英语听书《白鲸记》第769期

 　　Chapter 88 Schools and Schoolmasters

　　第八十八章 鲸队和队长（原文有学校与校长的意思，作者在本章中即以其双关意义随意讽喻。）

　　The previous chapter gave account of an immense body or herd¹ of Sperm² Whales, and there was also then given the probable cause inducing those vast aggregations³.

　　上一章已经说到了大群抹香鲸，还说到为什么会有这么一大群的大概的原因。

　　Now, though such great bodies are at times encountered, yet, as must have been seen, even at the present day, small detached bands are occasionally observed, embracing from twenty to fifty individuals each. Such bands are known as schools. They generally are of two sorts; those composed almost entirely⁴ of females, and those mustering⁵ none but young vigorous males, or bulls as they are familiarly designated.

　　虽说常常可以碰到这样大群的鲸，甚至在现今，也还一定可以看到，不过偶尔也可以看到零星小股鲸群，每群约自二十到五十条不等。这种小股鲸群就被称为鲸队。它们大约可以分为两类：一类差不多全都是阴性的，还有一类却都是体壮力强的雄赳赳的阳性，或者就照大家叫惯的名字管它们叫雄鲸吧。

　　In cavalier attendance upon the school of females, you invariably see a male of full grown magnitude, but not old; who, upon any alarm, evinces his gallantry by falling in the rear and covering the flight of his ladies. In truth, this gentleman is a luxurious⁶ Ottoman, swimming about over the watery⁷ world, surroundingly accompanied by all the solaces⁸ and endearments⁹ of the harem. The contrast between this Ottoman and his concubines is striking; because, while he is always of the largest leviathanic proportions, the ladies, even at full growth, are not more than one-third of the bulk of an average-sized male.

　　雌鲸队的随从，始终是一只茁壮硕大、年纪不大的雄鲸，一遇紧急情况，它就英勇豪迈地游到后面，掩护着它那些太太小姐逃命。其实，这位仁兄是个穷奢极欲的土耳其贵族，在水乡里游来游去，前呼后拥的尽是些娇妻美妾。这位土耳其贵族跟它那些妻妾的对比倒是相当触目的；因为，它总是身躯最大的大海兽，而那些贵妇，即使是成长了的，也不过只有这种大鲸的平均体躯的三分之一。

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 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。

3 aggregations   

n.聚集( aggregation的名词复数 )；集成；集结；聚集体

参考例句：

• A pattern of overlapping aggregations is usually found. 通常可发现一种叠聚集现象。 来自辞典例句
• The atoms of the different chemical elements are different aggregations of atoms of the same kind. 不同化学元素的原子是同类原子的不同聚合物。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 mustering   

v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发

参考例句：

• He paused again, mustering his strength and thoughts. 他又停下来，集中力量，聚精会神。 来自辞典例句
• The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. 这是万军之耶和华点齐军队，预备打仗。 来自互联网

6 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

7 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。

8 solaces   

n.安慰，安慰物( solace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Next to love, it is the one thing which solaces and delights. 除了爱情，也就数这事能给人安慰，令人愉快了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved. 来自所爱之人的安慰再多，情人也不嫌。 来自互联网

9 endearments   

n.表示爱慕的话语，亲热的表示( endearment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were whispering endearments to each other. 他们彼此低声倾吐着爱慕之情。
• He held me close to him, murmuring endearments. 他抱紧了我，喃喃述说着爱意。 来自辞典例句