英语听书《白鲸记》第298期

 And, perhaps, other fools like her may tell thee the same. I wish to warn thee. It's a lie.  所以,象她那样的其他一些傻瓜也许会告诉你同样的事情。我要警告你。这是说谎。

I know Captain Ahab well; I've sailed with him as mate years ago; I know what he is-a good man-not a pious¹, good man, like Bildad,  我很知道亚哈船长;好多年以前我跟他一起出过航,是他的大副;我知道他的为人...是个好人...可不是个虔诚的好人,象比勒达那样,

but a swearing good man-something like me-only there's a good deal more of him.  而是一个爱骂人的好人...有点象我...不过,他比我要好得多。

Aye, aye, I know that he was never very jolly; and I know that on the passage home he was a little out of his mind for a spell;  呵,呵,我知道他从来就不是很愉快的;在归航的时候,我知道他有过一阵子失魂落魄;

but it was the sharp shooting pains in his bleeding stump² that brought that about, as any one might see.  但那是因为他那鲜血淋漓的残腿上的针刺似的疼痛的缘故,这也是谁都看得出的。

I know, too, that ever since he lost his leg last voyage by that accursed whale, he's been a kind of moody³-desperate moody, and savage⁴ sometimes; but that will all pass off.  我也知道打从上次航程给那条该死的鲸搞掉了一条腿后,他就变得郁郁不乐了...非常的郁郁不乐,有时还要耍蛮;不过,那是慢慢就会消失的。

And once for all, let me tell thee and assure thee, young man, it's better to sail with a moody good captain than a laughing bad one.  总之,我再告诉你,跟你保险,小伙子,跟一个嘻嘻哈哈的坏船长出航,那是不如跟一个郁郁不乐的好船长好得多。

So good-bye to thee-and wrong not Captain Ahab, because he happens to have a wicked name.  那么,再见吧...请别错看亚哈船长,因为他凑巧有一个邪恶的名字。

Besides, my boy, he has a wife-not three voyages wedded-a sweet, resigned girl.  再说,我的朋友,他还有一个老婆...结婚到现在还不满三次航程...真是个可爱的。

Think of that; by that sweet girl that old man had a child: hold ye then there can be any utter, hopeless harm in Ahab?  唯命是从的姑娘。你想一想;老头儿靠这个可爱的姑娘还生了一个小孩呢,那么,难道你还以为亚哈是个无可救药,十足有害的人么?

No, no, my lad; stricken, blasted, if he be, Ahab has his humanities!" 不,不,小伙子;尽管他苦恼,伤残,亚哈可还是有人性的!"

As I walked away, I was full of thoughtfulness; what had been incidentally revealed to me of Captain Ahab, filled me with a certain wild vagueness of painfulness concerning him. 我心事重重地走了;我刚才偶然得知的关于亚哈船长的情形,真教我对他有一种无法抑止的茫然的难过。

And somehow, at the time, I felt a sympathy and a sorrow for him, but for I don't know what, unless it was the cruel loss of his leg.  不知怎地,我当时还对他感到同情和悲伤,但是,究竟是为了什么,我也不明白,也许是因为他惨痛地失去了一条腿的缘故。

And yet I also felt a strange awe⁵ of him; but that sort of awe, which I cannot at all describe, was not exactly awe; I do not know what it was.  然而,我也对他怀有一种奇特的敬畏;不过,那种我所无法描摹的敬畏,却不是真正的敬畏;我不知道那是一种什么敬畏。

But I felt it; and it did not disincline me towards him; though I felt impatience⁶ at what seemed like mystery in him, so imperfectly as he was known to me then.  但是,我却感到敬畏;虽然这种敬畏并不使我对他生厌;不过我同时也对他那种仿如神秘的情形感到不耐烦起来,因为当时我对他是这么弄不清楚。

However, my thoughts were at length carried in other directions, so that for the present dark Ahab slipped my mind. 好在我的思路终于又转移到别的方面上去,所以,神秘的亚哈就暂时从我的脑际消失了。

1 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

3 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

4 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

5 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。