英语听书《白鲸记》第839期

 But here a curious difficulty presented itself. 可是，这当儿，却碰到了一个希奇的难题。

In the excitement of the moment, Ahab had forgotten that since the loss of his leg he had never once stepped on board of any vessel¹ at sea but his own, 原来亚哈由于一时兴奋，竟忘记了自从他失掉一条腿后，他在海上，除了自己的船，从不跨上别的船只，

and then it was always by an ingenious and very handy mechanical contrivance peculiar² to the Pequod, 而且他总是使用"裴廓德号"特备的那个精巧的小工具，

and a thing not to be rigged and shipped in any other vessel at a moment's warning. 这种东西并不是立时三刻可以装到其它任何船只上的。

Now, it is no very easy matter for anybody— except those who are almost hourly used to it, like whalemen— to clamber up a ship's side from a boat on the open sea; 这时，在茫茫的大海上，随便哪一个人——除非是那些差不多时时刻刻都在攀上落下的捕鲸人——要从一只小艇攀上一艘大船，的确不是桩轻而易举的事，

for the great swells³ now lift the boat high up towards the bulwarks⁴, and then instantaneously drop it half way down to the kelson. 因为，汹涌的巨浪，一会儿把小艇簸得高高地，直冲上舷墙，一会儿又立刻在半路里把它甩下来，直甩到内龙骨下边。

So, deprived of one leg, and the strange ship of course being altogether unsupplied with the kindly⁵ invention, 因此，由于少了一条腿，加上这艘陌生船当然不会备有那种体贴的发明品，

Ahab now found himself abjectly⁶ reduced to a clumsy landsman again; hopelessly eyeing the uncertain changeful height he could hardly hope to attain⁷. 亚哈这才颓然发现自己已经又成了个束手无策的陆地人了；他绝望地瞪眼望着那个无法攀上去的变化不定的高度。

It has before been hinted, perhaps, that every little untoward⁸ circumstance that befell him, 先前也许已经提到过，那就是每当他碰到任何一个稍不顺心的情况，

and which indirectly⁹ sprang from his luckless mishap¹⁰, almost invariably irritated or exasperated¹¹ Ahab. 尽管那情况不是直接来自他那不幸的遭遇，亚哈差不多总是气得七窍冒烟。

And in the present instance, all this was heightened by the sight of the two officers of the strange ship, 况且这时，他一看到那艘陌生船的两个高级船员在那张钉在系缆枕的直梯子旁边，

leaning over the side, by the perpendicular¹² ladder of nailed cleets there, and swinging towards him a pair of tastefully-ornamented man-ropes; 探出身子来，把一副缀得颇有雅气的舷门索直对他甩的神气，更其使他恼火，

for at first they did not seem to bethink them that a one-legged man must be too much of a cripple to use their sea bannisters. 因为他们起初似乎没有想到一个独腿的人竟会残废得无法攀上他们那张海上的扶梯。

1 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。

2 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。

3 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

4 bulwarks   

n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙

参考例句：

• The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty. 新闻自由是自由最大的保障之一。 来自辞典例句
• Surgery and X-irradiation nevertheless remain the bulwarks of cancer treatment throughout the world. 外科手术和X射线疗法依然是全世界治疗癌症的主要方法。 来自辞典例句

5 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

6 abjectly   

凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地

参考例句：

• She shrugged her shoulders abjectly. 她无可奈何地耸了耸肩。
• Xiao Li is abjectly obedient at home, as both his wife and daughter can "direct" him. 小李在家里可是个听话的顺民，妻子女儿都能“领导”他。

7 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

8 untoward   

adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的

参考例句：

• Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
• I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

9 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。

10 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。

11 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

12 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。