英语听书《白鲸记》第281期

 Scorning a turnstile wheel at her reverend helm, she sported there a tiller;  它不屑在受人尊敬的船舵上装只旋轮,却开玩笑似地装上一只舵柄;

and that tiller was in one mass, curiously¹ carved from the long narrow lower jaw² of her hereditary³ foe⁴.  那舵柄是用它那宿敌的整块狭长的下颌骨精工镂刻出来的。

The helmsman who steered⁵ by that tiller in a tempest, felt like the Tartar, when he holds back his fiery⁶ steed by clutching its jaw. A noble craft,  在暴风雨中掌着舵柄的舵手,就象一个鞑靼王紧勒着他那匹暴躁的骏马的下颌使它止步。它虽然是艘高贵的船,

but somehow a most melancholy⁷! All noble things are touched with that. 却不知怎地,又是一艘非常忧郁的船,凡是高贵的东西都不免叫人心里有这种感觉。

Now when I looked about the quarter-deck, for some one having authority, in order to propose myself as a candidate for the voyage, at first I saw nobody;  这时,我打后甲板上张望一下,想找到一个当权的人,好让我来自荐当水手,可是,起先,一个人也看不到;

but I could not well overlook a strange sort of tent, or rather wigwam, pitched a little behind the main-mast.  我就不能不注意到一个奇形怪状的篷帐,或者不如说是一间小房子的东西了,它搭在主桅稍后一点的地方。

It seemed only a temporary erection used in port. It was of a conical shape, some ten feet high;  它似乎是在进港后才临时搭起来的。它是一个约十英尺高的圆锥体;

consisting of the long, huge slabs⁸ of limber black bone taken from the middle and highest part of the jaws⁹ of the right-whale.  是用一只露脊鲸的嘴巴的正中和顶部的一片片阔长的石板似的软黑骨块搭成的。

Planted with their broad ends on the deck, a circle of these slabs laced together, mutually sloped towards each other,  它把那些阔大的骨片插在甲板上后,这些石板似的东西就环成一个圆圈,用带子结拢,彼此互相斜靠着,

and at the apex¹⁰ united in a tufted point, where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like a top-knot on some old Pottowotamie Sachem's head.  在顶上结成一个尖簇,那些蓬松如发的须根就在那里飘来飘去,直象是古代的波托沃塔米酋长的头顶髻。

A triangular¹¹ opening faced towards the bows of the ship, so that the insider commanded a complete view forward. 朝船头那面开有一个三角形的出入口,因此,在里边的人可以一望无遗地凭眺前面的景色。

And half concealed¹² in this queer tenement¹³, I at length found one who by his aspect seemed to have authority;  我终于发现在这个古怪的房子里,影影绰绰地有一个人,这个人看样子象是个当权的人物;

and who, it being noon, and the ship's work suspended, was now enjoying respite¹⁴ from the burden of command.  由于正值午刻,船上的工作都停着,现在他正暂时摆脱指挥全局的重任,在那里休憩。

He was seated on an old-fashioned oaken chair, wriggling¹⁵ all over with curious carving¹⁶;  由于正值午刻,船上的工作都停着,现在他正暂时摆脱指挥全局的重任,在那里休憩。

and the bottom of which was formed of a stout¹⁷ interlacing of the same elastic¹⁸ stuff of which the wigwam was constructed. 椅子下端也是用那造这小房子的同样富有弹性的材料牢固地交织起来的。

1 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

2 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

3 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

4 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

5 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

7 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

8 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

9 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

10 apex   

n.顶点，最高点

参考例句：

• He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
• His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

11 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

12 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

13 tenement   

n.公寓；房屋

参考例句：

• They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
• She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里，她觉得很得意。

14 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

15 wriggling   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕

参考例句：

• The baby was wriggling around on my lap. 婴儿在我大腿上扭来扭去。
• Something that looks like a gray snake is wriggling out. 有一种看来象是灰蛇的东西蠕动着出来了。 来自辞典例句

16 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

17 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

18 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。