英语听书《白鲸记》第587期

 　　Almost forgetting for the moment all thoughts of Moby Dick, 我们顿时简直把有关莫比－迪克的所有想法都给忘得干干净净，

　　we now gazed at the most wondrous¹ phenomenon which the secret seas have hitherto revealed to mankind. 大家尽凝望着那神秘的海洋迄今所曾显示于人类的最为奇妙的景象。

　　A vast pulpy² mass, furlongs in length and breadth, of a glancing cream-color, lay floating on the water, innumerable long arms radiating from its centre,  一大团软绵绵的东西，纵横有好几个弗隆（弗隆——英国长度单位，等于八分之一英里或201.167米。），闪着奶油色，漂泛在海面上，在它身体中央辐射出了无数的长手臂，

　　and curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas, as if blindly to clutch at any hapless object within reach. 卷卷曲曲，七缠八绕，活象一窝蟒蛇，仿佛盲冲瞎撞地要把任何碰得到的倒霉东西捉住似的。

　　No perceptible face or front did it have; no conceivable token of either sensation or instinct; 既看不出它究竟有没有脸相；又辨不清它有否感觉；

　　but undulated there on the billows, an unearthly, formless, chance-like apparition³ of life. 但见一个神秘的、无定形的、偶然出现似的活幽灵在波涛间起伏。

　　As with a low sucking sound it slowly disappeared again, Starbuck still gazing at the agitated⁴ waters where it had sunk, with a wild voice exclaimed, 在它发出一阵低微的吮吸声后，又慢慢地消失的时候，还在朝它沉下去的急激的水面凝视着的斯达巴克，突然狂叫起来，

　　"Almost rather had I seen Moby Dick and fought him, than to have seen thee, thou white ghost!" “你这白鬼，看到你这副鬼模样，我倒宁可看到莫比－迪克，跟它扑打一顿！”

　　What was it, Sir? said Flask⁵. “那是什么东西，先生？”弗拉斯克说。

　　The great live squid, which, they say, few whale-ships ever beheld⁶, and returned to their ports to tell of it. “大乌贼鱼，这种东西，据说，捕鲸船难得看到，只听到看过的人回港埠后说起它。”

　　But Ahab said nothing; turning his boat, he sailed back to the vessel⁷; the rest as silently following. 可是，亚哈什么都不说，把他的小艇掉了头，划回大船去了；其余三只小艇，也都悄悄地跟上去。

1 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

2 pulpy   

果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂

参考例句：

• The bean like seeds of this plant, enclosed within a pulpy fruit. 被包在肉质果实内的这种植物的豆样种子。
• Her body felt bruised, her lips pulpy and tender. 她的身体感觉碰伤了，她的嘴唇柔软娇嫩。

3 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

4 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

5 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

6 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。