英语听书《白鲸记》第401期

 It was during the more pleasant weather, that in due rotation¹ with the other seamen² my first mast-head came round. 刚好是个比较令人愉快的天气,我跟其他一些水手轮值,挨到我初次去做桅顶望者。

In most American whalemen the mast-heads are manned almost simultaneously³ with the vessel's leaving her port; even though she may have fifteen thousand miles, and more, to sail ere reaching her proper cruising ground.  大多数美国捕鲸船,差不多船只一离开港埠,就同时配置了桅顶望者;即使船只到达它的正式的巡游场,还有一万五千海里以上的航程也是如此。

And if, after a three, four, or five years' voyage she is drawing nigh home with anything empty in her-say, an empty vial even-then, her mast-heads are kept manned to the last! 如果在航行了三五年后,船只已将靠近家门,船里什么东西都空了...比如说,连一只小瓶子也空了的时候,还是要把桅顶望者配置到底,

And not till her skysail-poles sail in among the spires⁴ of the port, does she altogether relinquish⁵ the hope of capturing one whale more. 要到船只的最上桅杆驶进港埠的塔尖丛中,才会完全放弃它那再捉到一条大鲸的希望。

Now, as the business of standing⁶ mast-heads, ashore⁷ or afloat, is a very ancient and interesting one, let us in some measure expatiate⁸ here.  因为桅顶望这项差使,不论是停泊还是行驶的时候,都是一桩古趣盎然的工作,所以,我们不妨在这里稍为细说一番。

I take it, that the earliest standers of mast-heads were the old Egyptians; because, in all my researches, I find none prior to them.  我认为,最早的桅顶

1 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

2 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

3 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

8 expatiate   

v.细说，详述

参考例句：

• The tendency to expatiate and make much of local advantages was Western.喜欢唠唠叨叨、夸张本地优点的脾气是西部特有的。
• My present purpose is not to expatiate upon my walks.现在我并不打算絮絮不休地描述我的散步。