英语听书《白鲸记》第361期

 Yes, that was the thought coming up in me; but it would be the first time I ever did pray.  不错,这倒是我刚想到的办法;不过,这将是我生平第一遭的祷告。

It's queer; very queer; and he's queer too; aye, take him fore¹ and aft, he's about the queerest old man Stubb ever sailed with.  这真古怪;真正古怪;他也古怪;噫,算来算去,他该算是斯塔布生平一起出航的最古怪的老头儿。

How he flashed at me!-his eyes like powder-pans!  他对我发了多大的脾气啊!

is he mad! Anyway there's something's on his mind, as sure as there must be something on a deck when it cracks.  那双眼睛活脱是两只火药桶!他疯了吗?总之,他一定是有什么心事,正如甲板上一有响动就必定有什么事情一样。

He aint in his bed now, either, more than three hours out of the twenty-four; and he don't sleep then.  他现在一天二十四小时,躺在床上只有三个钟头,就是躺在床上也不睡觉。

Didn't that Dough-Boy, the steward², tell me that of a morning he always finds the old man's hammock clothes all rumpled³ and tumbled,  那个名叫汤团的茶房有一天早晨不就告诉我说,他始终看到这老头儿吊铺上的被褥老是弄得乱七八糟,

and the sheets down at the foot, and the coverlid almost tied into knots, and the pillow a sort of frightful⁴ hot, as though a baked brick had been on it?  被单缩到床脚跟,床单简直打成许多个结头,枕头可以说是热得怕人,仿佛搁过一块火砖么?

A hot old man! I guess he's got what some folks ashore⁵ call a conscience; it's a kind of Tic-Dolly-row they say-worse nor a toothache.  这个激烈的老头儿!我猜想他一定是患了岸上人所说的什么心病了,据说那是一种颜面痉挛症...比牙痛还要难受。

Well, well; I don't know what it is, but the Lord keep me from catching⁶ it.  唔,唔;我不知道那究竟是什么毛病,但愿上帝别让我染上这毛病。

He's full of riddles⁷; I wonder what he goes into the after hold for, every night, as Dough-Boy tells me he suspects;  他浑身是谜;我不知道他每天晚上都要到后舱去干什么,那个汤团也对我说,他很怀疑。

what's that for, I should like to know? Who's made appointments with him in the hold?  那究竟是怎么一回事呀?我倒要弄个明白,究竟是谁跟他在后舱里有约会呀?

Ain't that queer, now? But there's no telling, it's the old game-Here goes for a snooze.  这不古怪吗,那么?但是,这很难说,又是老把戏...就在这里打个盹吧。

Damn me, it's worth a fellow's while to be born into the world, if only to fall right asleep.  该死的,人投胎到世间来,即使一生下来就马上睡觉,也是划算的。

And now that I think of it, that's about the first thing babies do, and that's a sort of queer, too.  现在我倒想起睡觉这事情来了,这是小娃娃生下来的第一桩事情,这又是古怪的事。

1 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

2 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

3 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

4 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

5 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句