英语听书《白鲸记》第303期

 Closing the door upon the landlady¹, I endeavored to prevail upon Queequeg to take a chair; but in vain.  老板娘走后,我关上了门,试图说服魁魁格坐到椅子上来;但是,白费。

There he sat; and all he could do-for all my polite arts and blandishments 他坐在那里;他所能做的...尽管我用尽了种种客气的办法来讨好他...

he would not move a peg², nor say a single word, nor even look at me, nor notice my presence in any the slightest way. 就是一动不动,一言不发,甚至连看都不看我一眼,完全当我不在他跟前那样。

I wonder, thought I, if this can possibly be a part of his Ramadan; do they fast on their hams that way in his native island.  我想,我不知道这会不会是他的斋戒的一部分;在他老家,他们就是这么盘腿而坐地断食的吧。

It must be so; yes, it's a part of his creed,I suppose; well, then, let him rest; he'll get up sooner or later, no doubt.  一定是这样;不错,这就是他的信条的一部分,我猜想;好吧,那么就让他去吧;毫无问题,他迟早总会起来。

It can't last for ever, thank God, and his Ramadan only comes once a year; and I don't believe it's very punctual then. 谢天谢地,这是不会一直这样下去的,好在他的斋戒只是一年一次(不过当时我还不相信这是很准时进行的)。

I went down to supper. After sitting a long time listening to the long stories of some sailors who had just come from a plum-pudding voyage,  我下楼去吃晚饭。我在那里坐了好久,听着几个刚从葡萄干布丁航行。

as they called it (that is, a short whaling-voyage in a schooner³ or brig, confined to the north of the line, in the Atlantic Ocean only);  他们是这样叫法的,那就是,坐着斯库那船回来的水手滔滔不绝地讲了许多故事;

after listening to these plum-puddingers till nearly eleven o'clock,  听他们讲到将近十一点钟的时候,

I went up stairs to go to bed, feeling quite sure by this time Queequeg must certainly have brought his Ramadan to a termination.  我又上楼想去睡觉,心里很有把握地认为,这会儿,魁魁格一定做好他的斋戒了。

But no; there he was just where I had left him;  可是,不;他还是象我刚才走开时那样坐在那里;

he had not stirred an inch.  分毫未动。

I began to grow vexed⁴ with him; it seemed so downright senseless and insane to be sitting there all day and half the night on his hams in a cold room,  我开始对他着恼了;这样一整天加上大半夜蹲在一个冷冰冰的房间里,双手捧着一块木头顶在头上,

holding a piece of wood on his head. 看来简直就是愚蠢和发疯。

For heaven's sake, Queequeg, get up and shake yourself; get up and have some supper.  魁魁格,千万请你起来,走动一下吧;起来吃点晚饭。

You'll starve; you'll kill yourself, Queequeg. But not a word did he reply. 你会饿坏的;你会把自己弄死的,魁魁格。但是,他一言不答。

1 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

2 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

3 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

4 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》