英语听书《白鲸记》第772期

 　　In good time, nevertheless, as the ardor¹ of youth declines; as years and dumps increase; as reflection lends her solemn pauses; 然而，到了相当的时候，随着青春活力的衰退，随着年事日长，烦恼增加，随着反射作用的真正终止；

　　in short, as a general lassitude overtakes the sated Turk; then a love of ease and virtue² supplants³ the love for maidens⁴; 总之，随着这个饱餍的土耳其人已经意兴阑珊；于是，从前的爱美人就为如今的爱安逸、修德行所取而代之了；

　　our Ottoman enters upon the impotent, repentant⁵, admonitory stage of life, forswears, disbands the harem, 这样，我们这位土耳其贵族便开始踏上体衰力弱、自我忏悔、劝人行善的生活阶段，毅然遣散全部妻妾，

　　and grown to an exemplary, sulky old soul, goes about all alone among the meridians⁶ and parallels saying his prayers, 精神逐渐阴郁、苍老、事事都想为人表率，孤身寡人地到处走动，诵经祈祷，

　　and warning each young Leviathan from his amorous⁷ errors. 并以自己的情海孽恨告诫年青的鲸莫蹈覆辙。

　　Now, as the harem of whales is called by the fishermen a school, so is the lord and master of that school technically⁸ known as the schoolmaster. 既然鲸类的妻妾，捕鱼人都管它叫做学校，那么，这个学校的主持人顾名思义就得称为校长了。

　　It is therefore not in strict character, however admirably satirical, 因此，不管多么奇妙可笑，这并不是很严格地说，

　　that after going to school himself, he should then go abroad inculcating not what he learned there, but the folly⁹ of it. 它自己进了学校之后，它出洋讲学所灌输的，就一定不是它所在行的东西，只是乱搞一通罢了。

　　His title, schoolmaster, would very naturally seem derived¹⁰ from the name bestowed¹¹ upon the harem itself, 它这个校长的称号，虽则十分自然地，似乎是来自那赐给它的妻妾的名称，

　　but some have surmised¹² that the man who first thus entitled this sort of Ottoman whale, must have read the memoirs¹³ of Vidocq, 不过，有人不免推测，认为那个这样首先给这种土耳其贵族的大鲸封上这个尊号的人，一定读过了维多克的《回忆录》，

　　and informed himself what sort of a country-schoolmaster that famous Frenchman was in his younger days, 还熟知这个著名的法国人在少年的时候，

　　and what was the nature of those occult lessons he inculcated into some of his pupils. 是个什么样的乡村小学校校长，也知道他对他的一些学生灌输了什么神秘性质的课程。

1 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

2 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

3 supplants   

把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• But hope is a mistaken emotion in our business. It'supplants reason, It'supplants rigor dollarstocks. 但是在我们的商业中，希望是个错误。它替代了理智，替代了严谨–尤其当你的股票成为低价股的时候。
• A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. 这是一个用法治取代恃强凌弱规则的世界。

4 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 repentant   

adj.对…感到悔恨的

参考例句：

• He was repentant when he saw what he'd done.他看到自己的作为，心里悔恨。
• I'll be meek under their coldness and repentant of my evil ways.我愿意乖乖地忍受她们的奚落，忏悔我过去的恶行。

6 meridians   

n.子午圈( meridian的名词复数 )；子午线；顶点；（权力，成就等的）全盛时期

参考例句：

• Meridians are great circles passing through both poles. 经线均为通过两极。 来自辞典例句
• The Cutaneous Regions are within the domains of the Twelve Regular Meridians. 十二皮部是十二经脉功能活动反映于体表的部位，也是络脉之气散布之所在。 来自互联网

7 amorous   

adj.多情的；有关爱情的

参考例句：

• They exchanged amorous glances and clearly made known their passions.二人眉来眼去，以目传情。
• She gave him an amorous look.她脉脉含情的看他一眼。

8 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

9 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

10 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》

11 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

12 surmised   

v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想

参考例句：

• From the looks on their faces, I surmised that they had had an argument. 看他们的脸色，我猜想他们之间发生了争执。
• From his letter I surmised that he was unhappy. 我从他的信中推测他并不快乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》