英语听书《白鲸记》第849期

 Chapter 101 The Decanter 第一百零一章 圆酒瓶

Ere the English ship fades from sight be it set down here, that she hailed from London, 趁那艘英国船还遥遥在望的时候，这里不妨提一下，那艘船来自伦敦，

and was named after the late Samuel Enderby, merchant of that city, the original of the famous whaling house of enderby and sons; 并且以伦敦一个商人——已故的撒母耳·恩德比，也就是著名的恩德比父子捕鲸公司的创始人——为名；

a house which in my poor whaleman's opinion, comes not far behind the united royal houses of the Tudors and Bourbons, in point of real historical interest. 就我这捕鲸人的微薄的见识，以历史考据的观点说来，这个公司的开设时期，大约并不迟于都铎和波旁联合王朝的时代。

How long, prior to the year of our Lord 1775, this great whaling house was in existence, my numerous fish-documents do not make plain; 不过，在公元一七七五年之前，这个大捕鲸公司究竟已经开了多久，我虽然查考了许多捕鱼文献还是弄不明白：

but in that year (1775) it fitted out the first English ships that ever regularly hunted the Sperm¹ Whale; 但是，在那一年（一七七五年），正是第一批正式猎捕抹香鲸的英国船只整装出发的一年；

though for some score of years previous (ever since 1726) our valiant² Coffins³ and Maceys of Nantucket and the Vineyard had in large fleets pursued the Leviathan, 虽然大约在几十年前（自一七二六年以来），我们英勇的南塔开特的科芬族和维恩耶特的梅西族的船只早已成群结队地追击过了大鲸

but only in the North and South Atlantic: not elsewhere. （只限于南北大西洋一带，还没有到过别的地方）。

Be it distinctly recorded here, that the Nantucketers were the first among mankind to harpoon⁴ with civilized⁵ steel the great Sperm Whale; 因此，这里必须明确地记录下来，南塔开特人是人类中首先以文明的武器去打击大抹香鲸的人；

and that for half a century they were the only people of the whole globe who so harpooned⁶ him. 而且在整整半个世纪中，他们就是全球中这样打击过抹香鲸的唯一的民族。

In 1778, a fine ship, the Amelia, fitted out for the express purpose, and at the sole charge of the vigorous Enderbys,  一七七八年，有一艘叫做阿美利亚的漂亮的船，目标鲜明地整装出发，而且是在刚勇的恩德比家的独家经营下，

boldly rounded Cape⁷ Horn, and was the first among the nations to lower a whale-boat of any sort in the great South Sea. 勇敢地环绕了合恩角，成为世界各国在南海放下第一只小艇的船只。

1 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。

2 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

3 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

4 harpoon   

n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获

参考例句：

• The harpoon drove deep into the body of the whale.渔叉深深地扎进鲸鱼体内。
• The fisherman transfixed the shark with a harpoon.渔夫用鱼叉刺住鲨鱼。

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

6 harpooned   

v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He said he once harpooned a 2, 000-pound shark off the coast of New York. 他称，他曾经在纽约海面上，用鱼叉捕获过一条重达2.000磅的鲨鱼。 来自互联网

7 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。