英语听书《白鲸记》第956期

 Flat obedience¹ to thy own flat commands, this is all thou breathest. 决无二话地服从你那决无二话的命令，这就是你所要求的一切。

Aye, and say'st the men have vow²'d thy vow; say'st all of us are Ahabs. Great God forbid! 是呀，而且咬定大家都已经立过了誓；咬定要我们大家都做亚哈。决没有这回事！

But is there no other way? no lawful³ way? — Make him a prisoner to be taken home? 不过，难道就没有旁的办法吗？没有合法的方法吗？——不可把他关起来，把他当做一个囚犯给带回家去吗？

What! hope to wrest⁴ this old man's living power from his own living hands? Only a fool would try it. 怎么！想打这老头的手里活活剥夺他的权力嘛？这只有傻瓜才敢去试。

Say he were pinioned⁵ even; knotted all over with ropes and hawsers⁶; 甚至就是把他背绑起来；用大小绳索把他浑身都箍住扎牢；

chained down to ring-bolts on this cabin floor; he would be more hideous⁷ than a caged tiger, then. 用铰链给锁起来，扔在这个舱室的地板上；他还是比关在笼里的老虎还更可怕。

I could not endure the sight; could not possibly fly his howlings; 我受不了这光景；任怎样都得听到他的咆哮声；

all comfort, sleep itself, inestimable reason would leave me on the long intolerable voyage. 在这么漫长难挨的航程上，我将是不得太平，无法安眠，心绪缭乱了。

What, then, remains⁸? The land is hundreds of leagues away, and locked Japan the nearest. 那么，又该怎么办呢。这里离开陆地又有好几百里，最毗近的地方嘛，却是闭关自守的日本。

I stand alone here upon an open sea, with two oceans and a whole continent between me and law. — Aye, aye, 'tis so. 我孤零零地呆在辽阔的海洋上，在我和法律间却拦着两个大洋和整整一个大陆——。唉，唉，真是——。

Is heaven a murderer when its lightning strikes a would-be murderer in his bed, tindering sheets and skin together? 如果上天的雷电把一个杀人未遂犯给击死在他的床铺上，把床单和皮肤都烧在一起'难道上天就是杀人犯吗？

And would I be a murderer, then, if" 那么，如果——我会是个杀人犯嘛"

and slowly, stealthily, and half sideways looking, he placed the loaded musket's end against the door. 他迟缓地、偷偷地侧身望着，把那支装着火药的枪尖抵在门上。

 

1 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

2 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

3 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

4 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

5 pinioned   

v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His arms were pinioned to his sides. 他的双臂被绑在身体两侧。
• Pinioned by the press of men around them, they were unable to move. 周围的人群挤压着他们，使他们动弹不得。 来自辞典例句

6 hawsers   

n.（供系船或下锚用的）缆索，锚链( hawser的名词复数 )

参考例句：

7 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。