英语听书《白鲸记》第576期

 　　Chapter 57 Of Whales in Paint; in Teeth; in Wood; in Sheet-Iron; in Stone; in Mountains; in Stars 第五十七章 画里的；牙雕的；木刻的；铁板的；石头的；山里的；星星的鲸

　　On Tower-hill, as you go down to the London docks, 你在下了塔山（塔山——在伦敦的伦敦塔西北面。）向着伦敦码头走去的时候，

　　you may have seen a crippled beggar (or kedger, as the sailors say) holding a painted board before him, representing the tragic¹ scene in which he lost his leg.  你也许会看到一个残废的乞丐（照水手们的称法，也叫“小锚”），他胸前挂着一块画板，画着他失掉了腿的悲惨的情景。

　　There are three whales and three boats;  那上面有三条鲸和三只小艇，

　　and one of the boats (presumed to contain the missing leg in all its original integrity) is being crunched² by the jaws³ of the foremost whale.  其中一只小艇（想来那个原来双腿完好的人就在这只小艇上失掉了腿），正被一条打头的鲸在咬在嚼。

　　Any time these ten years, they tell me, has that man held up that picture, and exhibited that stump⁴ to an incredulous world. 据说，这十年来，这个人都时刻挂着那幅图画，把那残肢公诸这个不轻信的人间。

　　But the time of his justification⁵ has now come. 但是，现在已到了辨明他的情况的时候了。

　　His three whales are as good whales as were ever published in Wapping, at any rate; 总之，他那幅画上的三条鲸实际上就是一直在瓦平（瓦平——伦敦的区名，在泰晤士河北岸。）公开着的那些鲸（鲸——这里系作者暗喻那些作恶横行的家伙。）；

　　and his stump as unquestionable a stump as any you will find in the western clearings.  而他的残肢就跟你可以无可置疑地在西部的开垦地上找到的树桩（树桩——"Stump"在英文中可解释为残肢，也可解释为树桩，这一句有双关意义，同时暗喻资产阶级在西部砍伐树林，开疆辟土遗留下来的树桩。）一样。

　　But, though for ever mounted on that stump, never a stump-speech does the poor whaleman make; 不过，可怜这个捕鲸人虽然始终站在那只树桩上，却从来没有做过竞选演说（从前英美政客在竞选或在其它场合上发表“政论”时，都站在树桩上，这里是双关意义的讽喻，也就是说，有权发表“政论”的人民不能开口，拼命要上“台”去统治人民的政客，却大发谬论。），

　　but, with downcast eyes, stands ruefully contemplating⁶ his own amputation⁷. 而是搭拉着眼睛，忧伤地站在那里，凝视着他自己的断腿。

　　Throughout the Pacific, and also in Nantucket, and New Bedford, and Sag⁸ Harbor,  在整个太平洋上，在南塔开特，新贝得福和萨格港（萨格港——纽约州的一个商港，在加丁纳湾。），

　　you will come across lively sketches⁹ of whales and whaling-scenes, graven by the fishermen themselves on Sperm¹⁰ Whale-teeth, 也随时可以碰到许多刻划大鲸和捕鲸的逼真的写生画，这些都是捕鱼人自己刻在抹香鲸的牙齿上，

　　or ladies' busks wrought¹¹ out of the Right Whale-bone,  或者刻在以露脊鲸骨做出来的女人的勒腰带上，

　　and other like skrimshander articles, as the whalemen call the numerous little ingenious contrivances they elaborately carve out of the rough material, in their hours of ocean leisure.  同时也可以看到象捕鲸人称为解闷手工品的其它许多东西，这是捕鲸者利用他们在海上的空闲时间，以粗骨头精雕细刻出来的各种精巧的小玩意儿。

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

3 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

4 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

5 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

6 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

7 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

8 sag   

v.下垂，下跌，消沉；n.下垂，下跌，凹陷，[航海]随风漂流

参考例句：

• The shelf was beginning to sag beneath the weight of the books upon it.书架在书的重压下渐渐下弯。
• We need to do something about the sag.我们须把下沉的地方修整一下。

9 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》

10 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

11 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。