英语听书《白鲸记》第486期

 Chapter 47 The Mat-Maker 第四十七章 编缏人

It was a cloudy, sultry afternoon; 这天下午，阴云密布，十分闷热。

the seamen¹ were lazily lounging about the decks, or vacantly gazing over into the lead-colored waters. 水手们有的懒散地在甲板上荡来荡去，有的茫然地眺望着那铅灰色的海面。

Queequeg and I were mildly employed weaving what is called a sword-mat, for an additional lashing² to our boat. 我和魁魁格却在慢条斯理地编一种叫做剑缏的缏子(剑缏——一种用棉纱编织的似阔带子的缏子，用以盘扎索具等物，使其不致因碰撞摩擦而损坏。)，用来添缚我们那只小艇。

So still and subdued³ and yet somehow preluding was all the scene,  整个景色如此静寂。柔和，然而，不知怎的，却好象要发生什么事情似的，

and such an incantation of revelry lurked⁴ in the air, that each silent sailor seemed resolved into his own invisible self. 空中又隐伏有那么一种使人陷入遐想的魔力，弄得每个默默的水手都似乎各自化成幽灵了。

I was the attendant or page of Queequeg, while busy at the mat. 在忙着编缏子的时候，我就是魁魁格的随从和小厮。

As I kept passing and repassing the filling or woof of marline between the long yarns⁶ of the warp⁷, using my own hand for the shuttle, 这时，我不断地把纬线往复地穿织在一长排经纱中，用我的手做梭子，

and as Queequeg, standing⁸ sideways, ever and anon slid his heavy oaken sword between the threads, 魁魁格则站在一旁，时时用他那把沉重的橡木剑在线索间轻轻一勒，

and idly looking off upon the water, carelessly and unthinkingly drove home every yarn⁵; 懒散地望望海面，又漫不经心而心不在焉地把每根纱线敲拢。

I say so strange a dreaminess did there then reign⁹ all over the ship and all over the sea, 我说，这时整个船上，整个海面确是这么奇如梦境；

only broken by the intermitting dull sound of the sword, that it seemed as if this were the Loom¹⁰ of Time, 只有间歇的沉闷的击剑声在打破沉默，仿佛这就是时辰的机杼(参阅《浮士德》第一部《夜》中的话：“我架起时辰的机杼，替神性制造生动的衣裳。”(见郭沫若译本，人民文学出版社出版))，

and I myself were a shuttle mechanically weaving and weaving away at the Fates. 我自己就是一只梭子，无意识地对着命运之神往返地织下去(参阅《旧约。约伯记》第七章六节：“我的日子比梭更快，都消耗在无指望之中。”)，

There lay the fixed¹¹ threads of the warp subject to but one single, ever returning, unchanging vibration¹², 织机上的经线是固定不动的，只能单调的，始终不变地往返摆动一下，

and that vibration merely enough to admit of the crosswise interblending of other threads with its own. 而每次震动也只能够把交叉穿进来的另一根线收拢来，跟它自己混在一起。

This warp seemed necessity; and here, thought I, with my own hand I ply¹³ my own shuttle and weave my own destiny into these unalterable threads.  这种经线似乎就是定数，我心里想，我就在这里用我自己的手，投我自己的梭，把我自己的命运织进这些不可更易的绳线里。

Meantime, Queequeg's impulsive¹⁴, indifferent sword, 这时，魁魁格那把冲动而漫不经心的木剑，

sometimes hitting the woof slantingly, or crookedly¹⁵, or strongly, or weakly, as the case might be; 就随机应变地，或轻或重，或斜或弯地击着那纬线；

and by this difference in the concluding blow producing a corresponding contrast in the final aspect of the completed fabric¹⁶; 于是，由于这种斜曲轻重不同的击拍，结果就在整块织物的最后形式上产生出了相应的差别。

this savage's sword, thought I, which thus finally shapes and fashions both warp and woof; 我在想，这把最后把经纬线弄成这种式样的野蛮的木剑；

this easy, indifferent sword must be chance--  这把漫不经心的木剑一定就是机会——

aye, chance, free will, and necessity--no wise incompatible-- all interweavingly working together. 是呀，机会。自由意志和定数——一点儿也不矛盾——都交织在一起了。

1 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

2 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

6 yarns   

n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事

参考例句：

• ...vegetable-dyed yarns. 用植物染料染过色的纱线 来自辞典例句
• Fibers may be loosely or tightly twisted into yarns. 纤维可以是膨松地或紧密地捻成纱线。 来自辞典例句

7 warp   

vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见

参考例句：

• The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。
• A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

10 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

13 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

14 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

15 crookedly   

adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地

参考例句：

• A crow flew crookedly like a shadow over the end of the salt lake. 一只乌鸦像个影子般地在盐湖的另一边鬼鬼祟祟地飞来飞去的。

16 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。