英语听书《白鲸记》第777期

 　　And when those defendants¹ were remonstrated² with, their captain snapped his fingers in the plaintiffs' teeth, and assured them that by way of doxology to the deed he had done, he would now retain their line, harpoons⁴, and boat, which had remained attached to the whale at the time of the seizure⁵. Wherefore the plaintiffs now sued for the recovery of the value of their whale, line, harpoons, and boat.

　　而当原告对被告提出指责时，被告的船长竟伸起指头直戳到原告的嘴巴，而且还强词夺理地对原告们说，他所做的都是合情合理的，他现在应该保有他们的绳索、标枪和小艇（这些东西都是在大鲸被夺去时原封不动地附在鲸身上的）。因此，原告们现在要控告对方赔偿他们的鲸、绳索、标枪和小艇的损失。

　　Mr. Erskine was counsel for the defendants; Lord Ellenborough was the judge. In the course of the defence, the witty⁶ Erskine went on to illustrate⁷ his position, by alluding⁸ to a recent crim. con⁹. case, wherein a gentleman, after in vain trying to bridle¹⁰ his wife's viciousness, had at last abandoned her upon the seas of life; but in the course of years, repenting¹¹ of that step, he instituted an action to recover possession of her. Erskine was on the other side; and he then supported it by saying, that though the gentleman had originally harpooned¹² the lady, and had once had her fast, and only by reason of the great stress of her plunging¹³ viciousness, had at last abandoned her; yet abandon her he did, so that she became a loose-fish; and therefore when a subsequent gentleman re-harpooned her, the lady then became that subsequent gentleman's property, along with whatever harpoon³ might have been found sticking in her.

　　厄斯金（托马斯·厄斯金（1750—1825）——英国律师。先生当时是被告的辩护律师：法官是埃伦巴勒（爱德华·洛·埃伦巴勒（1750—1818）——英国律师。）勋爵。在辩护过程中，机智的厄斯金竟引证了从前一件通奸案来解释他的见解，他说，当时有一位仁兄，在徒劳地制止他妻子的不端行为后，终于把她抛弃了，听她漂流去。但是，过了几年，他又懊悔不该采取那种做法，想重新把她占为己有。厄斯金当时是女方的辩护人，于是起来为女方辩护说，尽管这位仁兄原来也使用标枪把她戳中了，并且一度把她拴住了，只不过因为她耽迷于不端行为，令人左右为难，才终于不得不将她抛弃；然而，既然他确是把她抛弃了，所以她就成为一条无主鲸了；因此，等到有第二个仁兄再用标枪把她戳中了的时候，那么，这位太太当然就该归这第二个仁兄所有喽，连同她身上还可以找得到的、前人所已戳在她身上的标枪，都应一起算作第二位仁兄的财产了。

　　Now in the present case Erskine contended that the examples of the whale and the lady were reciprocally illustrative of each other.

　　所以，在现在这个案件中，厄斯金极力主张，这条鲸和那个太太的两个例子，都是足以彼此互作说明的。

1 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

2 remonstrated   

v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫

参考例句：

• They remonstrated with the official about the decision. 他们就这一决定向这位官员提出了抗议。
• We remonstrated against the ill-treatment of prisoners of war. 我们对虐待战俘之事提出抗议。 来自辞典例句

3 harpoon   

n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获

参考例句：

• The harpoon drove deep into the body of the whale.渔叉深深地扎进鲸鱼体内。
• The fisherman transfixed the shark with a harpoon.渔夫用鱼叉刺住鲨鱼。

4 harpoons   

n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Greenpeace hopes to position its boats between the harpoons and the whales. 绿色和平希望他们的船能开到港口与鲸鱼群之间的地方。 来自互联网
• NIV Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? 7[和合]你能用倒钩枪扎满它的皮，能用鱼叉叉满它的头吗？ 来自互联网

5 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

6 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

7 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

8 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

9 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

10 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

11 repenting   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was repenting rapidly. 他很快就后悔了。
• Repenting of his crime the thief returned the jewels and confessed to the police. 那贼对自己的罪行痛悔不已；归还了珠宝并向警方坦白。

12 harpooned   

v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He said he once harpooned a 2, 000-pound shark off the coast of New York. 他称，他曾经在纽约海面上，用鱼叉捕获过一条重达2.000磅的鲨鱼。 来自互联网

13 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》