英语听书《白鲸记》第871期

 When I stand among these mighty¹ Leviathan skeletons, skulls², tusks³, jaws⁴, ribs⁵, and vertebrae, 当我置身在这些大鲸的骷髅、头壳、牙齿、嘴巴、肋骨和脊骨堆里时，

all characterized by partial resemblances to the existing breeds of sea-monsters; 我看到全都多少有点跟现存的那些海里巨兽相似的特征，

but at the same time bearing on the other hand similar affinities⁶ to the annihilated⁷ antichronical Leviathans, their incalculable seniors; 不过，同时，另一方面，也有跟那些早已湮灭的反年纪的大鲸，它们的难测的先辈相似的特点。

I am, by a flood, borne back to that wondrous⁸ period, ere time itself can be said to have begun; for time began with man. 我仿佛被一阵洪水泛回到那种奇妙的时期里去了，那是早在时间本身还刚开始的时候，因为时间总是与人类共始。

Here Saturn's grey chaos⁹ rolls over me, and I obtain dim, shuddering¹⁰ glimpses into those Polar eternities; 这时我头上滚着土星的阴惨的浑沌之气，我朦胧而战颤地瞥到那些北极的永久不变的事物，

when wedged bastions of ice pressed hard upon what are now the Tropics; 当时冰霜象楔形的棱堡似的紧压着现在称做热带的地方；

and in all the 25,000 miles of this world's circumference¹¹, not an inhabitable hand's breadth of land was visible. 而在整个二万五千英里的世界圆周中，却连一小片可以居住的地方都看不到。

Then the whole world was the whale's; and, king of creation, he left his wake along the present lines of the Andes and the Himmalehs. 当时整个世界是大鲸的世界；而万物之灵的人已沿着现在的安第斯和喜马拉雅山脉走去了。

Who can show a pedigree like Leviathan? 谁能给象大鲸这样的生物提出家系来呢？

Ahab's harpoon¹² had shed older blood than the Pharaoh's. 亚哈（以色列的第七代王）的标枪早在法老（古代埃及国王）的标枪之先染了血滴。

Methuselah seems a schoolboy. 玛土撒拉似乎还是个小学生呢。

I look round to shake hands with Shem. 我四处寻找，想跟闪握一握手。

I am horror-struck at this antemosaic, unsourced existence of the unspeakable terrors of the whale, 我给这些摩西以前的、来路不明的大鲸那种不可言喻的恐怖吓慌了，

which, having been before all time, must needs exist after all humane¹³ ages are over. 它既然是早就一直存在着，那就一定会在人类已经消灭以后的年代里继续存在下去了。

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

3 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

4 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

5 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

6 affinities   

n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同

参考例句：

• Cubism had affinities with the new European interest in Jazz. 主体派和欧洲新近的爵士音乐热有密切关系。 来自辞典例句
• The different isozymes bind calcium ions with different affinities. 不同的同功酶以不同的亲和力与钙离子相结合。 来自辞典例句

7 annihilated   

v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃

参考例句：

• Our soldiers annihilated a force of three hundred enemy troops. 我军战士消灭了300名敌军。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We annihilated the enemy. 我们歼灭了敌人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）

11 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

12 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。

13 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。