英语听书《白鲸记》第498期

 Softly, softly, and steadily¹, my men. 慢些，慢些，沉着些，我的伙伴们。

Only pull, and keep pulling; nothing more. 只要划，不停地划就行；这就够了。

Crack all your backbones², and bite your knives in two--that's all. 过分用劲，会弄伤你们的脊骨，把你们的短刀咬成两段，就是这么一回事。

Take it easy--why don't ye take it easy, I say, and burst all your livers and lungs!" 别着急呀！你们着的什么急呀，我说，那会把你们的肝肺都爆出来的！"

But what it was that inscrutable Ahab said to that tiger-yellow crew of his--these were words best omitted here; 但是，那个神秘莫测的亚哈究竟对他那些褐色的水手说些什么——这些话还是在这儿给略了为妙，

for you live under the blessed light of the evangelical land. 因为你毕竟活在这个遵从福音的世界的圣光里。

Only the infidel sharks in the audacious seas may give ear to such words, 只有生活在无耻的海里的那些没有信仰的鲨鱼才高兴听这种话，

when with tornado³ brow, and eyes of red murder, and foam-glued lips, Ahab leaped after his prey⁴. 况且这时又正是亚哈眉毛如旋风，眼睛杀气腾腾，嘴巴粘着涎沫在急起直追他的猎物的时候。

Meanwhile, all the boats tore on.  这时，四只小艇都疾驰猛冲而去。

The repeated specific allusions⁵ of Flask⁶ to "that whale," 弗拉斯克一再在转弯抹角地提到"那条大鲸"(这是他对那只虚构的巨兽的叫法)，

as he called the fictitious⁷ monster which he declared to be incessantly⁸ tantalizing⁹ his boat's bow with its tail-- 他说"那条大鲸"老是不停地用它的尾巴在逗弄船头——

these allusions of his were at times so vivid and life-like, 他这些转弯抹角的说话有时说得那么逼真和活龙活现，

that they would cause some one or two of his men to snatch a fearful look over his shoulder. 以致有两个水手突然回过头去惊讶地一望。

But this was against all rule; 这可是有违常规的；

for the oarsmen must put out their eyes, and ram¹⁰ a skewer¹¹ through their necks; 因为桨手必须摘掉眼睛，脖子上得撑着一把小剑；在这种紧要关头中，

usages announcing that they must have no organs but ears; 习俗要求他们只带耳朵，不带别的器官，

and no limbs but arms, in these critical moments. 只带胳膊不带别的肢体。

It was a sight full of quick wonder and awe¹²! 这真是叫人看了又敬畏又惊奇！

The vast swells¹³ of the omnipotent¹⁴ sea; 全能的大海的滚滚浪涛，

the surging, hollow roar they made, as they rolled along the eight gunwales, 澎湃空泛的号啸，冲击着八面船舷，

like gigantic bowls in a boundless¹⁵ bowling-green; 象是在一望无际的木球草地上滚着的大木球；

the brief suspended agony of the boat, 小艇给挂在浪峰上那种短促的呻吟声，

as it would tip for an instant on the knife-like edge of the sharper waves, 仿佛当即擦上了浪潮的锋利刀刃，

that almost seemed threatening to cut it in two; 几乎眼看就要给割成两段，

the sudden profound dip into the watery¹⁶ glens and hollows; 突然间又急坠进了水汪汪的溪谷和洼地里，

the keen spurrings and goadings to gain the top of the opposite hill; 如象用靴刺踢马催迫它去争夺对面的山头，

the headlong, sled-like slide down its other side; 又从那边的另一个斜坡疾如雪橇滑了下去

all these, with the cries of the headsmen and harpooneers, and the shuddering¹⁷ gasps¹⁸ of the oarsmen, 所有这一切，加上指挥人和标枪手的叫喊声，桨手们的抖抖索索的喘气声，

with the wondrous¹⁹ sight of the ivory Pequod bearing down upon her boats with outstretched sails,like a wild hen after her screaming brood; 又加上那只象疯狂的母鸡在追它那些吓得尖叫的小鸡的象牙骨的"裴廓德号"，张满篷帆直对它四只小艇冲过去的奇观。

all this was thrilling. 这一切都是教人惊心动魄的。

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 backbones   

n.骨干( backbone的名词复数 )；脊骨；骨气；脊骨状物

参考例句：

• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？ 来自辞典例句
• Simply adding bandwidth to the Internet backbones is not an answer. 只是简单的在互联网骨架上增加带宽是应付不了的。 来自互联网

3 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 allusions   

暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。
• The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。

6 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

7 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

8 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

9 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

10 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

11 skewer   

n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好

参考例句：

• I used a skewer to make an extra hole in my belt.我用扦子在腰带上又打了一个眼儿。
• He skewered his victim through the neck.他用扦子刺穿了受害人的脖子。

12 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

13 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

14 omnipotent   

adj.全能的，万能的

参考例句：

• When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science.我们达到万能以后就不需要科学了。
• Money is not omnipotent,but we can't survive without money.金钱不是万能的，但是没有金钱我们却无法生存。

15 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

16 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

17 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

18 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。