英语听书《白鲸记》第721期

 It was an admirable artistic¹ exploit, rarely achieved by the best harpooneers of the present day; inasmuch as this Leviathan was slain² at the very first dart³. 这真是一个值得称羡、技巧高明的赫赫伟绩，一枪就把那只大海兽给戳死了，即使近代的最优秀的标枪手也是难望其项背的。

And let no man doubt this Arkite story; 谁也不该怀疑这个亚基人的故事，

for in the ancient Joppa, now Jaffa, on the Syrian coast, 因为在叙利亚海岸那个古代叫做佐伯，现今叫做佐发的地方，

in one of the Pagan temples, there stood for many ages the vast skeleton of a whale, 在那些异教徒的神庙中，其中有一个神庙就多年来保存有一条大鲸的骷髅，

which the city's legends and all the inhabitants asserted to be the identical bones of the monster that Perseus slew⁴. 这只大骷髅，根据那城市的传说和全体居民的说法，都认为就是柏修斯所杀死的那只巨兽的真正的尸骨。

When the Romans took Joppa, the same skeleton was carried to Italy in triumph. 当罗马人征服了佐伯、凯旋回归意大利的时候，这一架骷髅也被一起带走了。

What seems most singular and suggestively important in this story, is this: it was from Joppa that Jonah set sail. 而在这个故事中，它的最为奇妙而又富有参考意义之处似乎是：约拿也是从佐伯启碇的。

Akin⁵ to the adventure of Perseus and Andromeda, 类似于柏修斯和安待洛美达的险遇的，

indeed, by some supposed to be indirectly⁶ derived⁷ from it—is that famous story of St. George and the Dragon; which dragon I maintain to have been a whale; 有人的确认为是间接由它而来的——就是圣乔治和大龙的著名的故事；这条龙，我却认为就是大鲸；

for in many old chronicles whales and dragons are strangely jumbled⁸ together, and often stand for each other. 因为在许多古代史中，都奇怪地把鲸和龙混淆一起，而且往往互为顶替。

"Thou art as a lion of the waters, and as a dragon of the sea," said Ezekiel; hereby, plainly meaning a whale; "你如同江河的狮子，也如同海里的龙，"以西结说，这就是明显指着大鲸。

in truth, some versions of the Bible use that word itself. 事实上，有若干《圣经》的译文就径用鲸这个词儿。

Besides, it would much subtract from the glory of the exploit had St. George, but encountered a crawling reptile⁹ of the land,  此外，如果圣乔治只是在陆地上打死一只爬行动物，那他的辉煌伟绩一定大为减色，

instead of doing battle with the great monster of the deep.  而不是跟那海里的巨兽战斗过的话。

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

3 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

4 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

5 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

6 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 jumbled   

adj.混乱的；杂乱的

参考例句：

• Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
• The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

9 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。