英语听书《白鲸记》第397期

 Now, Ahab and his three mates formed what may be called the first table in the Pequod's cabin.  亚哈和他的大二三副就这样组成了可以称为"裴廓德号"船长室的首桌。

After their departure, taking place in inverted¹ order to their arrival, the canvas cloth was cleared, or rather was restored to some hurried order by the pallid² steward³.  在他们以不同于刚才进来时的相反次序离开后,帆布就收拾干净,或者不如说是由那个面有菜色的茶房匆忙地刷一刷。

And then the three harpooneers were bidden to the feast, they being its residuary legatees.  于是,便请三位标枪手来入席,他们就是残羹冷饭的承受人。

They made a sort of temporary servants' hall of the high and mighty⁴ cabin. 他们只是把这间崇高的船长室,权充一下仆役间。

In strange contrast to the hardly tolerable constraint⁵ and nameless invisible domineerings of the captain's table, was the entire care-free license⁶ and ease, the almost frantic⁷ democracy of those inferior fellows the harpooneers.  跟船长餐桌上那种难受的拘谨和说不出又看不见的专横气氛恰成显著的对比,这些下等人的标枪手全然快活不羁,自由自在,简直具有如疯如狂的民主精神。

While their masters, the mates, seemed afraid of the sound of the hinges of their own jaws⁸, the harpooneers chewed their food with such a relish⁹ that there was a report to it.  他们的上司,那三个大二三副,似乎是连他们自己的牙齿相碰声都感到害怕,而这些标枪手却把食物咀嚼得这样津津有味,啪嗒作响。

They dined like lords; they filled their bellies¹⁰ like Indian ships all day loading with spices.  他们吃得犹如帝王;他们象印第安船只镇天装进香料一样填装起他们的肚腹。

Such portentous¹¹ appetites had Queequeg and Tashtego, that to fill out the vacancies¹² made by the previous repast, often the pale Dough-Boy was fain to bring on a great baron¹³ of salt-junk, seemingly quarried¹⁴ out of the solid ox.  魁魁格和塔斯蒂哥就有这么可怕的胃口,他们把先前吃剩的东西全都填个干净不算,往往还弄得那个面色灰白的汤团不得不搬上一块未经砍斩的咸牛肉来,那坎牛肉就象是刚从一只活公牛身上斩下来似的。

And if he were not lively about it, if he did not go with a nimble hop-skip-and-jump, then Tashtego had an ungentlemanly way of accelerating him by darting¹⁵ a fork at his back, harpoon-wise.  如果汤团不这样灵活,如果他不这样机警地三步并做二步走去张罗的话;那么,塔斯蒂哥就会以一种非绅士的方法,以掷标枪的姿势把标枪戳着他的背脊来催促他。

And once Daggoo, seized with a sudden humor, assisted Dough-Boy's memory by snatching him up bodily, and thrusting his head into a great empty wooden trencher, while Tashtego, knife in hand, began laying out the circle preliminary to scalping him.  有一回,大个儿奇兴突发,为了要帮助汤团记忆,竟把他兜体一抓,提了起来,把他的头直揿进一只空的大木盘里,而塔斯蒂哥便手里拿着刀,旋来转去,准备剥他的皮。

1 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pallid   

adj.苍白的，呆板的

参考例句：

• The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来，照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
• His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。

3 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。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 constraint   

n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物

参考例句：

• The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
• The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。

6 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

7 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

8 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。

9 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

10 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童

11 portentous   

adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的

参考例句：

• The present aspect of society is portentous of great change.现在的社会预示着重大变革的发生。
• There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.He was bubbling with humour.他一点也不装腔作势或故作严肃，浑身散发着幽默。

12 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

14 quarried   

v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• The workmen quarried out a huge block of marble. 工人们从采石场采得一块很大的大理石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement. 同时还在这些大石灰岩洞里开采水泥原料。 来自辞典例句

15 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句