英语听书《白鲸记》第653期

 　　Chapter 72 The Monkey-Rope 第七十二章 猴索

　　In the tumultuous business of cutting-in and attending to a whale, there is much running backwards¹ and forwards among the crew. 在剖割和处理一条大鲸的乱糟糟的工作中，水手们总是奔前赶后地忙个不停。

　　Now hands are wanted here, and then again hands are wanted there. 一会儿这里要人帮忙，一会儿那里又要人去帮忙。

　　There is no staying in any one place; for at one and the same time everything has to be done everywhere. 到处都在忙着，因为在同一个时间里，各处都得把各种事情赶完。

　　It is much the same with him who endeavors the description of the scene. 那个企图描述这个场面的人也是如此。

　　We must now retrace² our way a little. 现在我们必须略为倒叙一番。

　　It was mentioned that upon first breaking ground in the whale's back, 前面已经说过，在剖鲸背之先，

　　the blubber-hook was inserted into the original hole there cut by the spades of the mates. 得把那只鲸脂大钩钩在原来大二三副用铲子割开来的洞孔里。

　　But how did so clumsy and weighty a mass as that same hook get fixed³ in that hole? 可是，一只这样笨重的钩子怎样把那个洞孔钩住呢？

　　It was inserted there by my particular friend Queequeg, 那是由我的密友魁魁格挂上去的，

　　whose duty it was, as harpooneer, to descend⁴ upon the monster's back for the special purpose referred to. 他身为标枪手，就得爬到那怪物的背上，去完成上述这项特殊任务。

　　But in very many cases,  但是，往往在许多场合上，

　　circumstances require that the harpooneer shall remain on the whale till the whole tensing or stripping operation is concluded. 还需要这个标枪手留在鲸背上，直待到整个剥皮工作完毕才下来。

　　The whale, be it observed, lies almost entirely⁵ submerged, excepting the immediate⁶ parts operated upon. 请注意，那条鲸，除了正在让人家剥皮的部分，差不多全都浸在水里。

　　So down there, some ten feet below the level of the deck, the poor harpooneer flounders about, half on the whale and half in the water,  因此，这个可怜的标枪手就得在低于甲板约十英尺左右的下边挣扎着，身子一半在鲸背上，一半浸在水里，

　　as the vast mass revolves⁷ like a tread-mill beneath him.  而那条巨物则象架踏车似的，在他脚下旋来转去。

1 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

2 retrace   

v.折回；追溯，探源

参考例句：

• He retraced his steps to the spot where he'd left the case.他折回到他丢下箱子的地方。
• You must retrace your steps.你必须折回原来走过的路。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》