英语听书《白鲸记》第449期

 How it was that they so aboundingly responded to the old man's ire--by what evil magic their souls were possessed¹, that at times his hate seemed almost theirs;  究竟这些人物怎会这样齐心一致地应和着这老头的忿怒，他们的心灵究竟是着了什么魔法,才弄得亚哈的仇恨有时简直也就是他们的仇恨;

the White Whale as much their insufferable foe² as his;  那条白鲸好象也就是他们的不共戴天的宿敌,

how all this came to be--what the White Whale was to them, or how to their unconscious understandings, also, in some dim, unsuspected way, he might have seemed the gliding³ great demon⁴ of the seas of life,all this to explain, would be to dive deeper than Ishmael can go.  怎么会出现这种情况。他们对白鲸究竟是怎么看法,或者说,在他们那无意识的理解力中有点模糊而无可怀疑地认为,白鲸也许就象是个蠕动的海魔王,那又是怎么回事。要把这一切都解释清楚,却不是我这个以实玛利所能再进一步追索下去的。

The subterranean⁵ miner that works in us all, how can one tell whither leads his shaft⁶ by the ever shifting, muffled⁷ sound of his pick?  那个蛊惑了我们全体的地下矿工:那种地下的。看不见的隧道和地峡似的生命。谁能从他那始终变动。

Who does not feel the irresistible⁸ arm drag?  模模糊糊的挖掘声中,知道他的矿井是在什么地方呢?

What skiff in tow of a seventy-four can stand still? For one, I gave myself up to the abandonment of the time and the place;  谁不曾感到有一只难以抗拒的胳膊在拉着呢?

but while yet all a-rush to encounter the whale, could see naught⁹ in that brute¹⁰ but the deadliest ill. 一只被一艘装有七十四门大炮的兵舰拖曳着的轻艇,怎能停住不动呢?就我说来,我已经决心要忘却时间和空间了;不过当大家早晚一窝蜂地去攻击大鲸的时候,我却只能在那个野物身上看到那种致命的凶相。

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

3 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

4 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

5 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

6 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

7 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

9 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

10 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。