英语听书《白鲸记》第685期

 The upper part, known as the Case, may be regarded as the great Heidelburgh Tun of the Sperm¹ Whale. 那上半爿（叫做脑窝），也可以说是抹香鲸的海德堡大桶。

And as that famous great tierce is mystically carved in front, 因为那只著名的中号大桶（中号大桶——四十二加仑）就神秘地嵌在前边，

so the whale's vast plaited forehead forms innumerable strange devices for the emblematical² adornment³ of his wondrous⁴ tun. 所以这条鲸的辫状的大前额上，就给它那个具有标志性的奇形怪状的大桶平添了无数奇特的图案。

Moreover, as that of Heidelburgh was always replenished⁵ with the most excellent of the wines of the Rhenish valleys, 而且正如那种海德堡大桶始终是灌满了莱茵河流域一带的名酒一般，

so the tun of the whale contains by far the most precious of all his oily vintages; 这种鲸的大桶也同样藏有最最名贵的油；

namely, the highly-prized spermaceti, in its absolutely pure, limpid⁶, and odoriferous state. 就是说，有被视若至宝的鲸脑：质地纯净，色泽透明，芬香扑鼻。

Nor is this precious substance found unalloyed in any other part of the creature. 这种名贵的东西，并不是可以在鲸身的任何其它部分找得到的。

Though in life it remains⁷ perfectly⁸ fluid, yet, upon exposure to the air, after death, it soon begins to concrete; 这种东西，虽然在鲸活着的时候，是一种纯粹的液体，但在它死后，一接触空气，就立刻凝结起来，

sending forth⁹ beautiful crystalline shoots, as when the first thin delicate ice is just forming in water. 变成美丽的芽状结晶，有如清水初度凝结为悦目的薄冰。

A large whale's case generally yields about five hundred gallons of sperm, though from unavoidable circumstances,  一条大鲸的脑窝通常的出油量约在五百加仑左右，不过，由于一些不可避免的情况，

considerable of it is spilled, leaks, and dribbles¹⁰ away, or is otherwise irrevocably lost in the ticklish¹¹ business of securing what you can. 它总要给溢掉、漏掉、滴掉不少，要不然，总要在进行这件难弄的工作时，造成其它无法挽救的损失。

I know not with what fine and costly material the Heidelburgh Tun was coated within, 我不知道包在这只海德堡大桶里边的是什么精良而华贵物质，

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 emblematical   

adj.标志的，象征的，典型的

参考例句：

• It might be made emblematical of something. 那可能是某一事物的标志。 来自辞典例句

3 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

4 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

5 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。

6 limpid   

adj.清澈的，透明的

参考例句：

• He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。
• The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。

7 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。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 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。

10 dribbles   

n.涓滴( dribble的名词复数 )；细滴；少量（液体）v.流口水( dribble的第三人称单数 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球

参考例句：

• That faucet dribbles badly. 那个水龙头漏水严重。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Question: How do you make the dribbles like you always do them? 就像你经常做的，你怎么盘带？（估计也是个踢球的）。 来自互联网

11 ticklish   

adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理

参考例句：

• This massage method is not recommended for anyone who is very ticklish.这种按摩法不推荐给怕痒的人使用。
• The news is quite ticklish to the ear,这消息听起来使人觉得有些难办。