英语听书《白鲸记》第781期

 　　A division which, in the whale, is much like halving¹ an apple; there is no intermediate remainder. 鲸的这种分法，倒很象是把一只苹果对半剖开来，中间一点也没有剩留。

　　Now as this law, under a modified form, is to this day in force in England; 因为这个法律，形式虽有所修改，却直到今天还施行于英国；

　　and as it offers in various respects a strange anomaly touching² the general law of Fast—and Loose-Fish, 又因为这个法律，就各方面说来，都跟有主鲸和无主鲸这个总的法律精神有着奇特的矛盾，

　　it is here treated of in a separate chapter, 将其单独列为一章，

　　on the same courteous³ principle that prompts the English railways to be at the expense of a separate car, 所以，在这里，根据英国铁路当局，特为准备供皇族使用，

　　specially⁴ reserved for the accommodation of royalty⁵. 而拨专款建造单独车厢的这个谦恭原则。

　　In the first place, in curious proof of the fact that the above-mentioned law is still in force, 首先，为了好奇地证实上述法律迄今仍在施行，

　　I proceed to lay before you a circumstance-that happened within the last two years. 我想先把两年前所发生的情况说给你听。

　　It seems that some honest mariners⁶ of Dover, or Sandwich, or some one of the Cinque Ports, 好象是多佛海峡（法英之间的海峡），或者散德维奇，还是辛格港，

　　had after a hard chase succeeded in killing⁷ and beaching a fine whale which they had originally descried⁸ afar off from the shore. 有几个老实水手，在千辛万苦的追击后，终于把他们本来在距岸很远的地方所发现的一条上等的大鲸打死了，正想把它拖上海滩来。

　　Now the Cinque Ports are partially⁹ or somehow under the jurisdiction¹⁰ of a sort of policeman or beadle, called a Lord Warden¹¹. 当时，辛格港大概有一部分是属于一种警察或者教区小吏性质的，称为"港口监督"的辖区的。

　　Holding the office directly from the crown, I believe, 我相信他是直接秉承国王的命令行事的，

　　all the royal emoluments¹² incident to the Cinque Port territories become by assignment his. 凡属有关辛格港地区的皇家收益都归他管。

　　By some writers this office is called a sinecure¹³.  有些作家们管这个职司叫闲差。

　　But not so. Because the Lord Warden is busily employed at times in fobbing his perquisites¹⁴; 可是，事实却不然。因为这个"港口监督"一天到晚都在忙着塞满他自己的腰包；

　　which are his chiefly by virtue¹⁵ of that same fobbing of them. 他的腰包主要就是这样塞满的。

1 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

4 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

5 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

6 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 descried   

adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的

参考例句：

• He descried an island far away on the horizon. 他看到遥远的地平线上有个岛屿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At length we descried a light and a roof. 终于，我们远远看见了一点灯光，一所孤舍。 来自辞典例句

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

11 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

12 emoluments   

n.报酬，薪水( emolument的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The emoluments of this profession is not satisfactory. 此行业的报酬不令人满意。 来自辞典例句
• Emoluments connected with this position include free education for the children. 与这职务有关的酬劳包括为子女提供免费教育。 来自互联网

13 sinecure   

n.闲差事，挂名职务

参考例句：

• She found him an exalted sinecure as a Fellow of the Library of Congress.她给他找了一个级别很高的闲职：国会图书馆研究员。
• He even had a job,a sinecure,more highly-paid than his old job had been.他甚至还有一个工作，一个挂名差使，比他原来的工作的待遇要好多了。

14 perquisites   

n.（工资以外的）财务补贴( perquisite的名词复数 )；额外收入；（随职位而得到的）好处；利益

参考例句：

• She gets various perquisites in addition to her wages. 她工资以外，还有各种津贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are rewarded in pay,power and perquisites. 作为报偿，他们得到了钱、权力和额外收益。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。