英语听书《白鲸记》第456期

 I assert, then, that in the wondrous¹ bodily whiteness of the bird chiefly lurks² the secret of the spell; 于是,我坚称,在这种浑身白色的奇妙的鸟身上,主要地就隐存有一种符咒的秘密;

a truth the more evinced in this, that by a solecism of terms there are birds called grey albatrosses;  这见之于一种由于用词不当而被称为灰信天翁的鸟,便更见确实了;

and these I have frequently seen, but never with such emotions as when I beheld³ the Antarctic fowl⁴. 虽然我常常见到这种鸟,却从来没有象我看到这只南极鸟时这样的激动。

But how had the mystic thing been caught?  可是,这只神秘的东西是怎样被捉到的呢?

Whisper it not, and I will tell; with a treacherous⁵ hook and line, as the fowl floated on the sea.  请别作声,容我道来;它在海上漂的时候,只消用只诡诈的钩子和一根绳子就行。

At last the Captain made a postman of it; tying a lettered, leathern tally⁶ round its neck, with the ship's time and place; and then letting it escape.  最后,船长叫它当一下信差,在它的颈上缚着一件似皮制的。有字的符印,上面写着船只的时间和地点;然后,就让它飞走。

But I doubt not, that leathern tally, meant for man, was taken off in Heaven, when the white fowl flew to join the wing-folding, the invoking⁷, and adoring cherubim! 但是,我确定,那块似皮制的符印,按照人类的本意,是要它飞到那合着翅膀,有祈求力,受人崇拜的小天使群里,去交给天国的。 　

Most famous in our Western annals and Indian traditions is that of the White Steed of the Prairies;  山脉和阿利根尼山脉一带。当它昂起那如火的脑袋向西疾驰的时候,就跟每天晚上那颗诱使群星发光的神选的明星一样。

a magnificent milk-white charger, large-eyed, small-headed, bluff-chested, and with the dignity of a thousand monarchs⁸ in his lofty, overscorning carriage.  那滚滚如小瀑布的鬃毛,那弧形如彗星的尾巴,都使它的鞍褥比之银匠所能给它装备的更为辉煌灿烂。

He was the elected Xerxes of vast herds⁹ of wild horses, whose pastures in those days were only fenced by the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies.  它是那种不朽的西方世界的最庄严和天使似的幽灵,在古代的设陷阱者和猎手看来,就是原始时代的光荣的再现,当时亚当就象这匹雄伟的骏马一样显赫,昂首无畏。

At their flaming head he westward¹⁰ trooped it like that chosen star which every evening leads on the hosts of light. The flashing cascade¹¹ of his mane, the curving comet of his tail, invested him with housings more resplendent than gold and silver-beaters could have furnished him.  步武庄重地走着。不论是置身在它的僚属和将领之间,率领着那些一望无垠地布满整个平原(象一个俄亥俄州)的无数部队前进,还是置身于遍地的臣民之中,这只白驹总是衬着它那冷冷的乳白色吸溜着热得发红的鼻孔,往前驰骋。

1 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

2 lurks   

n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Behind his cool exterior lurks a reckless and frustrated person. 在冷酷的外表背后，他是一个鲁莽又不得志的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fortune lies within Bad, Bad fortune lurks within good. 福兮祸所倚，祸兮福所伏。 来自互联网

3 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

4 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

5 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

6 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

7 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句

8 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

9 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

10 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

11 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。