英语听书《白鲸记》第335期

 And if the idea of peril¹ so much enhances the popular conceit² of the soldier's profession;  许多军队一从这种战场上回来,就在太太们的掌声中开怀畅饮。如果由于一般人把当兵看成是种危险的职业,因而大大抬高了他们的骄气的话,那么,

let me assure ye that many a veteran who has freely marched up to a battery, would quickly recoil³ at the apparition⁴ of the sperm⁵ whale's vast tail, fanning into eddies⁶ the air over his head.  我敢说,许多原来是毫无所谓地跨上炮台的老兵,一碰上那在他头顶刮起小旋风的。幽灵似的抹香鲸的巨大尾巴时,却会立刻畏缩起来。

For what are the comprehensible terrors of man compared with the interlinked terrors and wonders of God! 因为人类所能理解的恐怖,怎能同上帝的奇观和恐怖结合在一起的东西相比呢!

But, though the world scouts⁷ at us whale hunters, yet does it unwittingly pay us the profoundest homage⁸;  但是,世间虽然瞧不起我们这些捕鲸者,却又不知不觉地对我们寄以最深切的敬意;而且还给以无限的崇拜呢!

yea, an all-abounding adoration⁹! for almost all the tapers¹⁰, lamps, and candles that burn round the globe, burn, as before so many shrines¹¹, to our glory! 因为,差不多一切照耀整个地球的,以及照耀在那许多圣殿之前的大小灯烛,都得归于我们的功劳!

But look at this matter in other lights; weigh it in all sorts of scales; see what we whalemen are, and have been. 不过,我们不妨再从另一种角度来观察这事情;把它放到各种天平上衡量一番;看看我们这些捕鲸者究竟是些什么人,干下了些什么事情。

Why did the Dutch in De Witt's time have admirals of their whaling fleets?  在德。威特时代的荷兰,为什么捕鲸队会有大将?

Why did Louis XVI of France, at his own personal expense, fit out whaling ships from Dunkirk, and politely invite to that town some score or two of families from our own island of Nantucket?  法国的路易十六,为什么要自掏腰包到敦刻尔克去置办一些捕鲸船,还到我们南塔开特来礼邀几十份人家到敦刻尔克去?

Why did Britain between the years 1750 and 1788 pay to her whalemen in bounties¹² upwards¹³ of 1,000,000 pounds?  英国在一七五○年到一七八八年间,为什么付给捕鲸者的奖金竟高达一百万英镑呢?

And lastly, how comes it that we whalemen of America now outnumber all the rest of the banded whalemen in the world;  最后,我们美国的捕鲸者的数目现在怎样会超过世界所有捕鲸者的总数;

sail a navy of upwards of seven hundred vessels¹⁴; manned by eighteen thousand men; yearly consuming 00824,000,000 of dollars;  捕鲸队的船只多达七百艘;人数多达一万八千人;每年耗费四百万美元;

the ships worth, at the time of sailing, 20,000,000 dollars;  当时航行的船只价值二千万美元!

and every year importing into our harbors a well reaped harvest of 00847,000,000 dollars.  每年有高达七百万美元的收获输进我们的港口。

How comes all this, if there be not something puissant¹⁵ in whaling? 如果不是由于捕鲸业的威力,哪来的这一切呢?

1 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

2 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

3 recoil   

vi.退却，退缩，畏缩

参考例句：

• Most people would recoil at the sight of the snake.许多人看见蛇都会向后退缩。
• Revenge may recoil upon the person who takes it.报复者常会受到报应。

4 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

5 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

6 eddies   

（水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Viscosity overwhelms the smallest eddies and converts their energy into heat. 粘性制服了最小的旋涡而将其能量转换为热。
• But their work appears to merge in the study of large eddies. 但在大旋涡的研究上，他们的工作看来却殊途同归。

7 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

8 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

9 adoration   

n.爱慕，崇拜

参考例句：

• He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。
• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。

10 tapers   

（长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛

参考例句：

• The pencil tapers to a sharp point. 铅笔的一段细成笔尖。
• She put five tapers on the cake. 她在蛋糕上放了五只小蜡烛。

11 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

12 bounties   

（由政府提供的）奖金( bounty的名词复数 )； 赏金； 慷慨； 大方

参考例句：

• They paid bounties for people to give up their weapons. 他们向放下武器的人发放赏金。
• This foundation provided bounties of more than 5 million last year. 去年该基金会赠款达五百万元以上。

13 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

14 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 puissant   

adj.强有力的

参考例句：

• The young man has a puissant body.这个年轻人有一副强壮的身体。
• Global shipbuilding industry is puissant in conformity burst forth.全球造船业在整合中强力迸发。