英语听书《白鲸记》第646期

 　　A strange, apostolic whim¹ having seized him, he had left Neskyeuna for Nantucket, where, with that cunning peculiar² to craziness, 他突然发了一阵使徒式的奇兴，离开了奈斯古威那到南塔开特来，在南塔开特，靠了他那固有的狂妄的技巧，

　　he assumed a steady, common sense exterior³, and offered himself as a green-hand candidate for the Jeroboam's whaling voyage. 他外表上装成一个稳重的普通人物，自愿参加"耶罗波安号"的捕鲸航行，作一个生手的后备船员。

　　They engaged him; but straightway upon the ship's getting out of sight of land, his insanity⁴ broke out in a freshet. 船上雇用了他。但是，等到船只一离开陆地，他的神经症就突然发作起来。

　　He announced himself as the archangel Gabriel, and commanded the captain to jump overboard. 他宣称他自己就是迦百列天使长，命令船长跳到海里去。

　　He published his manifesto⁵, whereby he set himself forth⁶ as the deliverer of the isles⁷ of the sea and vicar-general of all Oceanica. 他发表了宣言，自称是海洋上的拯救者，五大洋的代理监督。他这样毫无畏缩。

　　The unflinching earnestness with which he declared these things; 煞有介事地宣告了这些事情；

　　the dark, daring play of his sleepless⁸, excited imagination, and all the preternatural terrors of real delirium⁹, 加上他那莫名其妙的、大胆耍弄他不睡觉、狂乱的幻想以及一切真正精神错乱的不可思议的恐怖行动，

　　united to invest this Gabriel in the minds of the majority of the ignorant crew, with an atmosphere of sacredness. 使得大多数无知的水手的心里都把这个迦百列当成个神圣不可侵犯的人物。

　　Moreover, they were afraid of him. 而且，大家都很怕他。

　　As such a man, however, was not of much practical use in the ship, especially as he refused to work except when he pleased, 不过，象这样的人，在船上却是派不了多大真用场的，尤其是他干活得趁他自己高兴，否则就不肯干，

　　the incredulous captain would fain have been rid of him; 那个深表怀疑的船长真想把他辞掉；

　　but apprised¹⁰ that that individual's intention was to land him in the first convenient port, the archangel forthwith opened all his seals and vials, 而且通知他说，他个人的意图是，想等船只一驶到第一个便利的港口，就让他上岸，可是，这个天使长却说他立刻就打开他一切的印信和大碗，

　　devoting the ship and all hands to unconditional¹¹ perdition, in case this intention was carried out.  无条件地把船只和全体水手都给送了终，——如果船长实行他这种意图的话。

1 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

2 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

3 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

4 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

5 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

8 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

9 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

10 apprised   

v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价

参考例句：

• We were fully apprised of the situation. 我们完全获悉当时的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have apprised him of your arrival. 我已经告诉他你要来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。