英语听书《白鲸记》第852期

 The beef was fine—tough, but with body in it. 牛肉真不错——尽管硬绷绷，味道却很浓。

They said it was bullbeef; others, that it was dromedary beef; but I do not know, for certain, how that was. 据说那是大牯肉；又有人说，那是单峰骆驼肉，但是，我却摸不准究竟是什么肉。

They had dumplings too; small, but substantial, symmetrically globular, and indestructible dumplings. 他们也有汤团，只头小而结实，圆滚滚的而且都是摔不烂的汤团。

I fancied that you could feel them, and roll them about in you after they were swallowed. 我想，把它吞到肚里后，它还是摸得出和滚得动。

If you stooped over too far forward, you risked their pitching out of you like billiard-balls. 如果向前弯身弯得太厉害的话，它就会有象台子球似的打肚皮里滚出来的危险。

The bread— but that couldn't be helped; besides, it was an anti-scorbutic, in short, the bread contained the only fresh fare they had. 还有面包——不过，那是吃不来的；而且，它还是一种抗坏血病的特效药；总之，这种面包就是他们整个菜单上的唯一新鲜的东西。

But the forecastle was not very light, and it was very easy to step over into a dark corner when you ate it. 船头楼并不很光亮，你在吃它的时候，很容易踩进了黑角落里。

But all in all, taking her from truck to helm, considering the dimensions of the cook's boilers², including his own live parchment boilers; 不过，总的说来，这艘船从它桅顶上的木冠到船舵，从厨师那只硕大无比的锅炉，到他自己的那只羊皮纸似的大肚皮，

fore¹ and aft, I say, the Samuel Enderby was a jolly ship; of good fare and plenty; 我说，从船头到船尾，这艘"撒母耳·恩德比号"就是艘怪舒服的船；食物质佳量多；

fine flip³ and strong; crack fellows all, and capital from boot heels to hat-band. 甜啤酒既香甜又浓洌；大家又都是些第一流的人物，从头到脚都是刮刮叫的。

But why was it, think ye, that the Samuel Enderby, and some other English whalers I know of—not all though—were such famous, hospitable⁴ ships; 可是，你不免要想，为什么"撒母耳·恩德比号"以及我所知道的其它一些英国捕鲸船——虽然不能说是全部——都是这样一些以待客殷勤见称的船只呢？

that passed round the beef, and the bread, and the can, and the joke; and were not soon weary of eating, and drinking, and laughing? 牛肉呀，面包呀，罐头呀，传来递去，笑话说个不完，吃个不厌，喝个不停，笑声不绝，为什么会这样呢？

I will tell you. The abounding⁵ good cheer of these English whalers is matter for historical research. 那么，让我跟你道来。这些英国捕鲸船的无限的好兴致，真是值得做历史研究的资料。

Nor have I been at all sparing of historical whale research, when it has seemed needed. 情势所需，我是会毫不吝惜地来做番捕鲸史的研究工作的。

1 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

2 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。

3 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

4 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

5 abounding   

adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Ahead lay the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles. 再往前是水波荡漾的海洋和星罗棋布的宝岛。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• The metallic curve of his sheep-crook shone silver-bright in the same abounding rays. 他那弯柄牧羊杖上的金属曲线也在这一片炽盛的火光下闪着银亮的光。 来自辞典例句