英语听书《白鲸记》第784期

 　　The law itself has already been set forth¹. 法律本身已经说得明明白白。

　　But Plowdon gives us the reason for it. 而且普洛顿还给我们申述了理由。

　　Says Plowdon, the whale so caught belongs to the King and Queen, quote "because of its superior excellence²." End quote. 普洛顿说，大鲸之所以捉到后要归国王和王后所有，是"因为鲸乃是一种至高无上的动物"。

　　And by the soundest commentators³ this has ever been held a cogent⁴ argument in such matters. 而且这是许多见解非常正确的诠释家向来对此所持的无法反驳的论点。

　　But why should the King have the head, and the Queen the tail? A reason for that, ye lawyers! 可是，为什么国王一定要头，而王后又一定要尾呢？你们这些律师先生倒不妨把道理摆一摆！

　　In his treatise⁵ on "Queen-Gold," or Queen-pin-money, an old King's Bench author, one William Prynne, thus discourseth: 有一位名叫威廉·普林的高等法院的老作家，他在其论《皇后的钱即皇后的零用钱》的文章中，这么说：

　　Quote, "Ye tail is ye Queen's, that ye Queen's wardrobe may be supplied with ye whalebone." End quote. "你们的尾巴都是你们的王后的，你们的王后的衣橱里可能还装有你们的鲸骨呢。"

　　Now this was written at a time when the black limber bone of the Greenland or Right whale was largely used in ladies' bodices. 他写这篇文章的时候，正是格陵兰鲸或者露脊鲸的黑色软骨头被大量用来做太太小姐们的乳褡的时代。

　　But this same bone is not in the tail; it is in the head, which is a sad mistake for a sagacious lawyer like Prynne. 可是，这种骨并不是长在尾巴上，而是长在头上呀，这对于象普林这样一个聪明的律师说来，真是一个可悲的错误。

　　But is the Queen a mermaid⁶, to be presented with a tail? An allegorical meaning may lurk⁷ here. 但是，难道王后是只人鱼，这才要人们献给她尾巴吗？这里边也许还含有一种比喻的意义吧。

　　There are two royal fish so styled by the English law writers—the whale and the sturgeon; 英国的法律著作家们就这样定出了两种皇家鱼——鲸和鲟；

　　both royal property under certain limitations, and nominally⁸ supplying the tenth branch of the crown's ordinary revenue. 这两种鱼在某种范围内说来，都是皇家的财产，名义上要抽取什一的普通皇税。

1 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。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cogent   

adj.强有力的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• The result is a cogent explanation of inflation.结果令人信服地解释了通货膨胀问题。
• He produced cogent reasons for the change of policy.他对改变政策提出了充分的理由。

5 treatise   

n.专著；(专题)论文

参考例句：

• The doctor wrote a treatise on alcoholism.那位医生写了一篇关于酗酒问题的论文。
• This is not a treatise on statistical theory.这不是一篇有关统计理论的论文。

6 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

7 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

8 nominally   

在名义上，表面地； 应名儿

参考例句：

• Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒，可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
• The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。