英语听书《白鲸记》第480期

 "By the thirteenth of May our ship was ready to sail, "到了五月十三日，我们的船准备启航了，

and the next day we were out in the open sea, on our way to Ochotsh. 隔天，我们已经驶到辽阔的海洋，朝奥绰兹进发。

The weather was very clear and fine, 天气十分晴朗，

but so intolerably cold that we were obliged to keep on our fur clothing.  只是冷得难耐，我们还不得不穿皮衣。

For some days we had very little wind; 有几天简直没有风，

it was not till the nineteenth that a brisk gale¹ from the northwest sprang up. 直到十九日，才从西北方刮来一阵疾风。

An uncommonly² large whale, the body of which was larger than the ship itself, 这时，有一条非常大的鲸，身体比船还大，

lay almost at the surface of the water, 简直就是躺在海面上，

but was not perceived by any one on board till the moment when the ship, 但是，船上的人却一个也没有看到它；

which was in full sail, was almost upon him, 直等到疾驶的船差不多要碰上它的时候才发觉，

so that it was impossible to prevent its striking against him. 所以要想不碰到它也已是不可能了。

We were thus placed in the most imminent³ danger, 我们就这样处于最危急的险境里，

as this gigantic creature, setting up its back, 因为这条巨大的东西，

raised the ship three feet at least out of the water.  背脊一挺，就把我们的船抛出水面至少有三英尺之高。

The masts reeled, and the sails fell altogether, 船桅都晃晃动了，篷帆也都落在一起，

while we who were below all sprang instantly upon the deck, 在下面的人都立刻奔上甲板来，

concluding that we had struck upon some rock; 以为我们已经触了礁；

instead of this we saw the monster sailing off with the utmost gravity and solemnity.  然而，我们却看到那只巨兽非常沉着而一本正经地游了开去。

Captain D'Wolf applied⁴ immediately to the pumps to examine whether or not the vessel⁵ had received any damage from the shock, 德窝尔夫船长立刻用抽水机去检查，看看船是否给撞伤了，

but we found that very happily it had escaped entirely⁶ uninjured." 结果，很幸运，我们发现完全没有受损。"

Now, the Captain D'Wolf here alluded⁷ to as commanding the ship in question, 这里所提到的统率这条船的德窝尔夫船长，

is a New Englander, who, after a long life of unusual adventures as a sea-captain, 是个新英格兰人，他在长期经历了船长的不平凡的惊险生活后，

this day resides in the village of Dorchester near Boston.  如今还住在波士顿附近的达彻斯特镇上。

I have the honor of being a nephew of his.  我有幸忝为他的外甥。

I have particularly questioned him concerning this passage in Langsdorff.  我曾经特别问到他关于兰斯多尔夫这段文章。

He substantiates⁸ every word.  他把每一个字都给证实了。

The ship, however, was by no means a large one:  不过，这艘船并不很大：

a Russian craft built on the Siberian coast,  它是在西伯利亚沿海一带造出来的俄国船，

and purchased by my uncle after bartering⁹ away the vessel in which he sailed from home. 后来我舅舅将自己从家里驶去的那艘船卖掉了，才把它买过来。

In that up and down manly¹⁰ book of old-fashioned adventure,  在那本一派雄赳赳气概的、记载古色古香的险遇的书本中，

so full, too, of honest wonders--the voyage of Lionel Wafer,  也记有许多朴实的奇遇，

one of ancient Dampier's old chums-- 我在从前丹皮尔(威廉.丹皮尔(１６５２—１７１５)——英国航海家，也是强盗式探险家，从小就过海上生活，到过和发现了许多地方。)的老朋友之一，莱昂内尔.韦斐(莱昂内尔.韦斐(１６６０—１７０５)——英国强盗式探险家，最后因获得英国政府宽赦而回国，一六九九年著有一本关于美洲海峡的航行记。)的航行记中——

I found a little matter set down so like that just quoted from Langsdorff,  发现那上面记的东西，有点象我刚才提到的兰斯多尔夫的一样，

that I cannot forbear inserting it here for a corroborative¹¹ example, 使我不禁想把它插在这里，作为增补的例证，

if such be needed. 如果这是需要的话。

1 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

2 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

3 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

8 substantiates   

v.用事实支持（某主张、说法等），证明，证实( substantiate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Confirms or establishes authenticity; substantiates. 确认真实性；证实。 来自互联网
• The painting substantiates the feelings of the artist. 这幅画表达了这位画家的情感。 来自互联网

9 bartering   

v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Parliament would be touchy about bartering British soil for ships. 用英国国土换取舰只，议会感到为难。 来自辞典例句
• In former times trade was based on bartering--goods were exchanged for other goods. 以前，贸易是以易货（即货物交换）的方式进行的。 来自辞典例句

10 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

11 corroborative   

adj.确证（性）的，确凿的

参考例句：

• Is there any corroborative evidence for this theory? 是否有进一步说明问题的论据来支持这个理论？
• They convicted the wrong man on the basis of a signed confession with no corroborative evidence. 凭一张有签名的认罪书而没有确凿的佐证，他们就错误地判了那人有罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》