英语听书《白鲸记》第815期

 　　The timbers beneath are of a peculiar¹ strength, 下边用的是负荷力特别大的木头，

　　fitted to sustain the weight of an almost solid mass of brick and mortar², some ten feet by eight square, and five in height. 足以支撑那个简直是用砖头和灰泥造成的一团坚固体的重量，它约有十英尺宽八英寸长，五英尺高。

　　The foundation does not penetrate³ the deck, 它的脚基虽然不跟甲板相连，

　　but the masonry⁴ is firmly secured to the surface by ponderous⁵ knees of iron bracing⁶ it on all sides, and screwing it down to the timbers. 可是，它是用许多大曲铁把四边箍住，然后紧旋在那些木头上，牢靠地装在甲板上的。

　　On the flanks it is cased with wood, and at top completely covered by a large, sloping, battened hatchway. 它两旁都包有木头，上边由一块倾斜的、钉有细板的舱盖把大舱口紧密地盖住。

　　Removing this hatch we expose the great try-pots, two in number, and each of several barrels' capacity. 拉开这块舱板，就看到一对大炼锅，每只锅有好几大桶的容量。

　　When not in use, they are kept remarkably⁷ clean. 这两只大锅不用的时候，都洗刷得非常干净。

　　Sometimes they are polished with soapstone and sand, till they shine within like silver punchbowls. 人们有时用滑石和黄沙擦它，把它的里面擦得锃亮，象只银质的五味酒钵。

　　During the night-watches some cynical⁸ old sailors will crawl into them and coil themselves away there for a nap. 值夜的时候，有些调皮的老水手，会爬到里头，盘起身子，蹲在那里打个盹儿。

　　While employed in polishing them—one man in each pot, side by side— many confidential⁹ communications are carried on, over the iron lips. 在擦这两只大锅的时候，——肩并肩地每人各擦一只——两人就隔着锅口，滔滔不绝地密谈下去。

　　It is a place also for profound mathematical meditation¹⁰. 这也是一个可以思考高深的数学问题的地方。

　　It was in the left hand try-pot of the Pequod, with the soapstone diligently¹¹ circling round me, 我正是在"裴廓德号"左边那只炼锅里，手里拿着滑石不住地在四周擦来擦去的时候，

　　that I was first indirectly¹² struck by the remarkable¹³ fact, 初次间接地体会到这一值得注意的事实，

　　that in geometry all bodies gliding¹⁴ along the cycloid, my soapstone for example, will descend¹⁵ from any point in precisely¹⁶ the same time. 那就是在几何学上说来，一切循着圆形而运转的物体（以我这块滑石为例），都会从任何一点上在同一个时间中落下来。

1 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。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

4 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

5 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

6 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

7 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

8 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

9 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

10 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

11 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

12 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

13 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

14 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

15 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

16 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。