英语听书《白鲸记》第291期

 Bildad, cried Captain Peleg, at it again, Bildad, eh?  比勒达,法勒船长嚷道,又在念啦,比勒达,是吗?

Ye have been studying those Scriptures¹, now, for the last thirty years, to my certain knowledge. How far ye got, Bildad? 就我所知,你已经把这些圣书研究了三十年啦。你研究到哪儿啦,比勒达?

As if long habituated to such profane² talk from his old shipmate, Bildad,  比勒达仿佛已经听惯了他的老船友这种不敬之词了,

without noticing his present irreverence³, quietly looked up, and seeing me, glanced again inquiringly towards Peleg. 他一点也不理会,一言不发地抬起头来,一看到我,就又带着盘问的神情再望一望法勒。

He says he's our man, Bildad, said Peleg, he wants to ship. 他说他要做我们的船员,比勒达,法勒说,他要我们雇他。

Dost thee? said Bildad, in a hollow tone, and turning round to me. 你要吗?比勒达声气空泛,转身对我说。

I dost, said I unconsciously, he was so intense a Quaker. 我要,我不自觉地说,他是个这么认真的桂克。

What do ye think of him, Bildad? said Peleg. 你觉得他怎样,比勒达?法勒说。

He'll do, said Bildad, eyeing me, and then went on spelling away at his book in a mumbling⁴ tone quite audible. 他行。比勒达瞧了我一眼后说,又继续念他的书,喃喃的声音,清晰可闻。

I thought him the queerest old Quaker I ever saw, especially as Peleg, his friend and old shipmate, seemed such a blusterer⁵.  我认为他是我平生所见的一个最古怪的老桂克,尤其是因为他的朋友兼老船友法勒却似乎是一个性格非常暴躁的人。

But I said nothing, only looking round me sharply.  但是,我什么也不说,只是机警地四下望望。

Peleg now threw open a chest, and drawing forth⁶ the ship's articles, placed pen and ink before him, and seated himself at a little table.  法勒这时打开了一只箱子,拿出船上的契约来,把笔和墨水放在面前,傍着一只小桌子坐下来。

I began to think it was high time to settle with myself at what terms I would be willing to engage for the voyage.  我心里开始想,这该是我自己决定的时候了,我该按什么条款才愿意应承这次航行。

I was already aware that in the whaling business they paid no wages;  我早已知道,在捕鲸业中,是不付工资的;

but all hands, including the captain, received certain shares of the profits called lays,  大家都是分取一定的份数。叫做拆账的红利,

and that these lays were proportioned to the degree of importance pertaining⁷ to the respective duties of the ship's company.  我也知道,这种拆账是按船上各人的职责大小来分的。

1 scriptures   

经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典

参考例句：

• Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
• You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。

2 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

3 irreverence   

n.不尊敬

参考例句：

• True irreverence is disrespect for another man's god.真正的大不敬是不尊重别人的神。
• Mark Twain said irreverence is the champion of liberty,if not its only defender.马克·吐温说过，不敬若不是自由唯一的捍卫者，也会是它的拥护者。

4 mumbling   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。

5 blusterer   

n.咆哮的人，吓唬人的人

参考例句：

• The intruder was Huang Fen, the famous blusterer. 这人就是黄奋，有名的“大炮”。 来自子夜部分

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。