英语听书《白鲸记》第271期

 With loud lament¹ the parents saw their child borne out of sight over the wide waters.  那婴孩的父母高声恸哭地眼看他们的小孩被拖过了辽阔的海洋而消逝了。

They resolved to follow in the same direction.  他们决定循着那个方向去找。

Setting out in their canoes, after a perilous² passage they discovered the island,  他们坐着独木小舟出发,经过千难万险的航行后,发现了这个小岛,

and there they found an empty ivory casket,the poor little Indian's skeleton. 他们在这里找到了一只空的象牙盒子似的东西...那个可怜的小印第安人的骸骨。

What wonder, then, that these Nantucketers, born on a beach, should take to the sea for a livelihood³!  那么,这些南塔开特人,生在河滩,出海谋生,就不足为奇了!

They first caught crabs⁴ and quahogs in the sand; grown bolder, they waded⁵ out with nets for mackerel;  他们起先在沙滩上捉蟹摸蛤,后来胆子逐渐大了,就涉过浅水滩,用网去捕青花鱼;

more experienced, they pushed off in boats and captured cod⁶;  等到阅历较深,他们就划起小艇出去捕捉鳘鱼了;

and at last, launching a navy of great ships on the sea, explored this watery⁷ world;  最后,就在海上驶着一队队的大船,去探索这个水族世界,

put an incessant⁸ belt of circumnavigations round it; peeped in at Behring's Straits;  绕着它不断地兜来巡去;悄悄地窥探一下白令海峡;

and in all seasons and all oceans declared everlasting⁹ war with the mightiest¹⁰ animated¹¹ mass that has survived the flood;  一年四季都在各大洋里跟那些在大洪水时代幸存下来的最富生气的水族;

most monstrous¹² and most mountainous!  跟那些最可怕最巨大的水族作永无尽止的斗争!

That Himmalehan, salt-sea, Mastodon, clothed with such portentousness¹³ of unconscious power,  而那种不知赋有多大的威力,高大如喜马拉雅山的古盐海的乳齿象,

that his very panics are more to be dreaded¹⁴ than his most fearless and malicious¹⁵ assaults! 它之所以叫人惧怕,与其说是由于它那最无畏最凶残的暴行,不如说是由于它的形体!

And thus have these naked Nantucketers, these sea hermits¹⁶,  于是,从他们那海洋上的蚁冢中就不断地涌现出这些赤身裸体的南塔开特人,

issuing from their ant-hill in the sea, overrun and conquered the watery world like so many Alexanders;  这些海洋的隐士,他们象那许多阿力山大王一样,把水族世界侵占与征服了,

parcelling out among them the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, as the three pirate powers did Poland.  不断地瓜分了大西洋。太平洋和印度洋的利益,正如三个海盗国瓜分波兰一般。

Let America add Mexico to Texas, and pile Cuba upon Canada;  那么,随你美国把墨西哥给加在得克萨斯州上,把古巴给叠加在加拿大上去吧;

let the English overswarm all India, and hang out their blazing banner from the sun;  随你英国把整个印度都挤得密密麻麻,把你们那灿烂的国旗挂在阳光里吧;

two thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer's.  这个水陆世界的地球可有三分之二是属于南塔开特人的。

1 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

2 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

3 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

4 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

6 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

7 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

8 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

9 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

10 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

11 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

12 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

13 portentousness   

Portentousness

参考例句：

14 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

15 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

16 hermits   

（尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the ancient China,hermits usually lived in hamlets. 在古代中国，隐士们通常都住在小村子里。
• Some Buddhist monks live in solitude as hermits. 有些和尚在僻静处隐居。