英语听书《白鲸记》第463期

 Tell me, why this strong young colt, foaled in some peaceful valley of Vermont, far removed from all beasts of prey-why is it that upon the sunniest day, if you but shake a fresh buffalo¹ robe behind him, so that he cannot even see it,  那么,你说,有一种茁壮的小马,它生长在佛蒙特州的平静的山谷里,远离一切猛兽,而为什么在日丽风和辰光,如果你拿块鲜水牛皮在它背后一抖(这样它甚至连看都看不到,只嗅到野兽的肉香),

but only smells its wild animal muskiness-why will he start, snort, and with bursting eyes paw the ground in phrensies of affright?  它就会砰地一跳,吸溜鼻子,突出眼睛,心慌意乱地尽跺着地呢?在它那种青翠的北方大家庭中,它根本就没有任何野物的血腥气的印象,

There is no remembrance in him of any gorings of wild creatures in his green northern home, so that the strange muskiness he smells cannot recall to him anything associated with the experience of former perils⁴; for what knows he, this New England colt, of the black bisons of distant Oregon? 所以,它所闻到的那种奇特肉香,任怎样也叫它联系不起以前的危险的经验来;因为,这种新英格兰的小马,怎么会知道遥远的俄勒冈州的黑野牛呢?

No; but here thou beholdest even in a dumb brute⁵, the instinct of the knowledge of the demonism in the world.  不,在这地方,你甚至在一种不能说话的野兽身上,也看到了认识世间恶魔的本能。

Though thousands of miles from Oregon, still when he smells that savage⁶ musk², the rending⁷, goring³ bison herds⁸ are as present as to the deserted⁹ wild foal of the prairies, which this instant they may be trampling¹⁰ into dust. 这种小马虽然隔开俄勒冈有几千英里,但是,它一嗅到那种生肉香,那种狂冲猛抵的野牛群就好象当即来到这群落荒而逃的大草原野马跟前了,也许这些小马群这时已把大草原踩得尘土飞扬了。

Thus, then, the muffled¹¹ rollings of a milky¹² sea; the bleak¹³ rustlings of the festooned frosts of mountains;  于是,那种乳白色的海洋的隐隐翻腾声,那结着冰花的群山的凄恻飒飒声,大草原上风干了的雪花的孤寂飘动声;

the desolate¹⁴ shiftings of the windrowed snows of prairies;  所有这些东西,在以实玛利看来,可就跟那张使小马吓慌了的抖动的鲜水牛皮一样呵!

all these, to Ishmael, are as the shaking of that buffalo robe to the frightened colt! 小马也不知道产生这种暗示的神秘症兆的不知名的东西是在哪里,我也跟那小马一样,总认为这些东西一定是存在于什么地方。

Though neither knows where lie the nameless things of which the mystic sign gives forth¹⁵ such hints. 虽然在许多方面看来,这个眼所能见的世界似乎是由爱所构成的,但是,那个眼不能见的天体却又是恐惧所构成的。

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 goring   

v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• General Goring spoke for about two hours. 戈林将军的发言持续了大约两个小时。 来自英汉非文学 - 新闻报道
• Always do they talk that way with their arrogance before a goring. 他们挨牛角之前，总是这样吹大牛。 来自辞典例句

4 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

5 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。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 rending   

v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破

参考例句：

• The cries of those imprisoned in the fallen buildings were heart-rending. 被困于倒塌大楼里的人们的哭喊声令人心碎。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She was rending her hair out in anger. 她气愤得直扯自己的头发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

9 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

10 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

11 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

13 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

14 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

15 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。