英语听书《白鲸记》第234期

 Like most old fashioned pulpits, it was a very lofty one, and since a regular stairs to such a height would,  象大多数的老式讲坛一样,这个讲坛很高,这样高的讲坛,

by its long angle with the floor, seriously contract the already small area of the chapel¹, the architect, it seemed,  如果搭上一个普通的踏级,跟地板形成很大的一个角度,势必大大缩小这个本来面积就很小的教堂的地位,

had acted upon the hint of Father Mapple, and finished the pulpit without a stairs, substituting a perpendicular² side ladder,  因此,那个建筑师似乎按照梅普尔神甫的示意,而造了一只没有踏级的讲坛,只在旁边加上一只垂直的靠梯,

like those used in mounting a ship from a boat at sea.  跟在海上从小艇攀上大船时所用的软梯一样。

The wife of a whaling captain had provided the chapel with a handsome pair of red worsted man-ropes for this ladder,  一个捕鲸船长的太太给这个小教堂送来了一副相当漂亮的用坏了的红色舷门索做梯子,

which, being itself nicely headed, and stained with a mahogany color, the whole contrivance, considering what manner of chapel it was, seemed by no means in bad taste.  那副绳索,因为索头本来就编结得很好看,而且染着一种赤褐色,所以整个装置,配上小教堂原来那种格调,倒也毫无不当之处。

Halting for an instant at the foot of the ladder, and with both hands grasping the ornamental³ knobs of the man-ropes,  梅普尔神甫在梯脚停了一会后,双手抓住舷门索上的装饰品似的结头,

Father Mapple cast a look upwards⁴, and then with a truly sailor-like but still reverential dexterity⁵,  先把眼睛往上一望,再以一种真正的水手式却又不失牧师身份的灵巧身段,

hand over hand, mounted the steps as if ascending⁶ the main-top of his vessel⁷. 手换着手,登上梯级,仿佛登上他的船只的大桅楼。

The perpendicular parts of this side ladder, as is usually the case with swinging ones, were of cloth-covered rope, only the rounds were of wood,  这张靠梯的两边,象通常那种摇摇摆摆的软梯一样,是用包布的绳索做成的,不过,因为踏级是用木棍做成的,

so that at every step there was a joint⁸.  所以每一级都有一个接节。

At my first glimpse of the pulpit, it had not escaped me that however convenient for a ship, these joints⁹ in the present instance seemed unnecessary.  当我初眼瞥到这个讲坛时,立刻就看出这只靠梯尽管用在一般船只上很方便,可是用在这里,这些接节似乎都是多余的。

For I was not prepared to see Father Mapple after gaining the height, slowly turn round,  因为我料不到会看到梅普尔神甫在爬到了上边后,又慢慢转过身来,蹲在讲坛边,慢条斯理地把这只靠梯一级一级地拉上去,

and stooping over the pulpit, deliberately¹⁰ drag up the ladder step by step, till the whole was deposited within, leaving him impregnable in his little Quebec. 直把整只梯子都拉上去,放在讲坛里边,让他自己高处在他那难以攻陷的小魁北克中。

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

3 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

4 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

5 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

6 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

10 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。