英语听书《白鲸记》第809期

 　　Come; let us squeeze hands all round; nay¹, let us all squeeze ourselves into each other; 来吧；让我们把手捏个转遍吧；不，让我们彼此都捏在一起吧；

　　let us squeeze ourselves universally into the very milk and sperm² of kindness. 让我们把我们自己一起融化在这种乳油交融的友情里吧。

　　Would that I could keep squeezing that sperm for ever! 要是我能够这样把抹香鲸油一直捏下去，可多好呵！

　　For now, since by many prolonged, repeated experiences, 我因为有许多长时期的反复的经验，

　　I have perceived that in all cases man must eventually lower, or at least shift, his conceit³ of attainable⁴ felicity; 现在体会到，不管怎样，到头来，人类对于他那种自以为可以获得的幸福，是必须加以降低或者至少得加以修正了，

　　not placing it anywhere in the intellect or the fancy; but in the wife, the heart, the bed, the table, the saddle, the fire-side; the country; 幸福并不是随便靠智力或者幻想就能获得的，而是存在于妻子，心坎，床上，桌上，马背上，火炉边和田舍间的；

　　now that I have perceived all this, I am ready to squeeze case eternally. 既然我已经体会到了这一切，我就准备永远地捏下去。

　　In thoughts of the visions of the night, I saw long rows of angels in paradise, each with his hands in a jar of spermaceti. 我沉浸在夜空似的幻觉里，我看到了天堂里一长列一长列的天使，各人手里都拿着一罐抹香鲸脑。

　　Now, while discoursing⁵ of sperm it behooves⁶ to speak of other things akin⁷ to it, in the business of preparing the sperm whale for the try-works. 说到抹香鲸脑，似乎应该把那些跟它有关的事情也说一说，说一说把抹香鲸送到炼油间去的准备工作。

　　First comes white-horse, so called, which is obtained from the tapering⁸ part of the fish, and also from the thicker portions of his flukes. 第一就是那种所谓"白马"的东西，白马就是来自大鲸的尖梢和裂尾的粗大的部分的东西。

　　It is tough with congealed⁹ tendons—a wad of muscle—but still contains some oil. 它因为有许多凝结的筋筋——一叠肌肉——而显得很硬，不过，那里边还有些油。

　　After being severed¹⁰ from the whale, the white-horse is first cut into portable oblongs ere going to the mincer¹¹. 把白马从鲸身上割下来后，先把它切成长方形的块块，然后送到剁碎器去。

　　They look much like blocks of Berkshire marble. 它那样子很象柏克郡（英国南部的一个郡）的一块块的大理石。

1 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

2 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

3 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

4 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

5 discoursing   

演说（discourse的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was discoursing to us on Keats. 他正给我们讲济慈。
• He found the time better employed in searching than in discussing, in discovering than in discoursing. 他认为与其把时间花费在你争我辩和高谈阔论上，不如用在研究和发现上。

6 behooves   

n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It behooves us to help the needy. 我们应当帮助贫困者。 来自辞典例句
• It behooves a child to obey his parents. 子女应当服从父母。 来自辞典例句

7 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

8 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

9 congealed   

v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结

参考例句：

• The cold remains of supper had congealed on the plate. 晚餐剩下的冷饭菜已经凝结在盘子上了。
• The oil at last is congealed into a white fat. 那油最终凝结成了一种白色的油脂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mincer   

n.粉碎机

参考例句：

• With a household food mincer, one can cook many kinds of food for immediate consumption. 有了家用食品粉碎机，很多食品都可以现做现吃了。