英语听书《白鲸记》第434期

 I, Ishmael, was one of that crew; my shouts had gone up with the rest;  我,以实玛利,是那些水手中的一员;我的叫喊声已经同他们的一起爆发了;

my oath had been welded with theirs; and stronger I shouted, and more did I hammer and clinch¹ my oath, because of the dread² in my soul.  我的誓言已经同他们的结合在一起了;我越叫得响亮,就把我的誓言槌扣得越紧,因为我的灵魂感到畏惧。

A wild, mystical, sympathetical feeling was in me; Ahab's quenchless³ feud⁴ seemed mine.  我有一种狂热而神秘的同情心:亚哈那难以压制的仇恨仿佛也就是我的仇恨。

With greedy ears I learned the history of that murderous monster against whom I and all the others had taken our oaths of violence and revenge. 我这双贪婪的耳朵已经听到了那只凶残的巨兽的故事,我和所有其他的人都已对它发下我们的激烈和雪恨的誓言了。

For some time past, though at intervals⁵ only, the unaccompanied, secluded⁶ White Whale had haunted those uncivilized seas mostly frequented by the Sperm⁷ Whale fishermen.  那条离群索居的白鲸,在过去,只是不时出没在那些为捕抹香鲸者最常去的蛮荒的海洋上。

But not all of them knew of his existence; only a few of them, comparatively, had knowingly seen him;  并不是全部的捕鲸者都知道这条白鲸的;只有比较少数的捕鲸者曾经有意识地看到过它;

while the number who as yet had actually and knowingly given battle to him, was small indeed.  实际上,有意识地去打它的确实是为数不多。

For, owing to the large number of whale-cruisers;  因为捕鲸船只数目很多;

the disorderly way they were sprinkled over the entire watery⁸ circumference⁹, many of them adventurously¹⁰ pushing their quest along solitary¹¹ latitudes¹², so as seldom or never for a whole twelvemonth or more on a stretch, to encounter a single news-telling sail of any sort; the inordinate¹³ length of each separate voyage;  它们又都是混乱地散布在整个海洋上,其中有许多还到荒僻的地方去作冒险的探索,因而往往在一年多的一趟航程中,难得或者可说是决不会碰到任何一只报告任何消息的船只;

the irregularity of the times of sailing from home;  每次航程都是非常之长;

all these, with other circumstances, direct and indirect, long obstructed¹⁴ the spread through the whole world-wide whaling-fleet of the special individualizing tidings concerning Moby Dick.  出航时间没有规律,所有这些,加上直接间接的其它种种情形,就使得有关莫比－迪克这个独特的消息长期以来无法在全世界整个捕鲸船队中传播开来。

1 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

2 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

3 quenchless   

不可熄灭的

参考例句：

• P>Passionate love is a quenchless thirst. 热烈的爱情是不可抑制的渴望。

4 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

5 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

6 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

8 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

9 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

10 adventurously   

adv.爱冒险地

参考例句：

11 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

12 latitudes   

纬度

参考例句：

• Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
• It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。

13 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

14 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。