英语听书《白鲸记》第574期

 　　The natural aptitude¹ of the French for seizing the picturesqueness² of things  法国人之具有把握事物的生动逼真的天资，

　　seems to be peculiarly evinced in what paintings and engravings they have of their whaling scenes. 似乎特别表现在他们那些捕鲸场面的绘画和雕刻上。

　　With not one tenth of England's experience in the fishery, and not the thousandth part of that of the Americans,  虽然他们在捕鱼业的经验方面还不及英国的什一，更不及美国的千分之一，

　　they have nevertheless furnished both nations with the only finished sketches³ at all capable of conveying the real spirit of the whale hunt. 但是，他们却给这两个国家提供无比精巧的写生画，完全能够传达出捕鲸的真正神韵。

　　For the most part, the English and American whale draughtsmen seem entirely⁴ content with presenting the mechanical outline of things, 就英美大多数大鲸绘图员说来，他们似乎纯然满足于表现事物的粗陋轮廓，

　　such as the vacant profile of the whale; 比如画了一幅毫无神采的大鲸侧面图；

　　which, so far as picturesqueness of effect is concerned, is about tantamount to sketching⁵ the profile of a pyramid. 而就画趣的效果说来，却不过是略等于速写出一只金字塔的侧面图而已。

　　Even Scoresby, the justly renowned⁶ Right whaleman,  甚至于斯哥斯比，这个谨严的著名捕露脊鲸者，

　　after giving us a stiff full length of the Greenland whale, and three or four delicate miniatures of narwhales and porpoises⁷, 在给我们一幅生硬的格陵兰鲸的全身像和三四条精巧的独角鲸和小鲸的袖珍图后，

　　treats us to a series of classical engravings of boat hooks, chopping knives, and grapnels; 又让我们去欣赏一连串刻有小艇铁钩，菜刀，四脚锚等的古雅版画；

　　and with the microscopic⁸ diligence of a Leuwenhoeck submits to the inspection⁹ of a shivering world ninety-six fac-similes of magnified Arctic snow crystals. 同时还以雷文胡克（雷文胡克——即荷兰的显微镜家安东尼·范。李文霍克（1632—1723）。）的辛勤钻研显微镜的精神，让我们观察一下令人发颤的北极地方九十六幅放大了的结晶雪粒的复制图。

　　I mean no disparagement¹⁰ to the excellent voyager (I honor him for a veteran),  我对这位优秀的航海家毫无贬抑之意（我把他尊崇为一位经验丰富的前辈），

　　but in so important a matter it was certainly an oversight¹¹ not to have procured¹² for every crystal a sworn affidavit¹³ taken before a Greenland Justice of the Peace. 不过，象如此关系重大的事体，事先却没有把每一颗结晶体都拿到格陵兰的治安推事那里去取得一份宣誓书，那就未免是一种失察了。

1 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

2 picturesqueness   

参考例句：

• The picturesqueness of the engineer's life was always attractive to Presley. 这司机的丰富多彩的生活，始终叫普瑞斯莱醉心。
• Philip liked the daring picturesqueness of the Americans'costume. 菲利浦喜欢美国人装束的那种粗犷的美。

3 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

6 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

7 porpoises   

n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A shoal of porpoises are well on the feed. 一群海豚正在吞食。 来自辞典例句
• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。 来自辞典例句

8 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

9 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

10 disparagement   

n.轻视，轻蔑

参考例句：

• He was humble and meek, filled with self-disparagement and abasement. 他谦卑、恭顺，满怀自我贬斥与压抑。 来自互联网
• Faint praise is disparagement. 敷衍勉强的恭维等于轻蔑。 来自互联网

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

13 affidavit   

n.宣誓书

参考例句：

• I gave an affidavit to the judge about the accident I witnessed.我向法官提交了一份关于我目击的事故的证词。
• The affidavit was formally read to the court.书面证词正式向出席法庭的人宣读了。