英语听书《白鲸记》第684期

 Chapter 77 The Great Heidelburgh Tun 第七十七章 海德堡大桶

Now comes the Baling of the Case. 现在要说到汲脑窝了。

But to comprehend it aright, you must know something of the curious internal structure of the thing operated upon. 但是，要正确地了解它，必须知道一点这种要动手术的东西的内部的希奇结构。

Regarding the Sperm¹ Whale's head as a solid oblong, you may, on an inclined plane, sideways divide it into two quoins, 你可以从斜面上把抹香鲸头看成一个立体的长椭圆形，把它斜切成两个楔状片

whereof the lower is the bony structure, forming the cranium and jaws², and the upper an unctuous³ mass wholly free from bones; 那么，下半块就是构成脑盖骨和牙床骨的结构，上半块就是完全没有骨头、滑腻腻的一团东西；

its broad forward end forming the expanded vertical⁴ apparent forehead of the whale. 它那宽阔的前端构成了大鲸的开阔、垂直而显明的前额。

At the middle of the forehead horizontally subdivide⁵ this upper quoin, 在前额的正中再把这上半块的楔状片横分为二，

and then you have two almost equal parts, which before were naturally divided by an internal wall of a thick tendinous substance. 那么，就成为差不多相等的两爿，这两爿东西，天生是由一垛内壁似的一种厚腱质的东西隔开的。

Footnote: Quoin is not a Euclidean term. 脚注：楔状片——楔状片不是个几何学名称，

It belongs to the pure nautical⁶ mathematics. 它全然是属于海上的数学名称，

I know not that it has been defined before. 以前是否有人解释过这名称，我不知道。

A quoin is a solid which differs from a wedge in having its sharp end formed by the steep inclination⁷ of one side,  楔状片是立体的，它跟楔形不同的地方，是它的尖端系由一边的斜倾角所形成的，

instead of the mutual⁸ tapering⁹ of both sides. end of footnote. 而不是两边都共同渐向尖端削小的。脚注完。

The lower subdivided¹⁰ part, called the junk, is one immense honeycomb of oil, 横切下来的那下半爿，叫做脑块，就是一只藏油的大蜂窠，

formed by the crossing and recrossing, into ten thousand infiltrated¹¹ cells, of tough elastic¹² white fibres throughout its whole extent.  里边往复交错，有无数互相渗透的细窝，完全是一种粗糙而有弹性的白色纤维质。

1 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

2 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。

3 unctuous   

adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的

参考例句：

• He speaks in unctuous tones.他说话油腔滑调。
• He made an unctuous assurance.他做了个虚请假意的承诺。

4 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

5 subdivide   

vt.细分（细区分，再划分，重分，叠分，分小类）

参考例句：

• You can use sales organizations to subdivide markets into regions.用销售组织将市场细分为区域。
• The verbs were subdivided into transitive and intransitive categories.动词可细分为及物动词和不及物动词。

6 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

7 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

10 subdivided   

再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The compound was subdivided into four living areas. 那个区域被划分成4个居住小区。
• This part of geologic calendar has not been satisfactorily subdivided. 这部分地质年代表还没有令人满意地再细分出来。

11 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。