英语听书《白鲸记》第502期

 　　And as for small difficulties and worryings, prospects¹ of sudden disaster, peril² of life and limb; all these, and death itself,  至于一切的小困难，小麻烦，前途会突然发生不幸，有丧命失肢的危险，所有这一切，以及死亡本身，

　　seem to him only sly, good-natured hits, and jolly punches in the side bestowed³ by the unseen and unaccountable old joker. 在他看来，似乎都不过是那个看不见又不可理解的老恶作剧家所赐予的顽皮而温厚的打击，腰眼挨到有趣的一拳而已。

　　That odd sort of wayward mood I am speaking of, comes over a man only in some time of extreme tribulation⁴; 不过，我所说的这种奇特的刚愎心情，只是发生在一个人有时碰到极度苦难，

　　it comes in the very midst of his earnestness, 又正是在他最热切的时候，

　　so that what just before might have seemed to him a thing most momentous⁵, now seems but a part of the general joke. 所以也许他以前认为最重大的事，如今看来，就不过是大恶作剧的一部分而已。

　　There is nothing like the perils⁶ of whaling to breed this free and easy sort of genial⁷, desperado philosophy; 再没有象捕鲸业所遭到的种种危险更易于滋长这种自由的、爽快的、无赖的人生观了；

　　and with it I now regarded this whole voyage of the Pequod, and the great White Whale its object. 我这里对于以大白鲸为目标的这艘“裴廓德号”的整个航程，就是这般看法。

　　"Queequeg," said I, when they had dragged me, the last man, to the deck, “魁魁格，我说：”当他们最后把我打从海里拖上甲板，

　　and I was still shaking myself in my jacket to fling off the water; 我还在晃掉上衣的水滴的时候，

　　"Queequeg, my fine friend, does this sort of thing often happen?" “魁魁格，我的好朋友，这样的事情是经常发生的么？”

　　Without much emotion, though soaked through just like me, he gave me to understand that such things did often happen. 他虽然跟我一样浑身湿透，却很无动于衷地对我说，这种事情的确是经常发生的。

　　"Mr. Stubb," said I, turning to that worthy⁸, “斯塔布先生，”我又转过头去对这个俊杰说，

　　who, buttoned up in his oil-jacket, was now calmly smoking his pipe in the rain; 他刚扣好他那件油布上衣的钮扣，正在雨里恬然地吸着烟斗：

　　"Mr. Stubb, I think I have heard you say that of all whalemen you ever met, “斯塔布先生，我记得我曾听你说起，在你所碰到过的所有捕鲸人中，

　　our chief mate, Mr. Starbuck, is by far the most careful and prudent⁹.  我们的大副，斯达巴克先生是个最最仔细谨慎的人。

　　I suppose then, that going plump on a flying whale with your sail set in a foggy squall is the height of a whaleman's discretion¹⁰?" 那么我想问，在雾蒙蒙的狂风里，扯起篷帆去袭击一条飞奔的鲸，这算是捕鲸人的极慎重的行为么？”

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

3 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

4 tribulation   

n.苦难，灾难

参考例句：

• Even in our awful tribulation we were quite optimistic.即使在极端痛苦时，我们仍十分乐观。
• I hate the tribulation,I commiserate the sorrow brought by tribulation.我厌恶别人深重的苦难，怜悯苦难带来的悲哀。

5 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

6 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？

7 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

10 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。