英语听书《白鲸记》第270期

 Nothing more happened on the passage worthy¹ the mentioning; so, after a fine run, we safely arrived in Nantucket. 一路上再也没发生什么值得一提的事;因此,在一段顺利的航驶后,我们安抵南塔开特了。

Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it.  南塔开特!你不妨拿出地图来瞧一瞧。

See what a real corner of the world it occupies; how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse.  看它究竟是在这世界的哪个角落里;看它是怎样一种形势,它远离陆地,比厄梯斯通灯塔还要孤寂。

Look at it-a mere² hillock, and elbow of sand; all beach, without a background.  你瞧...它只不过是个小山丘,一弯沙地;全是沙滩,无依无靠。

There is more sand there than you would use in twenty years as a substitute for blotting³ paper.  那些沙可够你当吸水纸用上二十年而绰有余裕。

Some gamesome wights will tell you that they have to plant weeds there, they don't grow naturally;  有些爱开玩笑的家伙会对你说:南塔开特人得在沙地上种杂草,因为那儿没有天生的杂草;

that they import Canada thistles; that they have to send beyond seas for a spile to stop a leak in an oil cask;  又说他们从加拿大运来了蓟草,他们为了要堵住一只油桶的裂口,得远涉重洋去找一只塞子;

that pieces of wood in Nantucket are carried about like bits of the true cross in Rome;  又说南塔开特人把几片柴块背来背去,犹如罗马人背了几个真正的十字架;

that people there plant toadstools before their houses, to get under the shade in summer time;  这里的人都在屋前种菌,以便夏天在菌荫下乘凉;

that one blade of grass makes an oasis⁴, three blades in a day's walk a prairie;  又说什么一片青草就可成为一个绿洲,三片青草就足以成为走上一天的大草原;

that they wear quicksand shoes, something like Laplander snow-shoes;  他们都穿着流砂的鞋子,有点象拉伯兰人的雪靴;

that they are so shut up, belted about, every way inclosed, surrounded, and made an utter island of by the ocean,  最后说是因为他们这么被海洋所困所围,四面团团围起而成为一个孤岛,

that to their very chairs and tables small clams⁵ will sometimes be found adhering as to the backs of sea turtles.  以致他们的台子椅子往往都粘上了小贝壳,如同海龟的背上粘着贝壳那般。

But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois. 总之,这些夸张其词的说法,无非是要表示南塔开特不能跟伊利诺斯州相提并论而已。

Look now at the wondrous⁶ traditional story of how this island was settled by the red-men. Thus goes the legend.  现在让我们来看看红种人怎样在这个岛上定居下来的那一奇特的传说吧。传奇上是这样说的:

In olden times an eagle swooped⁷ down upon the New England coast and carried off an infant Indian in his talons⁸.  古时候,有一只鹰突然猛飞下来,扑落在新英格兰的海岸上,攫走了一个印第安的婴孩。

1 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

2 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。

3 blotting   

吸墨水纸

参考例句：

• Water will permeate blotting paper. 水能渗透吸水纸。
• One dab with blotting-paper and the ink was dry. 用吸墨纸轻轻按了一下，墨水就乾了。

4 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

5 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

6 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

7 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

8 talons   

n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部

参考例句：

• The fingers were curved like talons, but they closed on empty air. 他的指头弯得像鹰爪一样，可是抓了个空。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• The tiger has a pair of talons. 老虎有一对利爪。 来自辞典例句