¹⁰ lands.  有一只萨格港是一个捕鲸的大港口。的船来访问他父亲治下的港湾,魁魁格就想乘它到文明人的地方去。

But the ship, having her full complement¹¹ of seamen¹², spurned¹³ his suit; and not all the King his father's influence could prevail.  但是,那只船的水手已经满额,无法满足他的要求;这也不是他那个做国王的父亲的势力所能奏效的。

But Queequeg vowed¹⁵ a vow¹⁴. Alone in his canoe, he paddled off to a distant strait, which he knew the ship must pass through when she quitted the island.  但是,魁魁格已经发下了誓。他独自坐上他的独木舟,划到一个冷僻的海峡里去,因为他知道那只船一离开海岛,必定要经过那地方。

On one side was a coral reef; on the other a low tongue of land, covered with mangrove¹⁶ thickets¹⁷ that grew out into the water.  那海峡,一边是珊瑚礁,一边是一小片洼地,蔓生了缭绕到海里的红树丛。

Hiding his canoe, still afloat, among these thickets, with its prow¹⁸ seaward, he sat down in the stern, paddle low in hand;  他把他的独木舟藏在这些树丛里,让它仍是飘浮在水面上,船头对着海洋那面,自己坐在船尾,桨子低抓在手里;

and when the ship was gliding¹⁹ by, like a flash he darted²⁰ out; gained her side; with one backward dash of his foot capsized and sank his canoe;  等到那只船一驶过时,他就一阵闪电似的射了出去;抓住了船舷;一只脚往后一踢,把他那只独木舟踢翻沉没;

climbed up the chains; and throwing himself at full length upon the deck, grappled a ring-bolt there, and swore not to let it go, though hacked²¹ in pieces. 他爬上锚链;直扑在甲板上,抓住了船上的有环螺钉,发誓说哪怕拿他砍成碎片,他也决不放手。

1 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

2 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

3 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

6 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

9 sag   

v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流

参考例句：

• The shelf was beginning to sag beneath the weight of the books upon it.书架在书的重压下渐渐下弯。
• We need to do something about the sag.我们须把下沉的地方修整一下。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

12 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

13 spurned   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
• With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句

14 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

15 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

16 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

17 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

18 prow   

n.(飞机)机头，船头

参考例句：

• The prow of the motor-boat cut through the water like a knife.汽艇的船头像一把刀子劈开水面向前行驶。
• He stands on the prow looking at the seadj.他站在船首看着大海。

19 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

20 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。