英语听书《白鲸记》第679期

 Ere this, you must have plainly seen the truth of what I started with, 到这里为止，你一定可以明白地看到我开头所说的话是否真实了，

that the Sperm¹ Whale and the Right Whale have almost entirely² different heads. 那就是，抹香鲸和露脊鲸可说有着全然不同的头颅。

To sum up, then: in the Right Whale's there is no great well of sperm; no ivory teeth at all;  那么，归纳起来说：在露脊鲸的头里，并没有大量的油源，根本没有牙骨一般的齿，

no long, slender mandible of a lower jaw³, like the Sperm Whale's. 也没有象抹香鲸一样的、修长的下巴颏。

Nor in the Sperm Whale are there any of those blinds of bone; no huge lower lip; and scarcely anything of a tongue. 而在抹香鲸的嘴里，也没有那种细长帘子一般的须骨，没有大大的下唇，也没有一条舌头似的东西。

Again, the Right Whale has two external spout-holes, the Sperm Whale only one. 再说，露脊鲸的外边有两个喷水孔，抹香鲸却只有一个。

Look your last now, on these venerable hooded⁴ heads, while they yet lie together; 那么，趁它们现在还摆在一起的时候，请你最后再望一望这两只包扎得紧紧密密的森严的头颅吧，

for one will soon sink, unrecorded, in the sea; the other will not be very long in following. 因为一只就要给毫无标记地抛进海里，另一只，不多久也要跟着下去了。

Can you catch the expression of the Sperm Whale's there? 你可看到那条抹香鲸的表情吗？

It is the same he died with, only some of the longer wrinkles in the forehead now seem faded away. 它活着也是这副模样，只不过前额上的几条比较长的皱纹，现在似乎已经消失了。

I think his broad brow to be full of a prairie-like placidity⁵, born of a speculative⁶ indifference⁷ as to death. 我认为它那昂阔的天庭，就完全具有一种似大草原的恬静情调，天生就是一副视死如归的气概。

But mark the other head's expression. 可是，再看一看另一只头的表情吧。

See that amazing lower lip, pressed by accident against the vessel's side, so as firmly to embrace the jaw. 看它那片不幸给船舷撞扁了因而紧闭着嘴的惊人的下唇吧，

Does not this whole head seem to speak of an enormous practical resolution in facing death? 这整副嘴脸可不象是表示出一种临死不屈的巨大决心吗？

This Right Whale I take to have been a Stoic⁸; the Sperm Whale, a Platonian, who might have taken up Spinoza in his latter years. 我认定这条露脊鲸原来一定是个禁欲家；那条抹香鲸一定是个柏拉图主义者，它在晚年也许已把斯宾诺莎收做徒弟了。

1 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。

2 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。

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

5 placidity   

n.平静，安静，温和

参考例句：

• Miss Pross inquired,with placidity.普洛丝小姐不动声色地问。
• The swift and indifferent placidity of that look troubled me.那一扫而过的冷漠沉静的目光使我深感不安。

6 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

7 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

8 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。