英语听书《白鲸记》第299期

 As Queequeg's Ramadan, or Fasting and Humiliation¹, was to continue all day, I did not choose to disturb him till towards night-fall;  因为魁魁格的"斋戒",或是"断食"。"禁欲"得做一整天,所以非到傍晚时分,我不想去打扰他;

for I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations, never mind how comical,  我非常尊重每一个人的宗教义务,不管它是多么可笑,

and could not find it in my heart to undervalue even a congregation of ants worshipping a toad-stool;  即使有一群蚂蚁在膜拜一只毒菌;

or those other creatures in certain parts of our earth, who with a degree of footmanism quite unprecedented² in other planets,  或者我们地球上某些地方的其他一些生物,只因一个地主虽然死了,在他的名下却还拥有大批出租的产业,

bow down before the torso of a deceased landed proprietor³ merely on account of the inordinate⁴ possessions yet owned and rented in his name. 便以一种可说是在其他星球中前所未见的卑躬屈膝的姿态,匍匐在他那死尸前面,我心里也找不到看轻这种举动的理由。

I say, we good Presbyterian Christians⁵ should be charitable in these things, and not fancy ourselves so vastly superior to other mortals, pagans and what not,  我说,我们这些善良的长老会派的基督徒,在这些事情上,应该抱着仁爱为怀的态度,不要因为其他人类,

because of their half-crazy conceits⁶ on these subjects. There was Queequeg, now, certainly entertaining the most absurd notions about Yojo and his Ramadan; 异教徒等等对于这些事情存有半痴半呆的妄想,而自以为我们大大高出他们之上。就以这个魁魁格来说吧,他现在一定对约约和他的斋戒寄以非常可笑的妄想...

but what of that? Queequeg thought he knew what he was about, I suppose; he seemed to be content; and there let him rest. All our arguing with him would not avail;  但是,那又有什么关系呢?我推想,魁魁格准自以为他自己知道他所做的事情,所以他显得很是心安理得,那就让他心安理得去吧。随我怎样去跟他辩论都是徒劳无益的;

let him be, I say: and Heaven have mercy on us all-Presbyterians and Pagans alike 我说,随他便吧,但愿老天可怜可怜我们大家...长老会派和异教派都一样...

for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. 因为我们大家都不知怎地把脑袋碰得七碎八裂,非常可怕,极其需要修补修补了。

Towards evening, when I felt assured that all his performances and rituals must be over, I went up to his room and knocked at the door; but no answer.  黄昏时分,我很有把握地认为他的一切神功和仪式一定都做完了,我上楼去敲他的房门;但是,没有应答。

I tried to open it, but it was fastened inside. "Queequeg," said I softly through the key-hole:-all silent.  我想推开门,可是打里边反锁了。"魁魁格,"我朝钥匙孔轻轻叫道...完全没有动静。

1 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

4 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。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 conceits   

高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻

参考例句：

• He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours. 他记下了闲暇时想到的一些看法。
• The most grotesque fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. 夜晚躺在床上的时候，各种离奇怪诞的幻想纷至沓来。