英语听书《白鲸记》第461期

 Nor is it, altogether, the remembrance of her cathedral-toppling earthquakes; nor the stampedoes of her frantic¹ seas;  利马之所以教人看来会是一个欲哭无泪,最奇特。

nor the tearlessness of arid² skies that never rain; nor the sight of her wide field of leaning spires³, wrenched⁴ cope-stones, and crosses all adroop (like canted yards of anchored fleets);  最悲伤的城市,并不仅仅是因为下列这些缘故:把大教堂震垮了的地震(利马大教堂建于一五三五年,一七四六年遭大地震后又重建。);

and her suburban⁵ avenues of house-walls lying over upon each other, as a tossed pack of cards; 疯狂的海浪的冲击,从来就不下雨的干涸无泪的天空,辽阔的田野里枝茎倾斜的作物,歪七倒八的冠石,

it is not these things alone which make tearless Lima, the strangest, saddest city thou can'st see.  全都垂挂着的十字架(好象是因船舶碇泊次数过多而倾斜了的船坞),以及郊外的街道中有着一堆散乱的扑克牌似的。

For Lima has taken the white veil; and there is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe⁶.  彼此倚靠着的屋墙。不,完全不是因为这种缘故,而是因为利马罩有一层白色的帷幕;

Old as Pizarro, this whiteness keeps her ruins for ever new; admits not the cheerful greenness of complete decay; spreads over her broken ramparts the rigid⁷ pallor of an apoplexy that fixes its own distortions. 在它这种悲伤的白色中,有一种更为叫人恐怖的气氛。这种白色跟皮萨罗一样古老,把那废墟罩得永远如新,毫无满地草莽的颓废景象;弥漫在它那残破的城垣上的,正是那一片跟它本身相称的害中风症似的僵硬的苍白色。

I know that, to the common apprehension⁸, this phenomenon of whiteness is not confessed to be the prime agent in exaggerating the terror of objects otherwise terrible;  根据一般人的理解力说来,我知道这种白色现象并不是作为夸张那种本来并不怎样可怕的恐怖事物的主要原因;

nor to the unimaginative mind is there aught of terror in those appearances whose awfulness to another mind almost solely⁹ consists in this one phenomenon, especially when exhibited under any form at all approaching to muteness or universality.  而且在一个缺乏想象力的人看来,那种情景也许一点也没有什么可怖之处,不过,在另外一种人看来,这种情景之所以可怕,简直也就正好是包括在这一种现象里面,尤其是当它以一种完全迹近沉默或者浑然一体的形式表现出来的时候。

What I mean by these two statements may perhaps be respectively elucidated¹⁰ by the following examples. 我对这两种说法的含义,也许可以由下列事例分别加以说明。

1 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

2 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

3 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 wrenched   

v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• The bag was wrenched from her grasp. 那只包从她紧握的手里被夺了出来。
• He wrenched the book from her hands. 他从她的手中把书拧抢了过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

6 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

7 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

8 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 elucidated   

v.阐明，解释( elucidate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He elucidated a point of grammar. 他解释了一个语法要点。
• The scientist elucidated his theory by three simple demonstrations. 这位科学家以三个简单的实例来说明他的理论。 来自《简明英汉词典》