英语听书《白鲸记》第370期

 And here be it said, that the Greenland whale is an usurper¹ upon the throne of the seas.  而且,其中也只有一个人是真正的职业标枪手和捕鲸人。我指的是斯哥斯比船长。

He is not even by any means the largest of the whales.  在论格陵兰大鲸,又称露脊鲸的各别的科目中,他是现存的最优秀的权威。

Yet, owing to the long priority of his claims, and the profound ignorance which till some seventy years back, invested the then fabulous² and utterly³ unknown sperm⁴-whale,  但是,对于那种抹香鲸(与之相比,格陵兰鲸几乎是不值一提的),斯哥斯比还是毫无所知,一无记载。

and which ignorance to this present day still reigns⁵ in all but some few scientific retreats and whale-ports;  不过,请注意,格陵兰鲸是海上王座的僭夺者。它甚至还算不上鲸中的最大的呢。

Reference to nearly all the leviathanic allusions⁶ in the great poets of past days, will satisfy you that the Greenland whale, without one rival, was to them the monarch⁷ of the seas.  人们几乎查遍了过去许多伟大诗人的有关大海兽的一切引喻,都只能看到格陵兰鲸就是诗人眼中的世无其匹的海上王君。

But the time has at last come for a new proclamation.  但是,终于到了喊出新的呼声的时候了。

This is Charing⁸ Cross; hear ye! good people all,--the Greenland whale is deposed,the great sperm whale now reigneth! 你们听着,一切的善男信女呀,格陵兰鲸已经被黜废了,大抹香鲸才是当今的主宰者!

There are only two books in being which at all pretend to put the living sperm whale before you, and at the same time, in the remotest degree succeed in the attempt.  只有两本书自以为已经让你看到活的抹香鲸,同时,就其成就的程度说来,却还差得很远。

Those books are Beale's and Bennett's; both in their time surgeons to the English South-Sea whale-ships, and both exact and reliable men.  这就是比尔和贝内特所写的两本书;他们两人都曾经做过当时英国南海捕鲸船的船医,并且都是严正可靠的人物。

The original matter touching⁹ the sperm whale to be found in their volumes is necessarily small; but so far as it goes, it is of excellent quality, though mostly confined to scientific description.  要在他们的书中找到有关抹香鲸的原始材料必然是不会很多的;不过,就其仅有的材料说来,却都是上乘的,虽然大多还是局限于科学性的记述。

As yet, however, the sperm whale, scientific or poetic¹⁰, lives not complete in any literature.  不过,迄今说来,不论在科学的或者诗歌的作品中,对于抹香鲸仍是记载不完全的。

1 usurper   

n. 篡夺者, 僭取者

参考例句：

• The usurper wrested the power from the king. 篡位者从国王手里夺取了权力。
• The usurper took power by force. 篡夺者武装夺取了权力。

2 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

3 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

4 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。

5 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

6 allusions   

暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。
• The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。

7 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

8 charing   

n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣

参考例句：

• We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句
• No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

9 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

10 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。