英语听书《白鲸记》第453期

 With reference to the Polar bear, it may possibly be urged by him who would fain go still deeper into this matter, that it is not the whiteness, separately regarded, which heightens the intolerable hideousness¹ of that brute²;  提到北极熊,那些乐于对这问题更进一步钻研的人可能会强调说:话得分开来说,使人觉得这种野物的狰狞可怕的并不是这种白色;

for, analysed, that heightened hideousness, it might be said, only rises from the circumstance, that the irresponsible ferociousness³ of the creature stands invested in the fleece of celestial⁴ innocence⁵ and love;  分析起来,应该说,使人觉得可怕与否,只能视具体情形而定,因为在这种动物的胡作非为的凶猛性中,还含有无比的天真与可爱,

and hence, by bringing together two such opposite emotions in our minds, the Polar bear frightens us with so unnatural⁶ a contrast.  因此,如果我们同时也把这两种全然相反的情绪想一想的话,那么北极熊之使我们恐惧,性质就十分不同了。

But even assuming all this to be true; yet, were it not for the whiteness, you would not have that intensified⁷ terror. 不过,就算这一切都是正确的;然而,要不是为了那种白色,你也不至于那么吓得要命吧。

As for the white shark, the white gliding⁸ ghostliness of repose⁹ in that creature, when beheld¹⁰ in his ordinary moods, strangely tallies¹¹ with the same quality in the Polar quadruped.  至于白鲨鱼,就它那正常的情况来说,这种动物在滑走的时候那种白得象幽灵似的恬静姿态,可真跟那北极四脚动物的性质异相吻合。

This peculiarity¹² is most vividly¹³ hit by the French in the name they bestow¹⁴ upon that fish.  这种特点在法国人替它所起的名字上,就表现得最有神韵了。

The Romish mass for the dead begins with "Requiem¹⁵ eternam" (eternal rest), whence Requiem denominating the mass itself, and any other funeral music.  天主教给死人做弥撒的时候,开头总要说Ｒｅｑｕｉｅｍ　ｅｔｅｒｎａｍ(拉丁文:永远的安息),而所谓Ｒｅｑｕｉｅｍ指的就是弥撒本身和任何一种哀乐。

Now, in allusion¹⁶ to the white, silent stillness of death in this shark, and the mild deadliness of his habits, the French call him Requin. 因此,为了要引喻这种鲨鱼的白色,如死般恬静,宁寂,以及它的习性的无以伦比的静寂,法国人就管它叫Ｒｅｑｕｉｎ了。)之使人吃惊的神气,却是那种张牙舞爪披着纹章外衣的老虎所望尘莫及的。

Bethink thee of the albatross, whence come those clouds of spiritual wonderment and pale dread¹⁷, in which that white phantom¹⁸ sails in all imaginations?  请你想一想那种信天翁吧,当那只白色的幽灵意想不到地轻飞在空中的时候,为什么就会有那神奇的死灰色的云彩呢?

1 hideousness   

参考例句：

• Hideousness of aspect, deformity of instinct, troubled him not, and did not arouse his indignation. 外形的丑陋和本性的怪异都不能惊动他，触犯他。 来自互联网

2 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

3 ferociousness   

参考例句：

• Kay didn't care much for Neri, he reminded her of Luca Brasi in his quiet ferociousness. 恺不喜欢奈里，因为他那种沉着冷静的残忍作风使她想到路加 - 布拉西。 来自教父部分

4 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

5 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

6 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

7 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

9 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

10 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

11 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 peculiarity   

n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖

参考例句：

• Each country has its own peculiarity.每个国家都有自己的独特之处。
• The peculiarity of this shop is its day and nigth service.这家商店的特点是昼夜服务。

13 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

14 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

15 requiem   

n.安魂曲，安灵曲

参考例句：

• I will sing a requiem for the land walkers.我会给陆地上走的人唱首安魂曲。
• The Requiem is on the list for today's concert.《安魂曲》是这次音乐会的演出曲目之一。

16 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

17 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。

18 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。