英语听书《白鲸记》第610期

 　　Though, in overseeing the pursuit of this whale, Captain Ahab had evinced his customary activity, to call it so; 虽然亚哈船长可以说还是象往常一样，在监督着追捕这条大鲸；

　　yet now that the creature was dead, some vague dissatisfaction, or impatience¹, or despair, seemed working in him; 然而，现在看到这只生物已经死了，他心里却似乎激起了一种隐约的不快和不耐烦，甚至可说是绝望来；

　　as if the sight of that dead body reminded him that Moby Dick was yet to be slain²;  仿佛一看到这架死尸，就教他想起那只还有待于捕杀的莫比－迪克，

　　and though a thousand other whales were brought to his ship, all that would not one jot³ advance his grand, monomaniac object.  因而尽管把千百条其它的大鲸拖到船边来，对于他那伟大的、偏热症的目标说来，却还是毫无助益。

　　Very soon you would have thought from the sound on the Pequod's decks, that all hands were preparing to cast anchor in the deep;  从"裴廓德号"的甲板上所发出来的声响中，你也许立刻会认为，大家又在准备把锚抛到海里了；

　　for heavy chains are being dragged along the deck, and thrust rattling⁴ out of the port-holes.  因为沉重的铁链已经在甲板上拖拽着，铛铛作响地朝舷窗外面抛出去。

　　But by those clanking links, the vast corpse⁵ itself, not the ship, is to be moored⁶.  可是，这些铛铛作响的索链所要拴住的可不是船，而是那架大尸体。

　　Tied by the head to the stern, and by the tail to the bows, the whale now lies with its black hull⁷ close to the vessel's,  人们把这条鲸的头缚在船尾，尾巴缚在船头，现在它那黑黝黝的身体就紧靠着船身，停在那里。

　　and seen through the darkness of the night, which obscured the spars and rigging aloft,  透过漆黑的夜空望去，由于夜幕遮住了船上高处的圆木和索具，

　　the two—ship and whale, seemed yoked⁸ together like colossal⁹ bullocks, whereof one reclines while the other remains¹⁰ standing¹¹.  使得这两件东西——船和鲸，似乎象是用轭具连在一起的两只大牯牛，一条躺着，一条仍是站着

　　Footnote: A little item may as well be related here. （原注：不妨在这里把一些细节说一说，

　　The strongest and most reliable hold which the ship has upon the whale when moored alongside, is by the flukes or tail;  船跟鲸拴在一起的时候，最得力而可靠的办法就是拴住鲸尾巴；

　　and as from its greater density that part is relatively heavier than any other (excepting the side-fins),  不过由于尾巴体积很大，尾巴也相对地比任何一部分（除了两边的鳍）重，

　　its flexibility even in death, causes it to sink low beneath the surface; 而且死鲸总是软绵绵的，这就使得鲸仍然沉在水下；

1 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

2 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

3 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

4 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

5 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

6 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

7 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

8 yoked   

结合（yoke的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• The farmer yoked the oxen. 那个农夫给牛加上轭。
• He was yoked to an disinclined partner. 他不得不与一位不情愿的伙伴合作。

9 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。