英语听书《白鲸记》第820期

 　　Convulsively my hands grasped the tiller, but with the crazy conceit¹ that the tiller was, somehow, in some enchanted² way, inverted³. My God! what is the matter with me? I thought. Lo! in my brief sleep I had turned myself about, and was fronting the ship's stern, with my back to her prow⁴ and the compass. In an instant I faced back, just in time to prevent the vessel⁵ from flying up into the wind, and very probably capsizing her. How glad and how grateful the relief from this unnatural⁶ hallucination of the night, and the fatal contingency⁷ of being brought by the lee!

　　我双手痉挛地攫住舵柄，可心里却迷迷糊糊地认为那只舵柄好象已经着了魔法倒了头了。天啊！我怎么啦？我心思想。哎哟！原来我在一阵小睡中，自己掉了一个转身，面孔朝着船梢，背脊却对着船头和那只罗盘了。我立即转过身来，刚好撑住了舵，否则，这艘船可就要让风冲起，很可能把船也翻了身。摆脱了夜里这种不自然的错觉，没有发生让逆风扫走了的性命交关的意外，我可感到多愉快，多幸运呵！

　　Look not too long in the face of the fire, O man! Never dream with thy hand on the helm! Turn not thy back to the compass; accept the first hint of the hitching⁸ tiller; believe not the artificial fire, when its redness makes all things look ghastly. To-morrow, in the natural sun, the skies will be bright; those who glared like devils in the forking flames, the morn will show in far other, at least gentler, relief; the glorious, golden, glad sun, the only true lamp—all others but liars⁹!

　　人呀，别直盯着火望得太久！千万别把手放在舵上做梦！别背对着罗盘；舵柄一把你钩住，可就得警惕起来；别相信那人工的火焰，它那红红的火光会使一切东西都显得鬼影幢幢。明天，在那自然的太阳光里，天空就将灿烂辉煌；凡是在火舌里象鬼魔一般闪烁的，在晨光里可就变得截然不同了，至少会变得柔和些、鲜明些；那个辉煌、灿烂、喜洋洋的太阳，才是真正的灯盏——其它的一切都是骗人的！

　　Nevertheless the sun hides not Virginia's Dismal¹⁰ Swamp, nor Rome's accursed Campagna, nor wide Sahara, nor all the millions of miles of deserts and of griefs beneath the moon. The sun hides not the ocean, which is the dark side of this earth, and which is two thirds of this earth. So, therefore, that mortal man who hath more of joy than sorrow in him, that mortal man cannot be true—not true, or undeveloped.

　　而且太阳并不弃置弗吉尼亚（弗吉尼亚——美国州名；沿海地区都是地势低凹的泥沼地。）的凄凉的泥沼地，也不弃置罗马的倒霉的坎判纳（坎判纳——意大利罗马省的腌?的沿海地区。），辽阔的撒哈拉大沙漠，更不弃置天下无数的荒漠和灾难的地方。太阳也不弃置海洋，海洋是地球的难解的部分，是地球的三分之二的地方。因此，凡是乐多于忧的人，那种人就不是可靠的——是不可靠的、或者胸襟狭窄的。

1 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。

2 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

3 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prow   

n.(飞机)机头，船头

参考例句：

• The prow of the motor-boat cut through the water like a knife.汽艇的船头像一把刀子劈开水面向前行驶。
• He stands on the prow looking at the seadj.他站在船首看着大海。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

7 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

8 hitching   

搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• The farmer yoked the oxen before hitching them to the wagon. 农夫在将牛套上大车之前先给它们套上轭。
• I saw an old man hitching along on his stick. 我看见一位老人拄着手杖蹒跚而行。

9 liars   

说谎者( liar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest liars talk most of themselves. 最爱自吹自擂的人是最大的说谎者。
• Honest boys despise lies and liars. 诚实的孩子鄙视谎言和说谎者。

10 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。