英语听书《白鲸记》第816期

 　　Removing the fire-board from the front of the try-works, the bare masonry¹ of that side is exposed, penetrated² by the two iron mouths of the furnaces, directly underneath³ the pots. These mouths are fitted with heavy doors of iron. The intense heat of the fire is prevented from communicating itself to the deck, by means of a shallow reservoir extending under the entire inclosed surface of the works. By a tunnel inserted at the rear, this reservoir is kept replenished⁴ with water as fast as it evaporates. There are no external chimneys; they open direct from the rear wall. And here let us go back for a moment.

　　拿开炼油间前面那块遮炉板，就可以看到泥水作物的那一面，它装有两扇铁灶门，锅子就安在这只铁炉上。两扇炉门都用最结实的铁板打成。为了不让炉里的猛火跟甲板相通，整个炼油间的密封的下层还装有一个浅浅的储水器。储水器后面，装有一根管子，这样，水一蒸发就可以不断加进冷水。它外面并没有烟囱；烟囱直通后边的墙上伸出去。这里，让我们打回头说一下吧。

　　It was about nine o'clock at night that the Pequod's try-works were first started on this present voyage. It belonged to Stubb to oversee⁵ the business.

　　裴廓德号在这次航行上，第一次使用炼油间的时间是夜间九点钟左右。监督这个工作的是斯塔布。

　　All ready there? Off hatch, then, and start her. You cook, fire the works. This was an easy thing, for the carpenter had been thrusting his shavings into the furnace throughout the passage. Here be it said that in a whaling voyage the first fire in the try-works has to be fed for a time with wood. After that no wood is used, except as a means of quick ignition to the staple⁶ fuel. In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps⁷ or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous⁸ properties. These fritters feed the flames. Like a plethoric⁹ burning martyr¹⁰, or a self-consuming misanthrope¹¹, once ignited, the whale supplies his own fuel and burns by his own body.

　　都准备好了么？那么，打开舱口，开始吧。火夫，你烧吧。烧火是件容易对付的差使，因为在整个航行期间，木匠一直把他那些刨花扔进灶肚里。这里必须说明一下，在捕鲸航行中，炼油间初次发火，得先把木柴烧一阵，木柴烧过后，就用不着再加柴，除非是要使原来的燃料发火更快，才再加一些。总之，等到油炼出来后，那种卷缩的油渣（现在管它叫下脚或者油渣吧）里面，还含有不少油质。这些油渣就可以用来烧火。正象一个遭火刑的热血沸腾的殉道者，或者一个自暴自弃的厌世者那样，火一烧上，这条大鲸就以自己的燃料来烧它自己的身体。

1 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

2 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

7 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

8 unctuous   

adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的

参考例句：

• He speaks in unctuous tones.他说话油腔滑调。
• He made an unctuous assurance.他做了个虚请假意的承诺。

9 plethoric   

adj.过多的，多血症的

参考例句：

10 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

11 misanthrope   

n.恨人类的人；厌世者

参考例句：

• While not a commercial success-a pattern largely unbroken until I'm Your Man-this lackadaisical triumph is an inspiration to the misanthrope in us all. 尽管并不是一个商业上的成功，这一模式直到《我是你的男人》才被打破。 这个漫不经心的胜利是对独来独往的我们的一个激励。
• If this all strikes you as fancy, handlebar moustache talk from an old misanthrope who doesn't get things like whatever the hell we're calling “conversations” this week, maybe you're on to something. 如果你觉得我所说的复杂，就像我们今周所说的一个守旧的不愿与他人来往的人在自言自语，那可能你准备做其他事。