英语听书《白鲸记》第246期

 There now came a lull¹ in his look, as he silently turned over the leaves of the Book once more;  这时,他的脸色平静下来了,他再次悄悄翻着《圣经》;

and, at last, standing² motionless, with closed eyes, for the moment, seemed communing with God and himself. 最后,他紧闭双眼.一动不动地站了一会,象在跟上帝交谈似的。

But again he leaned over towards the people, and bowing his head lowly, with an aspect of the deepest yet manliest³ humility⁴, he spake these words: 但是,他又伛着身子,对着下边的人群,低垂着头,以一种非常深切而又极富有男子气概的谦恭态度,说出这些话来:

Shipmates, God has laid but one hand upon you; both his hands press upon me.  船友们,上帝放在你们身上的只有一只手;可是按在我身上的却是一双手。

I have read ye by what murky⁵ light may be mine the lesson that Jonah teaches to all sinners; and therefore to ye, and still more to me, for I am a greater sinner than ye.  我刚才已经用了我的可以说是不很清楚的见解给你们讲出了约拿告诫一切犯罪者的教训了;因此,这些教训与其说是对你们的,不如说是对我自己的,因为我是个比你们更大的犯罪者。

And now how gladly would I come down from this mast-head and sit on the hatches there where you sit, and listen as you listen,  现在,要是我能够从这个桅顶似的地方走下来,坐到你们坐着的那些舱口上,象你们听我一样地听着,

while some one of you reads me that other and more awful lesson which Jonah teaches to me, as a pilot of the living God.  而让你们中间哪一位来对我念约拿所告诉我的,告诉我这个身为永生之主的舵工的另外一些更可怕的教训,那可多愉快呵。

How being an anointed pilot-prophet, or speaker of true things and bidden by the Lord to sound those unwelcome truths in the ears of a wicked Nineveh,  让我来听你们讲约拿这个搽了圣油的舵工的先知,也可以说是一个传播真理的人,受了主的嘱托,

Jonah, appalled⁶ at the hostility⁷ he should raise, fled from his mission, and sought to escape his duty and his God by taking ship at Joppa.  去对邪恶的尼尼微人传播那些不受欢迎的真理,可他却因害怕会惹起那里的人的敌意而逃避了自己的使命,想逃避他的职守和他的上帝,竟跑到约帕去乘船。上帝是无所不在的;约拿永远也对他无计可施。

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 manliest   

manly（有男子气概的）的最高级形式

参考例句：

4 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

5 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

6 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。