英语听书《白鲸记》第687期

 Chapter 78 Cistern¹ and Buckets 第七十八章 水槽和水桶

Nimble as a cat, Tashtego mounts aloft; and without altering his erect² posture³, 塔斯蒂哥轻捷如猫地往上爬去，身体仍然非常笔挺，

runs straight out upon the overhanging mainyard-arm, to the part where it exactly projects over the hoisted⁴ Tun. 直爬上那向外撑出的大桅桁臂，到了桁臂吊着大桶的突出的地方。

He has carried with him a light tackle called a whip, consisting of only two parts, travelling through a single-sheaved block. 他随身带有一只只有两样零件，靠一种小辘轳转动的小滑车。

Securing this block, so that it hangs down from the yard-arm, 他把这只小滑车缚在桁臂下面，

he swings one end of the rope, till it is caught and firmly held by a hand on the deck. 于是把绳子的一头一甩，由甲板上一个水手把它抓牢。

Then, hand-over-hand, down the other part, the Indian drops through the air, till dexterously⁵ he lands on the summit of the head. 接着，这个印第安人就双手互换地、顺着桁臂的另一端从空中落下来，熟练地降落在那只鲸头的头顶。

There—still high elevated above the rest of the company, to whom he vivaciously⁶ cries, 他在那地方——高高在上地耸立在众人头顶，对大家兴高采烈地叫喊，

he seems some Turkish Muezzin calling the good people to prayers from the top of a tower. 有如土耳其寺院里的报时者，在塔顶上通知善男信女去做祷告。

A short-handled sharp spade being sent up to him, he diligently⁷ searches for the proper place to begin breaking into the Tun. 下边的人递给他一支锐利的短柄铲子，他就谨慎地找个适当的位置，着手打开那只大桶。

In this business he proceeds very heedfully, like a treasure-hunter in some old house, sounding the walls to find where the gold is masoned in. 他在做这事情的时候，十分小心在意，有如一个在什么古屋探宝的人，细心察看墙壁，看看黄金究竟埋在哪儿。

By the time this cautious search is over, a stout⁸ ironbound bucket, precisely⁹ like a well-bucket, has been attached to one end of the whip; 等到这番小心的探索工作告个段落，人们便把一只跟吊水桶一模一样的、箍着铁圈的结实的桶子缚在小滑车的一端，

while the other end, being stretched across the deck, is there held by two or three alert hands. 两三个机警的水手则拉住小滑车另一端那根伸到甲板上的绳索。

1 cistern   

n.贮水池

参考例句：

• The cistern is empty but soon fills again.蓄水池里现在没水，但不久就会储满水的。
• The lavatory cistern overflowed.厕所水箱的水溢出来了

2 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

5 dexterously   

adv.巧妙地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He operates the machine dexterously. 他操纵机器动作非常轻巧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• How dexterously he handled the mite. 他伺候小家伙，有多么熟练。 来自辞典例句

6 vivaciously   

adv.快活地；活泼地；愉快地

参考例句：

• He describes his adventures vivaciously. 他兴奋地谈论着自己的冒险经历。 来自互联网

7 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

8 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

9 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。