英语听书《白鲸记》第738期

 For even when tranquilly¹ swimming through the mid-day sea in a calm, 因为即使当它悠闲地游过风平浪静的正午的海面，

with his elevated hump sun-dried as a dromedary's in the desert; 它那耸起的背峰给太阳晒干得象沙漠上的单峰骆驼的背峰一般的时候；

even then, the whale always carries a small basin of water on his head, 即使在这种时候，鲸头上也往往带有一小盆水，

as under a blazing sun you will sometimes see a cavity in a rock filled up with rain. 一如在烈日当空的照射下，你往往会看到岩穴里灌满着一摊雨水一样。

Nor is it at all prudent² for the hunter to be over curious touching³ the precise nature of the whale spout⁴. 而且，猎人们根本也不会好奇得不顾一切危险，去细究一下那条大鲸的喷水究竟是怎么一种东西。

It will not do for him to be peering into it, and putting his face in it. 要他细细地去瞧一瞧，把脸也钻进去，他是不干的。

You cannot go with your pitcher⁵ to this fountain and fill it, and bring it away. 你总不能拿着一只水壶跑到这种喷泉边，把水装满后，再把它拿回来。

For even when coming into slight contact with the outer, vapory shreds⁶ of the jet, 因为即使跟这种喷水的外围的雾气稍微接触一下，

which will often happen, your skin will feverishly⁷ smart, from the acridness of the thing so touching it. 往往就会教你皮肤火辣辣的疼痛，好象碰上什么腐蚀性的东西。

And I know one, who coming into still closer contact with the spout, 我还知道有这样一个人，他因为跟喷水靠得太拢，

whether with some scientific object in view, or otherwise, I cannot say, the skin peeled off from his cheek and arm. 至于他究竟是怀着一种科学的目的，还是别有原因，我可说不上来，总之，他的脸上、臂上的皮肤却坼裂开来了。

Wherefore, among whalemen, the spout is deemed poisonous; they try to evade⁸ it. 所以，捕鲸人总是把这种喷水看做毒性奇重的东西，大家都设法对它远而避之。

Another thing; I have heard it said, and I do not much doubt it, that if the jet is fairly spouted⁹ into your eyes, it will blind you. 还有，我听说，我对这事情也不很表怀疑，那就是，如果那喷水正好喷进了你的眼睛，准会教你眼睛瞎了。

The wisest thing the investigator¹⁰ can do then, it seems to me, is to let this deadly spout alone. 所以据我看来，专爱寻根究底的人，还是把这种可怕的喷水搁在一边为上。

Still, we can hypothesize, even if we cannot prove and establish. 不过，尽管我们既不能证实，也不能得出结论，我们也还可以假设一番。

My hypothesis is this: that the spout is nothing but mist.  我的假设是这样的：这种喷水其实就是雾气。

1 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

2 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

3 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

4 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

5 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

6 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

8 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

9 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。