英语听书《白鲸记》第372期

 First: The uncertain, unsettled condition of this science of Cetology is in the very vestibule attested¹ by the fact, that in some quarters it still remains² a moot³ point whether a whale be a fish.  第一,鲸类学这门科学之未定未决的情形,正是有待于事实证明的首当其冲的问题,在某些方面说来,它还有一个争议未决的问题,那就是大鲸究竟是不是鱼。

In his System of Nature, A.D. 1776, Linnaeus declares, I hereby separate the whales from the fish.  林尼厄斯在写于一七七六年的《自然之体系》一书中说,这里我要把鲸与鱼区别开来。

But of my own knowledge, I know that down to the year 1850, sharks and shad, alewives and herring, against Linnaeus's express edict, were still found dividing the possession of the same seas with the Leviathan. 不过,就我所知,我知道直至一八五○年,鲨鱼和鲱鱼,

1 attested   

adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓

参考例句：

• The handwriting expert attested to the genuineness of the signature. 笔迹专家作证该签名无讹。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Witnesses attested his account. 几名证人都证实了他的陈述是真实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。