英语听书《白鲸记》第735期

 How obvious it is it, too, that this necessity for the whale's rising exposes him to all the fatal hazards of the chase. 鲸既然必需这样冒出水面来，那么，它显然就有遭到追击的一切生命攸关的危险了。

For not by hook or by net could this vast leviathan be caught, when sailing a thousand fathoms¹ beneath the sunlight. 因为当它游在几千英尺的海底的时候，象这样硕大无朋的大海兽，可不是用钩用网就能捕捉得到的。

Not so much thy skill, then, O hunter, as the great necessities that strike the victory to thee! 这样说来，猎人呵，使你获胜的，可不一定是由于你的技巧高明，而是由于它那必然的习惯了！

In man, breathing is incessantly² going on—one breath only serving for two or three pulsations; 人类是一刻也不停地在呼吸的——一次呼吸只顶得上两三次脉搏跳动；

so that whatever other business he has to attend to, waking or sleeping, breathe he must, or die he will. 所以，不管他还得去做其它什么事，醒着也好，睡着也好，他都必须呼吸，否则，他就要完蛋。

But the Sperm³ Whale only breathes about one seventh or Sunday of his time. 可是，抹香鲸的呼吸次数却只有人类的七分之一，或者可以说，它是只在它自己的礼拜天才呼吸一次。

It has been said that the whale only breathes through his spout-hole; 刚才已经说过，大鲸是完全靠它的喷水孔呼吸的；

if it could truthfully be added that his spouts⁴ are mixed with water, 如果可以再如实地补充一句说：它的喷口是跟水混在一起的，

then I opine we should be furnished with the reason why his sense of smell seems obliterated⁵ in him; 那么，我认为我们还得再提出理由来，说明它为什么好象没有嗅觉似的；

for the only thing about him that at all answers to his nose is that identical spout-hole; 因为它所能称为鼻子的就只是那个喷水孔；

and being so clogged⁶ with two elements, it could not be expected to have the power of smelling. 而这只喷水孔又都塞满了空气和水，怎么能指望它会有嗅觉力呢。

But owing to the mystery of the spout—whether it be water or whether it be vapor⁷, 不过由于那喷水是个谜——不知它究竟是水还是气，

no absolute certainty can as yet be arrived at on this head. 所以在这方面迄今还没有得出绝对肯定的结论来。

Sure it is, nevertheless, that the Sperm Whale has no proper olfactories⁸. 尽管如此，抹香鲸却的确是没有正式的嗅觉器官的。

But what does he want of them? 可是，它要嗅觉器官干什么呢？

No roses, no violets, no Cologne-water in the sea. 海里既没有玫瑰花，又没有紫罗兰花，更没有科隆香水。

1 fathoms   

英寻( fathom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The harbour is four fathoms deep. 港深为四英寻。
• One bait was down forty fathoms. 有个鱼饵下沉到四十英寻的深处。

2 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

3 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。

4 spouts   

n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• A volcano spouts flame and lava. 火山喷出火焰和岩浆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The oil rushes up the tube and spouts up as a gusher. 石油会沿着钢管上涌，如同自喷井那样喷射出来。 来自辞典例句

5 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

7 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

8 olfactories   

n.嗅觉的( olfactory的名词复数 )

参考例句：