英语听书《白鲸记》第776期

 　　Likewise a fish is technically¹ fast when it bears a waif, or any other recognized symbol of possession; so long as the party wailing² it plainly evince their ability at any time to take it alongside, as well as their intention so to do.

　　同样地，顾名思义，就是一条鲸被拴住后，身上还插有浮标，或者任何其它可以识别所有权的标记，只要有一方插上了浮标，表明他们能够随时来把它拖走，以及他们打算这样做就行。

　　These are scientific commentaries; but the commentaries of the whalemen themselves sometimes consist in hard words and harder knocks— the Coke-upon-Littleton of the fist. True, among the more upright and honorable whalemen allowances are always made for peculiar³ cases, where it would be an outrageous⁴ moral injustice⁵ for one party to claim possession of a whale previously⁶ chased or killed by another party. But others are by no means so scrupulous⁷.

　　这些都是有科学根据的史话；不过，在捕鱼人自己的史话中有时不免有一些难断难分的争论和更其恼人的冲突——动手动脚，大打出手等记载。不错，在一些比较正直老实的捕鲸人中，往往都会考虑到一些特殊情况，如果有一方硬将另一方先前所追击捕杀的鲸据为己有，那准是一种令人愤慨的不义行为。不过，并不是其他的捕鲸人都会这么谨严。

　　Some fifty years ago there was a curious case of whale-trover litigated in England, wherein the plaintiffs set forth⁸ that after a hard chase of a whale in the Northern seas; and when indeed they (the plaintiffs) had succeeded in harpooning⁹ the fish; they were at last, through peril¹⁰ of their lives, obliged to forsake¹¹ not only their lines, but their boat itself. Ultimately the defendants¹² (the crew of another ship) came up with the whale, struck, killed, seized, and finally appropriated it before the very eyes of the plaintiffs.

　　大约五十年前，英国就发生过一件为追索侵占大鲸而打官司的奇案。在那个案件中，原告说，他们在北海上千辛万苦的追击后，他们（原告）确实用标枪刺中了一条鲸，不过，最后，由于有生命的危险，他们不得不把他们的绳索，甚至连同小艇都抛弃了。可是，后来，不料这些被告（指另一艘船的水手们）赶上了这条鲸，把它打了，弄死，捆缚起来，结果还直当着原告的面，把它占为己有。

1 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

2 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

3 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

4 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

5 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 scrupulous   

adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的

参考例句：

• She is scrupulous to a degree.她非常谨慎。
• Poets are not so scrupulous as you are.诗人并不像你那样顾虑多。

8 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。

9 harpooning   

v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

10 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

11 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

12 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件