英语听书《白鲸记》第343期

 A staid, steadfast¹ man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.  他是个坚定不移的人,他的生活大多是一种充满行动的有声有色的哑剧,而不是一种单调的字面记载。

Yet, for all his hardy² sobriety and fortitude³, there were certain qualities in him which at times affected⁴, and in some cases seemed well nigh to overbalance all the rest.  虽然他有吃苦耐劳的谨严态度和坚忍不拔的精神,可是在他身上也有一些特质,不时影响,而且在某些场合上,似乎还会超过其它一切的特质。

Uncommonly⁵ conscientious⁶ for a seaman⁷, and endued⁸ with a deep natural reverence⁹, the wild watery¹⁰ loneliness of his life did therefore strongly incline him to superstition¹¹;  他是个耿直非凡的水手,又有一种根深蒂固的虔诚的心,因此,他那种海上的狂暴而孤寂的生活非常容易使他趋向迷信;

but to that sort of superstition, which in some organizations seems rather to spring, somehow, from intelligence than from ignorance.  至于那种迷信,就它的构成说来,却似乎多少有点出之于智慧,而不是出之于愚昧。

Outward portents¹² and inward presentiments¹³ were his.  他就是一个外表非凡而内心敏感的人。

And if at times these things bent¹⁴ the welded iron of his soul, much more did his far-away domestic memories of his young Cape¹⁵ wife and child,  如果这些东西会时时使他那焊铁似的心肠屈服的话,主要是由于他想到了他那远在家乡的年轻的妻子和小孩,

tend to bend him still more from the original ruggedness¹⁶ of his nature, and open him still further to those latent influences which, in some honest-hearted men,  使他越发消失了他那粗犷的本性,使他更趋向于那种潜存的势力,这种势力,就心地忠实的人说来,

restrain the gush¹⁷ of dare-devil daring, so often evinced by others in the more perilous¹⁹ vicissitudes²⁰ of the fishery.  就鼓不起那种勇猛的冒险精神,因为人人都经常可以看到捕鱼业的更富危险的变迁情况。

I will have no man in my boat, said Starbuck, who is not afraid of a whale.  在我的小艇上,不怕大鲸的人是没有的。斯达巴克说。

By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril¹⁸,  他这句话,似乎不只是说:能对所面临的危险加以正确估计的,才称得上所谓切实可靠的勇敢,而且还含有这样的意思:

but that an utterly²¹ fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward. 跟一个大无畏的人做船伴,比跟一个懦夫做船伴还更危险。

1 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

6 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

7 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

8 endued   

v.授予，赋予（特性、才能等）( endue的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She is endued with wisdom from above. 她有天赋的智慧。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He is endued with a spirit of public service. 他富有为公众服务的精神。 来自辞典例句

9 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

10 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。

11 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

12 portents   

n.预兆( portent的名词复数 )；征兆；怪事；奇物

参考例句：

• But even with this extra support, labour-market portents still look grim. 但是即使采取了额外支持措施，劳动力市场依然阴霾密布。 来自互联网
• So the hiccups are worth noting as portents. 因此这些问题作为不好的征兆而值得关注。 来自互联网

13 presentiments   

n.（对不祥事物的）预感( presentiment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His presentiments of what the future holds for all are plainly not cheering. 则是应和了很多美国人的种种担心，他对各方未来的预感显然是不令人振奋的。 来自互联网

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

15 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

16 ruggedness   

险峻，粗野； 耐久性； 坚固性

参考例句：

• RUGGEDNESS. Automotive ring gear differential. Axle shafts on roller bearings. 强度：自动差速齿轮，滚子轴承上的刚性车轴。
• The ruggedness of his exams caused half the class to fail. 他的测验的难度使班上半数学生都没有通过。

17 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

18 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

19 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。

20 vicissitudes   

n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废

参考例句：

• He experienced several great social vicissitudes in his life. 他一生中经历了几次大的社会变迁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A man used to vicissitudes is not easily dejected. 饱经沧桑，不易沮丧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。