英语听书《白鲸记》第481期

 Lionel, it seems, was on his way to "John Ferdinando," as he calls the modern Juan Fernandes. 当时，莱昂内尔好象正驶向约翰·费迪南多的途中——这是他管现代的胡安·费尔南德斯(胡安·费尔南德斯——在南太平洋，智利西面的一个群岛。)的叫法。

"In our way thither," he says, "about four o'clock in the morning, when we were about one hundred and fifty leagues from the Main of America, “在我们驶到那地方去的途中，”他说，“大约是早晨四点钟的时候，当时，我们已经离开美国本土约四百五十英里，

our ship felt a terrible shock, which put our men in such consternation¹ that they could hardly tell where they were or what to think; 突然我们的船受了猛烈的一撞，把船上的人吓得魂不附体，不知所措；

but every one began to prepare for death. 大家都准备等死。

And, indeed, the shock was so sudden and violent, that we took it for granted the ship had struck against a rock; 老实说，那一撞可真来得又突然又猛烈，我们还当是船触了礁；

but when the amazement² was a little over, we cast the lead, and sounded, but found no ground... 但是惊魂甫定，我们放下测锤，探一探水的深浅，却弄不出个结果来......

The suddenness of the shock made the guns leap in their carriages, and several of the men were shaken out of their hammocks. 这阵突然的震动，弄得枪枝都在枪架上跳动了起来，还有几个人被甩出了吊铺。

Captain Davis, who lay with his head on a gun, was thrown out of his cabin!"  头枕着枪躺在那里的戴维斯船长，也给摔出了船长室!”

Lionel then goes on to impute³ the shock to an earthquake, 莱昂内尔接着却把这震动归之于地震，

and seems to substantiate⁴ the imputation⁵ by stating that a great earthquake, somewhere about that time, did actually do great mischief⁶ along the Spanish land. 而且象是为了要证实这种张冠李戴的事情，还声称大概当时什么地方确曾有过一次大地震，在西班牙地方酿下了大祸。

But I should not much wonder if, in the darkness of that early hour of the morning,  可是，我却毫不怀疑地认为，可能就在那漆黑的破晓时分，

the shock was after all caused by an unseen whale vertically⁷ bumping the hull⁸ from beneath. 有一只大家都没看到的大鲸，从船身底下直冲上来，这才有这么一震。

I might proceed with several more examples, one way or another known to me, of the great power and malice⁹ at times of the sperm¹⁰ whale.  多少再提出几个例证来。我倒想就我所知的，关于抹香鲸常常显出的威力和作恶情况，

In more than one instance, he has been known, 据说，有过许多次实例，

not only to chase the assailing¹¹ boats back to their ships, but to pursue the ship itself, and long withstand all the lances hurled¹² at him from its decks. 它不但把攻击它的小艇赶回大船上去，还要追赶大船，跟甲板上投下来的一切枪矛做长期抵抗。

The English ship Pusie Hall can tell a story on that head; 那艘叫做“普西·霍尔”的英国船，在这方面就可以讲得颇为有声有色；

and, as for his strength, let me say, 至于说到它的力气，我不妨举出这样的譬喻：

that there have been examples where the lines attached to a running sperm whale have, in a calm, been transferred to the ship,and secured there! 如果在风平浪静的海里，把绳索缚在一只疾游的抹香鲸身上，然后再系牢在船身上，那么，

the whale towing her great hull through the water, as a horse walks off with a cart. 那条鲸在拖曳大船冲过水面的时候，就跟骏马拖着车子疾奔而去一样。

Again, it is very often observed that, 还有，人们常常这样说：

if the sperm whale, once struck, is allowed time to rally, he then acts, not so often with blind rage, as with wilful¹³, deliberate designs of destruction to his pursuers; 如果抹香鲸一经打中，而有时间让它恢复精力的话，那么，它往往并不是那么瞎冒火，而是做得好象存心要盘算谋划，摧毁它的追捕者；

nor is it without conveying some eloquent¹⁴ indication of his character, 同时，这也不无带点儿夸张它的性格的说法，

that upon being attacked he will frequently open his mouth, and retain it in that dread¹⁵ expansion for several consecutive¹⁶ minutes. 那就是，每当它被打中的时候，它总要大张着口，而且那种可怕的张开状态还要持续好几分钟。

But I must be content with only one more and a concluding illustration; 不过，我一定要再举出一个结论性的说明，这才称心满意：

a remarkable¹⁷ and most significant one, by which you will not fail to see, 从这个值得注意和最具有意义的例证中，你就一定可以看出来，

that not only is the most marvellous event in this book corroborated¹⁸ by plain facts of the present day, 本书所载的这些由明晰的事实所证实的惊奇事件，并不是现代才有的，

but that these marvels¹⁹ (like all marvels) are mere²⁰ repetitions of the ages; 这些奇迹(一如所有的奇迹一样)，都不过是年代久远的旧事重提而已；

so that for the millionth time we say amen with Solomon-- verily there is nothing new under the sun. 所以，我们才千千万万次对所罗门说阿门——的确，日光之下并无新事(见《旧约.传道书》第一章九节。)。

1 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 impute   

v.归咎于

参考例句：

• I impute his failure to laziness.我把他的失败归咎于他的懒惰。
• It is grossly unfair to impute blame to the United Nations.把责任归咎于联合国极其不公。

4 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。

5 imputation   

n.归罪，责难

参考例句：

• I could not rest under the imputation.我受到诋毁，无法平静。
• He resented the imputation that he had any responsibility for what she did.把她所作的事情要他承担，这一责难，使他非常恼火。

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

7 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

8 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

9 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

10 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

11 assailing   

v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• Last-minute doubts were assailing her. 最后一分钟中的犹豫涌上心头。 来自辞典例句
• The pressing darkness increased the tension in every student's heart, assailing them with a nameless fear. 黑暗压下来，使每个人的心情变得更紧张。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

12 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

14 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

15 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

16 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

17 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

18 corroborated   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. 此证据由两名独立证人提供。
• Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

20 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。