英语听书《白鲸记》第404期

 In the serene¹ weather of the tropics it is exceedingly pleasant the mast-head: nay², to a dreamy meditative³ man it is delightful⁴.  在热带那种晴朗的天气中,站在桅顶上可真非常愉快,对于梦想家说来,也是挺快活的。

There you stand, a hundred feet above the silent decks, striding along the deep, as if the masts were gigantic stilts⁵, while beneath you and between your legs, as it were, swim the hugest monsters of the sea, even as ships once sailed between the boots of the famous Colossus at old Rhodes.  你站在那里,距离寂静的甲板有一百英尺,叉开两腿站在正中间,仿佛船桅就是巨大的高跷,这时,在你的下面和双脚间,却正游着海里许多硕大无朋的巨兽,正和船只穿过古代罗兹岛的著名的巨的双脚驶去一样。

There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled⁶ but the waves.  你站在那里,沉迷于一片连绵不绝的波涛中,除了巨浪号啸,一无杂音。

The tranced ship indolently rolls; the drowsy⁷ trade winds blow; everything resolves you into languor⁸.  那只出神了似的船,懒洋洋地颠簸前进;催眠似的贸易风徐徐吹来;一切都存心要弄得你昏昏乏力。

For the most part, in this tropic whaling life, a sublime⁹ uneventfulness invests you; you hear no news; read no gazettes; extras with startling accounts of commonplaces never delude¹⁰ you into unnecessary excitements;  在这种热带的捕鲸生活中,大多是会教你觉得非常平平稳稳的;你听不到消息,读不到刊物;决不会有什么额外惊人的日常琐事来使你引起不必要的激动;

you hear of no domestic afflictions; bankrupt securities; fall of stocks; are never troubled with the thought of what you shall have for dinner-for all your meals for three years and more are snugly¹² stowed in casks, and your bill of fare is immutable¹³. 你听不到国内的苦恼情况;证券破产:股票跌落;也决不会叫你因想到晚饭要吃什么而烦恼。。。。。。因为你三年多的饭食都已舒舒齐齐地储藏在桶里,而且你的菜单是不变的。

In one of those southern whalesmen, on a long three or four years' voyage, as often happens, the sum of the various hours you spend at the mast-head would amount to several entire months.  一个南海的捕鲸者,在长长三四年的航程里,花在桅顶上的钟点,加起来往往可以等于整整几个月。

And it is much to be deplored¹⁴ that the place to which you devote so considerable a portion of the whole term of your natural life, should be so sadly destitute¹⁵ of anything approaching to a cosy¹⁶ inhabitiveness,  叫人极感遗憾的是,在你献出了你整整一生的这么大部分时间的地方,竟是一点也没有任何接近于可以舒适居住。

or adapted to breed a comfortable localness of feeling, such as pertains¹⁷ to a bed, a hammock, a hearse, a sentry¹⁸ box, a pulpit, a coach, or any other of those small and snug¹¹ contrivances in which men temporarily isolate¹⁹ themselves.  或者教人产生一种安顿的感觉的地方,比如说有只床铺,一张吊床,一个棺架,一个哨亭,一个讲坛,一只榻子或者任何一种可以使人暂时独自休憩一下的细小而舒适的东西。

1 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

2 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

3 meditative   

adj.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• A stupid fellow is talkative;a wise man is meditative.蠢人饶舌，智者思虑。
• Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.音乐能够引导倾听者沉思。

4 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

5 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

7 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

8 languor   

n.无精力，倦怠

参考例句：

• It was hot,yet with a sweet languor about it.天气是炎热的，然而却有一种惬意的懒洋洋的感觉。
• She,in her languor,had not troubled to eat much.她懒懒的，没吃多少东西。

9 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

10 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

11 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

12 snugly   

adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地

参考例句：

• Jamie was snugly wrapped in a white woolen scarf. 杰米围着一条白色羊毛围巾舒适而暖和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmyard was snugly sheltered with buildings on three sides. 这个农家院三面都有楼房，遮得很严实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 immutable   

adj.不可改变的，永恒的

参考例句：

• Nothing in the world is immutable.世界没有一成不变的东西。
• They free our minds from considering our world as fixed and immutable.它们改变着人们将世界看作是永恒不变的观点。

14 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

15 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

16 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

17 pertains   

关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用

参考例句：

• When one manages upward, none of these clear and unambiguous symbols pertains. 当一个人由下而上地管理时，这些明确无误的信号就全都不复存在了。
• Her conduct hardly pertains to a lady. 她的行为与女士身份不太相符。

18 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

19 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。