英语听书《白鲸记》第406期

 He called it the Sleet¹'s crow's-nest, in honor of himself; he being the original inventor and patentee, and free from all ridiculous false delicacy², and holding that if we call our own children after our own names (we fathers being the original inventors and patentees),  他为了纪念自己的发明,管它叫斯立特守望处;因为他是原始的发明者和专利者,因此,他毫不荒谬可笑地宣称,如果我们可以把我们自己的儿女都姓我们自己的名姓(我们做父亲的本来就是原始前发明者和专利者),

so likewise should we denominate after ourselves any other apparatus³ we may beget⁴. 那么同样地,我们也可以拿我们的名姓来命名我们所发明的其它任何东西。

In shape, the Sleet's crow's-nest is something like a large tierce or pipe; it is open above, however, where it is furnished with a movable sidescreen to keep to windward of your head in a hard gale⁵.  在形式上,斯立特守望处倒有点象大酒桶或者大管子;不过,它是朝上开的,那里还装有一只活动的侧屏,使得在猛烈的飓风里,脑袋仍然可以顶着风。

Being fixed⁶ on the summit of the mast, you ascend⁷ into it through a little trap-hatch in the bottom.  因为守望处是装在桅顶上,你得从底里的一个小小的活动升降口爬进去。

On the after side, or side next the stern of the ship, is a comfortable seat, with a locker⁸ underneath⁹ for umbrellas, comforters, and coats.  在后边,也就是在靠近船尾的一边,有个舒服的座位,座位下面还有个可以置放雨伞。棉被和衣服的小橱。

In front is a leather rack, in which to keep your speaking trumpet¹⁰, pipe, telescope, and other nautical¹¹ conveniences.  座位前面有只皮架子,可以把你的话筒,烟斗,望远镜,以及水手的其它一些小玩意都放在那上头。

When Captain Sleet in person stood his mast-head in this crow's-nest of his, he tells us that he always had a rifle with him (also fixed in the rack), together with a powder flask¹² and shot,  当斯立特船长本人坐在他那守望处的桅顶上的时候,据他说,他始终随身带有一支来福枪(也是固定放在皮架子上的),还有一只火药筒和子弹,

for the purpose of popping off the stray narwhales, or vagrant¹³ sea unicorns¹⁴ infesting¹⁵ those waters; for you cannot successfully shoot at them from the deck owing to the resistance of the water, but to shoot down upon them is a very different thing.  以备碰到一些离了群的独角鲸,或者是在那一带海里出没无定的独角兽时,可以一下子把它们打死;因为这些东西在甲板上打,由于水面的阻力,往往无法打得准,而居高临下的发射,却完全是另一回事。

Now, it was plainly a labor¹⁶ of love for Captain Sleet to describe, as he does, all the little detailed¹⁷ conveniences of his crow's-nest;  这里,象斯立特船长这样把他那个守望处的细枝末节都描摹出来,显然是他认为这是他喜爱的工作;

but though he so enlarges upon many of these, and though he treats us to a very scientific account of his experiments in this crow's-nest, with a small compass he kept there for the purpose of counteracting¹⁸ the errors resulting from what is called the local attraction of all binnacle magnets; 不过,虽然他把这许多东西都描述无遗,虽然他还把他在守望处里所作的非常科学的实验情形都详告我们,说他在守望处还装有一只小小的罗盘,以便解决一切由于罗盘的磁石所谓局部引力而引起的误差;

an error ascribable to the horizontal vicinity of the iron in the ship's planks¹⁹, and in the Glacier's case, perhaps, to there having been so many broken-down blacksmiths among her crew;  而这种误差,却应该说是由于船板附近装有铁器的缘故,但就格拉西尔号的情形看来,也许是在船上的水手中有太多累坏了的铁匠的缘故;

I say, that though the Captain is very discreet²⁰ and scientific here, yet, for all his learned binnacle deviations²¹, azimuth compass observations, and approximate errors, he knows very well, Captain Sleet,  所以我认为,虽然这位船长在这方面考虑十分周详和富有科学头脑,然而,

that he was not so much immersed in those profound magnetic meditations²², as to fail being attracted occasionally towards that well replenished²³ little case-bottle, so nicely tucked in on one side of his crow's nest, within easy reach of his hand.  尽管他对于那些罗盘的偏差,船用罗盘的观测法和近似的误差都很有研究,但对于磁性,却又好象不很贯注全神加以深思熟虑似的,以致时不常地没有注意到那只很巧致地装在守望处的一边,伸手就拿得到的装足了东西的小套瓶。

1 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。

2 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

3 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

4 beget   

v.引起；产生

参考例句：

• Dragons beget dragons,phoenixes beget phoenixes.龙生龙，凤生凤。
• Economic tensions beget political ones.经济紧张导致政治紧张。

5 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

8 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

9 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

10 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

11 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

12 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

13 vagrant   

n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的

参考例句：

• A vagrant is everywhere at home.流浪者四海为家。
• He lived on the street as a vagrant.他以在大街上乞讨为生。

14 unicorns   

n.（传说中身体似马的）独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 )；一角鲸；独角兽标记

参考例句：

• Unicorns are legendary beasts. 独角兽是传说里的野兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Assemble50 Elder Druids, 30 Silver Unicorns and10 Green Dragons do defend it. 募集50个德鲁伊长老，30只银色独角兽和10条绿龙用于防御。 来自互联网

15 infesting   

v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的现在分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• Crime and drugs are infesting the inner cities. 市中心充斥着犯罪与毒品。 来自辞典例句
• They are mainly forest scavengers infesting damp, rotted wood. 它们主要是些森林食腐动物，多侵害潮湿腐朽的木材。 来自辞典例句

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

18 counteracting   

对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The turmoil, he said, was "counteracting the course of global civilization. " 这次骚乱，他指出，“阻碍了世界文明的进程”。
• But he notes that there are counteracting forces as well. 但是他也指出还有一些抵消因素。

19 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

20 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

21 deviations   

背离，偏离( deviation的名词复数 )； 离经叛道的行为

参考例句：

• Local deviations depend strongly on the local geometry of the solid matrix. 局部偏离严格地依赖于固体矩阵的局部几何形状。
• They were a series of tactical day-to-day deviations from White House policy. 它们是一系列策略上一天天摆脱白宫政策的偏向。

22 meditations   

默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想

参考例句：

• Each sentence seems a quarry of rich meditations. 每一句话似乎都给人以许多冥思默想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditations. 我很抱歉，打断你思考问题了。

23 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。