英语听书《白鲸记》第405期

 Your most usual point of perch¹ is the head of the t' gallant²-mast, where you stand upon two thin parallel sticks (almost peculiar³ to whalemen) called thet' gallant crosstrees. 你的最平常的安身之处,就是那上桅的桅顶,在那里,你站在那管它叫上桅的桅顶横木的两根细小平行的木杆上(可说是捕鲸船所特有的)。

Here, tossed about by the sea, the beginner feels about as cosy⁴ as he would standing⁵ on a bull's horns.  在这里,听任海浪颠来簸去,生手倒有点象是站在一只公牛角上那样舒服的感觉。

To be sure, in cold weather you may carry your house aloft with you, in the shape of a watch-coat;  当然,在天冷的时候,你可以把你那个房子,也就是那件更衣一起带上去;

but properly speaking the thickest watch-coat is no more of a house than the unclad body;  不过,严格地说,那件非常厚重的更衣既不象一个房子,也不象个一丝不挂的身体;

for as the soul is glued inside of its fleshy tabernacle, and cannot freely move about in it, nor even move out of it, without running great risk of perishing (like an ignorant pilgrim crossing the snowy Alps in winter);  因为当你被胶住在它那肉体似的临时屋子里的时候,困在里面既不能自由转动,甚至也别想不用冒着丧命的大危险(象一个无知的进香人,在冬天经过那积雪的阿尔卑斯山一样)就能从那里头出来;

so a watch-coat is not so much of a house as it is a mere⁶ envelope, or additional skin encasing you.  因此,一件更衣与其说是象间房子,倒不如说是只封套,

You cannot put a shelf or chest of drawers in your body, and no more can you make a convenience closet of your watch-coat. 或者不如说,只是给你再裹上一层皮而已。你当然无法在你身上放个橱,或者放只五斗柜,同样地,你也不能把那件更衣弄成一间合宜的小房间。

Concerning all this, it is much to be deplored⁷ that the mast-heads of a southern whale ship are unprovided with those enviable little tents or pulpits, called crow's-nests, in which the look-outs of a Greenland whaler are protected from the inclement⁸ weather of the frozen seas.  关于这一切,尤其使人遗憾的是,一只南海捕鲸船的桅顶,并不象格陵兰的捕鲸船一样,在望台上为了防备冰冻的海洋上的寒冷天气,设有那种值得羡慕的小篷帐。

In the fireside narrative⁹ of Captain Sleet¹⁰, entitled "A Voyage among the Icebergs¹¹, in quest of the Greenland Whale, and incidentally for the re-discovery of the Lost Icelandic Colonies of Old Greenland;"  或者小讲坛的叫做"守望处"的东西。斯立特船长有一篇炉边文章。题为《在搜索格陵兰大鲸的冰岛航行中,偶然重新发现古格陵兰一些已灭失的冰岛部落记》,

in this admirable volume, all standers of mast-heads are furnished with a charmingly circumstantial account of the then recently invented crow's-nest of the Glacier¹², which was the name of Captain Sleet's good craft.  在这本皇皇巨著中,斯立特船长对于他那艘名为"格拉西尔"的快船,为一切桅顶望者装置了当时才发明不久的"守望处",有了一番引人入胜的详尽记载。

1 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

2 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

3 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

4 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

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 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

8 inclement   

adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的

参考例句：

• The inclement weather brought forth a host of diseases.恶劣的天气引起了种种疾病。
• They kept on going,even through the inclement weather.即使天气恶劣，他们还是执意要去。

9 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

10 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

11 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句

12 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。