英语听书《白鲸记》第785期

 　　I know not that any other author has hinted of the matter; 我不知道是否有其他作家提及此事，

　　but by inference it seems to me that the sturgeon must be divided in the same way as the whale, 不过据我推断，鲟鱼也一定是按大鲸的办法来对分的，

　　the King receiving the highly dense¹ and elastic² head peculiar³ to that fish, 国王拿鲟鱼所特有的那个非常细密而又富有弹性的头，

　　which, symbolically⁴ regarded, may possibly be humorously grounded upon some presumed congeniality. 这种头，就象征意义说来，可能还很幽默，是以一种假设的相似性为根据的。

　　And thus there seems a reason in all things, even in law. 这样说来，似乎什么东西都有一种道理，哪怕法律也不例外。

　　Chapter 91 The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud 第九十一章"裴廓德号"遇到"玫瑰蕊号"

　　Quote, In vain it was to rake for Ambergriese in the paunch of this Leviathan, insufferable fetor denying not inquiry⁵. End quote. SIR T. BROWNE, V. E. 要想在这种大海兽的腹内找到龙涎香是徒劳的，尽管有难堪的恶臭，人们还是要去寻根问底。托马斯·布朗子爵阁下

　　It was a week or two after the last whaling scene recounted, and when we were slowly sailing over a sleepy, vapory, mid-day sea, 大约是在细说上一个捕鲸场景的两三个星期后，当时，我们正缓慢地航驶在令人昏昏欲睡、烟霭缭绕的正午的海面上，

　　that the many noses on the Pequod's deck proved more vigilant⁶ discoverers than the three pairs of eyes aloft. "裴廓德号"甲板上的许多鼻子竟比呆在桅顶上那三对眼睛更机灵，

　　A peculiar and not very pleasant smell was smelt⁷ in the sea. 闻到了海里有一股特殊而又不很好闻的气味。

　　I will bet something now, said Stubb, "that somewhere hereabouts are some of those drugged whales we tickled⁸ the other day. 哼，我现在敢打一点赌，斯塔布说，"在这附近什么地方，一定有我们前些天用'得拉格，扣住了的一些鲸。

　　I thought they would keel up before long." 我想它们不久就会翻上来。"

　　Presently, the vapors⁹ in advance slid aside; 不一会，前边的烟霭不知不觉地飘开了，

　　and there in the distance lay a ship, whose furled sails betokened¹⁰ that some sort of whale must be alongside. 而且远处还停有一艘船，从它那些卷起的风帆看来，说明它的船边一定拖有一条鲸。

1 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

2 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

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 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

6 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

7 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

8 tickled   

（使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐

参考例句：

• We were tickled pink to see our friends on television. 在电视中看到我们的一些朋友，我们高兴极了。
• I tickled the baby's feet and made her laugh. 我胳肢孩子的脚，使她发笑。

9 vapors   

n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His emotions became vague and shifted about like vapors. 他的心情则如同一团雾气，变幻无常，捉摸不定。 来自辞典例句
• They have hysterics, they weep, they have the vapors. 他们歇斯底里，他们哭泣，他们精神忧郁。 来自辞典例句

10 betokened   

v.预示，表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nothing betokened that the man know anything of what had occurred. 显然那个人还不知道已经发生了什么事。 来自互联网
• He addressed a few angry words to her that betokened hostility. 他对她说了几句预示敌意的愤怒的话。 来自互联网