英语听书《白鲸记》第349期

 This ignorant, unconscious fearlessness of his made him a little waggish¹ in the matter of whales; he followed these fish for the fun of it;  他这种愚昧无知的无畏精神,使他有点把捕鲸当成一件儿戏;他只是为了好玩才去追击这些大鱼;

and a three years' voyage round Cape² Horn was only a jolly joke that lasted that length of time.  而环游合恩角的三年航程,也不过是时间上比较长些的有趣的玩笑而已。

As a carpenter's nails are divided into wrought³ nails and cut nails; so mankind may be similarly divided.  木匠的钉子有粗钉和细钉之分;人类也同样可以这样分法。

Little Flask⁴ was one of the wrought ones; made to clinch⁵ tight and last long. They called him King-Post on board of the Pequod;  小弗拉斯克就是一种粗钉;生成可以派敲得紧,经得久的用场。他们都管他叫做"裴廓德号"上的中柱;

because, in form, he could be well likened to the short, square timber known by that name in Arctic whalers;  因为,他那副样子,可真象北极的捕鲸者所称为中柱的那种短小四方的木头;

and which by the means of many radiating side timbers inserted into it, serves to brace⁶ the ship against the icy concussions⁷ of those battering⁸ seas. 它靠着嵌在它里面的四边突出的小木头,可以用来拉紧船只,免得遭到海洋的七凸八凹的冰块的冲击。

Now these three mates--Starbuck, Stubb and Flask, were momentous⁹ men.  说到大二三副这三个人...斯达巴克,斯塔布和弗拉斯克,都是举足轻重的人物。

They it was who by universal prescription¹⁰ commanded three of the Pequod's boats as headsmen.  按照到处通行的旧习惯,统率"裴廓德号"三只小艇,担任指挥的就是他们这三个人。

In that grand order of battle in which Captain Ahab would probably marshal his forces to descend¹¹ on the whales, these three headsmen were as captains of companies.  碰到摆开大架势的战斗,亚哈船长可能要去施展全力降伏大鲸的时候,这三个指挥者就是联合船长了。

Or, being armed with their long keen whaling spears, they were as a picked trio of lancers; even as the harpooneers were flingers of javelins¹². 有的时候,一经配备了长长的。锐利的鲸枪,他们就是三个精选的枪手,如同那些标枪手也是好标枪手一样。

And since in this famous fishery, each mate or headsman, like a Gothic Knight¹³ of old, is always accompanied by his boat-steerer or harpooneer,  同时,因为在这种著名的捕鱼业中,大二三副或者指挥者,都象古代的峨特武士一样,总各有他的掌舵手和标枪手随侍在侧,

who in certain conjunctures provides him with a fresh lance, when the former one has been badly twisted, or elbowed in the assault;  这些人,逢到指挥者在猎击中,鱼枪一时间给扭坏了,弄弯了,便可以及时地给他递上一支新枪;

and moreover, as there generally subsists¹⁴ between the two, a close intimacy¹⁵ and friendliness¹⁶;  而且,一般说来,他们彼此间还都保持着一种亲切的友谊;

it is therefore but meet, that in this place we set down who the Pequod's harpooneers were, and to what headsman each of them belonged. 因此,在这里,必须把"裴廓德号"那些个标枪手也给记点下来,并说明一下他们是各归哪一位指挥者管辖的。

First of all was Queequeg, whom Starbuck, the chief mate, had selected for his squire¹⁷. But Queequeg is already known. 首先是魁魁格,大副斯达巴克已经把他挑去做他的随从了。不过,魁魁格我们已经知道了,这里无庸多说。

1 waggish   

adj.诙谐的，滑稽的

参考例句：

• The house had been facetiously named by some waggish officer.这房子是由某个机智幽默的军官命名的。
• During this melancholy pause,the turnkey read his newspaper with a waggish look.在这个忧郁的停歇期间，看守滑稽地阅读着报纸。

2 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

3 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

4 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

5 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

6 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

7 concussions   

n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动

参考例句：

• People who have concussions often trouble thinking or remembering. 患脑震荡的人通常存在思考和记忆障碍。 来自互联网
• Concussions also make a person feel very tired or angry. 脑震荡也会使人感觉疲倦或愤怒。 来自互联网

8 battering   

n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。
• He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

11 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

12 javelins   

n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. 在正面交火之前，庞大的兵团会整体向前移动并投掷标枪。 来自互联网
• Elite mercenaries, originally from Aragon, armed with javelins and light armour. 加泰罗尼亚标枪兵为精锐雇佣部队，最初来自阿拉贡，装备标枪和轻甲。 来自互联网

13 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

14 subsists   

v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This plant subsists in water holes only during the rainy season. 这种植物只有雨季在水坑里出现。 来自辞典例句
• The hinge is that the enterprise subsists on suiting the development of data communication. 适应数据通信的发展是通信企业生存的关键。 来自互联网

15 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

16 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

17 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。