英语听书《白鲸记》第223期

 You could pretty plainly tell how long each one had been ashore¹.  人们可以很清楚地看出每一个人已经在岸上呆了多久。

This young fellow's healthy cheek is like a sun-toasted pear in hue², and would seem to smell almost as musky; he cannot have been three days landed from his Indian voyage.  这个小伙子的面颊血色很好,跟只烤过太阳的梨子一样,似乎闻起来还几乎有股麝香味道;他一定刚从印度洋航行回来还不到三天。

That man next him looks a few shades lighter³; you might say a touch of satin wood is in him.  那个坐在他旁边的人,脸上的色泽稍微淡些;可以说他身上有点儿椴木的味道。

In the complexion⁴ of a third still lingers a tropic tawn, but slightly bleached⁵ withal; he doubtless has tarried whole weeks ashore.  至于那第三个人的肤色,虽然还隐约有种热带的黄褐色,但是已经稍微泛白;他必定已在岸上逗留了好几个星期。

But who could show a cheek like Queequeg?  但是,谁能判明象魁魁格那样的面颊呢?

Which, barred with various tints⁶, seemed like the Andes' western slope, to show forth⁷ in one array, contrasting climates, zone by zone. 那张面颊划上各种颜色的线条,看来就跟安达斯山脉的西侧一样,一丘丘地现出显著不同的地势。

"Grub, ho!" now cried the landlord, flinging open a door, and in we went to breakfast.  "吃饭啊!"这时,店老板高声叫嚷,我们推开了门,进去吃早餐了。

They say that men who have seen the world, thereby⁸ become quite at ease in manner, quite self-possessed⁹ in company.  据说,凡是见过世面的人,态度就会显得相当悠闲自在,在众人面前也表现得相当沉着冷静。

Not always, though: Ledyard, the great New England traveller, and Mungo Park, the Scotch¹⁰ one; of all men, they possessed the least assurance in the parlor¹¹.  然而,这也并不尽然,比如那个新英格兰的大旅行家莱迪亚德,和那个苏格兰人芒戈帕克;他们在会客厅里都没有别人那样悠然自得。

But perhaps the mere¹² crossing of Siberia in a sledge¹³ drawn¹⁴ by dogs as Ledyard did, or the taking a long solitary¹⁵ walk on an empty stomach,  不过,也许象莱迪亚德那样只坐过狗橇经过了西伯利亚,或者象可怜的芒戈那样,所有的经历只是空着肚皮,

in the negro heart of Africa, which was the sum of poor Mungo's performances-this kind of travel, I say, may not be the very best mode of attaining¹⁶ a high social polish.  在漫长而孤寂的非洲的黑人腹地里散步了一趟...这种旅行,我说,也许不是一种能够获得上流社会的修养的最好的方法。

Still, for the most part, that sort of thing is to be had anywhere. 而且,这种事情,大抵是无论什么地方都可以碰到的。

These reflections just here are occasioned by the circumstance that after we were all seated at the table, and I was preparing to hear some good stories about whaling;  我的这些感想是在我们都挨着桌边坐下来后突然产生的,因为当时我正准备听听一些捕鲸的有趣故事;

to my no small surprise nearly every man maintained a profound silence.  可是,使我惊奇不小的是,几乎每个人都一言不发,非常沉默。

And not only that, but they looked embarrassed.  不仅如此,他们还显得忸怩不安呢。

1 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

2 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

3 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

4 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

5 bleached   

漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的

参考例句：

• His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。
• The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。

6 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

9 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

10 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

11 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 sledge   

n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往

参考例句：

• The sledge gained momentum as it ran down the hill.雪橇从山上下冲时的动力越来越大。
• The sledge slid across the snow as lightly as a boat on the water.雪橇在雪原上轻巧地滑行，就象船在水上行驶一样。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

16 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。