英语听书《白鲸记》第297期

 But I don't think thou wilt¹ be able to at present.  不过,我认为你现在要见他是办不到的。

I don't know exactly what's the matter with him; but he keeps close inside the house; a sort of sick, and yet he don't look so.  我也不很清楚他是怎么一回事;但是,他一直是足不出户;也许生病,可又不很象生病。

In fact, he ain't sick; but no, he isn't well either.  事实上,他不是生病;不过,不,他身体可也不很好。

Any how, young man, he won't always see me, so I don't suppose he will thee.  总之,小伙子,他跟我也不常见面,因此,我认为他也不会见你。

He's a queer man, Captain Ahab-so some think-but a good one. Oh, thou'lt like him well enough; no fear, no fear.  他是个怪人,亚哈船长...有人这么看法...不过,他却是个好人。啊,你一定会很喜欢他;别担心,别担心。

He's a grand, ungodly, god-like man, Captain Ahab; doesn't speak much; but, when he does speak, then you may well listen. Mark ye, be forewarned;  亚哈船长么,他是个伟大的,不敬神却又象神似的人物;他不多说话;不过,等到他一开口,那你就得好好听他。要记住,我事先警告你;

Ahab's above the common; Ahab's been in colleges, as well as 'mong the cannibals;  亚哈是跟普通人不同的;亚哈曾经进过许多大学堂,也到过好些吃人生番的地方;

been used to deeper wonders than the waves; fixed² his fiery³ lance in mightier⁴, stranger foes⁵ than whales.  他一向习惯于比海浪还更深奥的奇迹;他那支激烈的鱼枪曾经打中比大鲸还要有力与奇特的仇敌。

His lance! aye, the keenest and the surest that out of all our isle⁶! Oh! he ain't Captain Bildad; no, and he ain't Captain Peleg;  他的鱼枪呵!说起敏捷和准确来,真是我们岛上数一数二的啊,他不是比勒达船长;不,他也不是法勒船长;

he's Ahab, boy; and Ahab of old, thou knowest, was a crowned king! 他就是亚哈,朋友;那个古代的亚哈,你知道,是一个君王呀!

And a very vile⁷ one. When that wicked king was slain⁸, the dogs, did they not lick his blood? 而且是个十恶不赦的人。当那个邪恶的王给刺死了的时候,狗可不是都去舔他的血么?

Come hither to me-hither, hither, said Peleg, with a significance in his eye that almost startled me.  到这边来...这边,这边,法勒说道,眼睛闪出一股意味深长的神色,简直要把我给吓呆了。

Look ye, lad; never say that on board the Pequod. Never say it anywhere. Captain Ahab did not name himself. 记住,小伙子;这些话可千万别在裴廓德号上说。也别在随便什么地方乱说。亚哈船长这个名字并不是他自己取的。

Twas a foolish, ignorant whim⁹ of his crazy, widowed mother, who died when he was only a twelvemonth old.  这是他那个痴痴呆呆的守寡母亲的愚蠢无知的怪念头。她在他只有十二个月的时候就死了。

And yet the old squaw Tistig, at Gayhead, said that the name would somehow prove prophetic.  然而这个该黑特老太婆蒂斯蒂克,却说这名字总会证明是有预见性的。

1 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

2 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。

3 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

4 mightier   

adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其

参考例句：

• But it ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier. 但是，这种组织总是重新产生，并且一次比一次更强大，更坚固，更有力。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Do you believe that the pen is mightier than the sword? 你相信笔杆的威力大于武力吗？

5 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

6 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

7 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

8 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

9 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。