英语听书《白鲸记》第398期

 He was naturally a very nervous, shuddering¹ sort of little fellow, this bread-faced steward²; the progeny³ of a bankrupt baker⁴ and a hospital nurse.  这个面包脸的茶房,这个破落的面包商和医院护士的后代,天生就是个十分胆小。

And what with the standing⁵ spectacle of the black terrific Ahab, and the periodical tumultuous visitations of these three savages⁷, Dough-Boy's whole life was one continual lip-quiver.  哆哆嗦嗦的小人物,一半由于经常看到亚哈那副黑。教人害怕的相貌,一半由于经常看到这三个野人吵吵闹闹,使得他完全生活在不断的胆战心惊中。

Commonly, after seeing the harpooneers furnished with all things they demanded,  他通常总是把这些标枪手所要的东西都料理好后,为了免得再被抓住,

he would escape from their clutches into his little pantry adjoining, and fearfully peep out at them through the blinds of its door, till all was over. 就躲到隔壁他那个小厨房里,在门缝里胆怯怯地瞅着他们,直等到他们吃完为止。

It was a sight to see Queequeg seated over against Tashtego, opposing his filed teeth to the Indian's;  看到魁魁格高坐在塔斯蒂哥的对面,他那副锉刀似的牙齿跟那个印第安人的牙齿两相对峙,真够发噱;

crosswise to them, Daggoo seated on the floor, for a bench would have brought his hearse-plumed head to the low carlines;  大个儿则坐在地上,跟他们形成个十字形,因为凳子会教他那只象扎彩的柩车似的头颅碰着那些矮船梁;

at every motion of his colossal⁸ limbs, making the low cabin framework to shake, as when an African elephant goes passenger in a ship.  他那巨大的四肢每一晃动,就会教那间低矮的舱室整个儿摇动起来,如同一只非洲大象上了大船。

But for all this, the great negro was wonderfully abstemious⁹, not to say dainty.  但是,尽管如此,这个大黑人不仅是文文雅雅,而且饮食非常有度。

It seemed hardly possible that by such comparatively small mouthfuls he could keep up the vitality¹⁰ diffused¹¹ through so broad, baronial, and superb a person.  他只吃这样很小的几口东西,就支持得了他这么一个体躯粗大。如此超群的人的活力,似乎是难以置信的。

But, doubtless, this noble savage⁶ fed strong and drank deep of the abounding¹² element of air; and through his dilated¹³ nostrils¹⁴ snuffed in the sublime¹⁵ life of the worlds.  但是,毫无疑问,这个了不起的野人是痛饮了丰饶的太空养料才长得如此茁壮,他还通过那阔大的鼻孔吸收了人间的崇高生活。

Not by beef or by bread, are giants made or nourished.  巨人的形成与养育并不是靠牛肉或者面包。

1 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

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 progeny   

n.后代，子孙；结果

参考例句：

• His numerous progeny are scattered all over the country.他为数众多的后代散布在全国各地。
• He was surrounded by his numerous progeny.众多的子孙簇拥着他。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 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。

7 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

8 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

9 abstemious   

adj.有节制的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He is abstemious in eating and drinking.他在饮食方面是很有节制的。
• Mr.Hall was naturally an abstemious man indifferent to luxury.霍尔先生天生是个饮食有度，不爱奢侈的人。

10 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

11 diffused   

散布的，普及的，扩散的

参考例句：

• A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
• Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。

12 abounding   

adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Ahead lay the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles. 再往前是水波荡漾的海洋和星罗棋布的宝岛。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• The metallic curve of his sheep-crook shone silver-bright in the same abounding rays. 他那弯柄牧羊杖上的金属曲线也在这一片炽盛的火光下闪着银亮的光。 来自辞典例句

13 dilated   

adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes dilated with fear. 她吓得瞪大了眼睛。
• The cat dilated its eyes. 猫瞪大了双眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

15 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。