英语听书《白鲸记》第454期

 Not Coleridge first threw that spell; but God's great, unflattering laureate, Nature. 这可不是柯勒律治(塞缪尔。泰勒。柯勒律治首先使用什么魔力;而是上帝的伟大的。

Footnote.I remember the first albatross I ever saw. It was during a prolonged gale¹, in waters hard upon the Antarctic seas.  我记起我生平第一次看到信天翁的情况。那是在靠近南极海上，大风刮个不停的时分。

From my forenoon watch below, I ascended² to the overclouded deck;  我午前在舱里休息过后,登上那灰蒙蒙的甲板;

and there, dashed upon the main hatches, I saw a regal, feathery thing of unspotted whiteness, and with a hooked, Roman bill sublime³. At intervals⁴, it arched forth⁵ its vast archangel wings, as if to embrace some holy ark.  想冲上大舱口去,我突然看到了一只帝王也似的鸟类,全身雪白,一无斑驳,一只罗马式的大钩嘴。

Wondrous⁶ flutterings and throbbings shook it.  这是一种壮大的,乳白色的战马,大眼小头,胸部扁平,在它那高傲的仪表中,

Though bodily unharmed, it uttered cries, as some king's ghost in supernatural distress⁷.  虽然它身体并未受伤,却发出哭声来,就象什么帝王的鬼魂在不可思议的灾难里哭。

Through its inexpressible, strange eyes, methought I peeped to secrets which took hold of God.  从它那难以描摹的奇异的眼色中,我认为我已窥探到它掌握有上帝的秘密。

As Abraham before the angels, I bowed myself;  我象亚伯拉罕对着天使一样,连忙打躬。

the white thing was so white, its wings so wide, and in those for ever exiled waters, I had lost the miserable⁸ warping⁹ memories of traditions and of towns.  那只白色的东西颜色这么白,翅膀又这么阔大,使得我在那永遭放逐的海洋里,顿时把那些传统的和城市的可怜的七颠八倒的记忆都忘得一干二净。

Long I gazed at that prodigy¹⁰ of plumage.  我长久地凝视着那只奇异的禽鸟。

I cannot tell, can only hint, the things that darted¹¹ through me then.  我对那只当时直穿透了我的心灵的东西,真说不出个所以然来,只能隐约有个印象。

But at last I awoke; and turning, asked a sailor what bird was this.  最后我终于苏醒过来;转过头去问一个水手,那是什么鸟。

A goney, he replied. Goney! never had heard that name before; is it conceivable that this glorious thing is utterly¹² unknown to men ashore¹³! never!  信天翁,他答道。信天翁。我从来没有听到过这名字;这是可以想象的么,这样壮丽的东西,陆地人竟全然无知!从来没有听到过!

But some time after, I learned that goney was some seaman's name for albatross.  不过,过了一些时,我才知道这是水手们对这种鸟的一种叫法。

So that by no possibility could Coleridge's wild Rhyme have had aught to do with those mystical impressions which were mine, when I saw that bird upon our deck.  因此,柯勒律治的狂热的诗句,跟我当时在甲板上看到那只鸟时的神秘的印象,丝毫没有关连的可能。

For neither had I then read the Rhyme, nor knew the bird to be an albatross. Yet, in saying this, I do but indirectly¹⁴ burnish¹⁵ a little brighter the noble merit of the poem and the poet.   因为,当时我既没有念过那些诗句,也不知道那只鸟就叫信天翁。然而,话虽如此,我却也间接地为这诗歌和这诗人的高贵的价值略为增添一点光彩了。

1 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。

2 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

7 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 warping   

n.翘面，扭曲，变形v.弄弯，变歪( warp的现在分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾，

参考例句：

• Tilting, warping, and changes in elevation can seriously affect canals and shoreline facilities of various kinks. 倾斜、翘曲和高程变化可以严重地影响水渠和各种岸边设备。 来自辞典例句
• A warping, bending, or cracking, as that by excessive force. 翘曲，弯曲，裂开：翘曲、弯曲或裂开，如过强的外力引起。 来自互联网

10 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

11 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

13 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

14 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

15 burnish   

v.磨光；使光滑

参考例句：

• Many people,fearful for their jobs,are trying to burnish their contacts at other firms.许多人因为担心自己的工作，正在努力抹去和其他公司接触的痕迹。
• I burnish joyful sparks from my sorrows.我从伤痛里擦亮喜悦的火花。