英语听书《白鲸记》第594期

 　　Yet habit—strange thing! 然而，习惯就是不可思议的东西！

　　what cannot habit accomplish? 有什么是习惯所克服不了的？

　　Gayer sallies, more merry mirth, better jokes, and brighter repartees,  人们所听到的那种快活的俏皮话，愉快的打趣，尽情的开玩笑，和伶俐的应对，

　　you never heard over your mahogany, than you will hear over the half-inch white cedar¹ of the whaleboat, 坐在半英寸厚的白杉木的捕鲸艇上，是在一般餐桌上从来听不到的，

　　when thus hung in hangman's nooses²; and, like the six burghers of Calais before King Edward, 象这样给吊在绞架的套索上，就跟那六个站在爱德华国王面前的卡勒斯市民一样，

　　the six men composing the crew pull into the jaws³ of death, with a halter around every neck, as you may say. 你不妨这么说，这只小艇上那六个划到鬼门关去的水手，每个人的颈脖子上都套有一根绞索。

　　Perhaps a very little thought will now enable you to account for those repeated whaling disasters, 这会儿，你也许不大会想到那些一再发生的捕鲸业的灾难，

　　some few of which are casually⁴ chronicled—of this man or that man being taken out of the boat by the line, and lost.  虽说偶尔也有一些记载——不大会想到有这个或者那个人让捕鲸索给摔出了小艇而完了蛋。

　　For, when the line is darting⁵ out, to be seated then in the boat,  因为捕鲸索一经抛了出去，坐在小艇上，

　　is like being seated in the midst of the manifold whizzings of a steam-engine in full play, 就如置身在开足马力的蒸汽机的大闹声里，

　　when every flying beam, and shaft⁶, and wheel, is grazing you.  这时候每一支飞滚的杠杆呀，轴呀，轮盘呀，都在摩擦着你。

　　It is worse; for you cannot sit motionless in the heart of these perils⁷,  最糟糕的是，坐在这种危险的中心里，却不能坐在那里，一动不动，

　　because the boat is rocking like a cradle, and you are pitched one way and the other, without the slightest warning; 因为那只小艇本身就摇簸得象只摇篮，你只能毫无防备地听其摇来摆去；

　　and only by a certain self-adjusting buoyancy and simultaneousness of volition⁸ and action, 只有靠着一阵自动调节的弹力，和同时发生的意志力与活动力，

　　can you escape being made a Mazeppa of, and run away with where the all-seeing sun himself could never pierce you out. 才不至于做麦齐巴，不至于飞奔而去，飞奔到那个始终张开眼睛的太阳也看不见你的地方去。

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 nooses   

n.绞索，套索( noose的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Now I must prepare the nooses and the rope to lash him alongside, he thought. 现在我得准备好套索和绳子，把它绑在船边，他想。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• The nooses are no prank. We were lynched, we were murdered. 这些绳套不是恶作剧。我们被处以了私刑，我们被谋杀了。 来自互联网

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 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

5 darting   

v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• Swallows were darting through the clouds. 燕子穿云急飞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Swallows were darting through the air. 燕子在空中掠过。 来自辞典例句

6 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

7 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？

8 volition   

n.意志；决意

参考例句：

• We like to think that everything we do and everything we think is a product of our volition.我们常常认为我们所做和所想的一切都出自自己的意愿。
• Makin said Mr Coombes had gone to the police of his own volition.梅金说库姆斯先生是主动去投案的。