英语听书《白鲸记》第289期

 Now, Bildad, I am sorry to say, had the reputation of being an incorrigible¹ old hunks, and in his sea-going days, a bitter, hard task-master.  现在,说来抱歉,比勒达却有一个难望更正的老守财奴的声名,在他航海的时候,他就是一个刻薄的。不好应付的工头。

They told me in Nantucket, though it certainly seems a curious story, that when he sailed the old Categut whaleman,  据南塔开特的人告诉我,说是在他当时行驶那艘叫做"卡脱古号"的老捕鲸船的时候,

his crew, upon arriving home, were mostly all carried ashore² to the hospital, sore exhausted³ and worn out.  他的水手们一回到家乡,大多是从岸上直接抬到医院去的,个个精疲力竭,软弱无力。

For a pious⁴ man, especially for a Quaker, he was certainly rather hard-hearted, to say the least.  作为一个虔诚的人物,尤其是作为一个桂克说来,说得客气一点,他的心肠一定相当硬。

He never used to swear, though, at his men, they said;  虽则据说他从来不大咒骂他的船员,

but somehow he got an inordinate⁵ quantity of cruel, unmitigated hard work out of them.  但是,不知怎地,他却总要迫使他们做过分辛劳。十足艰难的工作。

When Bildad was a chief-mate, to have his drab-colored eye intently looking at you,  在比勒达做大副的时候,他那双淡褐色的眼睛只消朝你一瞪,

made you feel completely nervous, till you could clutch something-a hammer or a marling-spike, and go to work like mad,  准教你浑身哆嗦,直教你会不由自主地抓起什么东西...一只锤子或者一只穿索针,发狂似地去做这做那,

at something or other, never mind what. Indolence and idleness perished from before him.  做不管是什么工作。贪吃懒做一碰到他是不打自垮的。

His own person was the exact embodiment of his utilitarian⁶ character.  他本人就是他那种功利主义性格的精确的化身。

On his long, gaunt body, he carried no spare flesh, no superfluous⁷ beard, his chin having a soft, economical nap to it, like the worn nap of his broad-brimmed hat. 在他那瘦长的身躯上,并没有一片多余的肉,也没有一根多余的胡须,他的下巴上长着一根柔软的。恰到好处的毛,跟他那顶阔边帽子的旧毛绒一样。

Such, then, was the person that I saw seated on the transom when I followed Captain Peleg down into the cabin.  我跟着法勒船长下了甲板走进舱房的时候,看到坐在船尾横木上的就是这样一个人物。

The space between the decks was small; and there, bolt upright, sat old Bildad, who always sat so, and never leaned, and this to save his coat-tails.  舱房里的面积很小;比勒达老头就笔直地坐在那里,他总是这般坐法,从来不稍侧斜,为的是不致压坏他的衣裾。

His broad-brim was placed beside him; his legs were stiffly crossed;  他那顶阔边帽子放在身边;双腿硬挺挺地交叉着;

his drab vesture was buttoned up to his chin;  那件淡褐色的上衣扣子直扣到下巴根;

and spectacles on nose, he seemed absorbed in reading from a ponderous⁸ volume. 鼻梁上架着一副眼镜,似乎正在全神贯注地念着一本笨重的书。

1 incorrigible   

adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的

参考例句：

• Because he was an incorrigible criminal,he was sentenced to life imprisonment.他是一个死不悔改的罪犯，因此被判终生监禁。
• Gamblers are incorrigible optimists.嗜赌的人是死不悔改的乐天派。

2 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

6 utilitarian   

adj.实用的，功利的

参考例句：

• On the utilitarian side American education has outstridden the rest of the world.在实用方面美国教育已超越世界各国。
• A good cloth coat is more utilitarian than a fur one.一件优质的布外衣要比一件毛皮外衣更有用。

7 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

8 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。