英语听书《白鲸记》第875期

 But will any whaleman believe these stories? No. 但是，可有任何一个捕鱼人相信这些说法么？没有。

The whale of to-day is as big as his ancestors in Pliny's time. 现代的鲸正跟普利尼时代的它的祖先一般大小。

And if ever I go where Pliny is, I, a whaleman (more than he was), will make bold to tell him so. 如果我能够跑到普利尼那地方去，我，作为一个捕鲸人（这就比他强了），一定会斗胆跟他这样说。

Because I cannot understand how it is, that while the Egyptian mummies that were buried thousands of years before even Pliny was born, 因为我就不明白：为什么那些甚至早在普利尼还未出世的几千年前就埋葬起的、已在棺材里的埃及木乃伊，

do not measure so much in their coffins¹ as a modern Kentuckian in his socks; 其大小甚至还不及那些穿着轻软鞋的现代的肯塔基人，

and while the cattle and other animals sculptured on the oldest Egyptian and Nineveh tablets, by the relative proportions in which they are drawn², 同时，为什么那些雕刻在古埃及和尼尼微的石碑上的牲畜动物（就所雕刻的相对的比例说来），

just as plainly prove that the high-bred, stall-fed, prize cattle of Smithfield, not only equal, but far exceed in magnitude the fattest of Pharaoh's fat kine; 恰好明明白白地证明出那种斯密斯非尔德的纯种、用干草饲养的超等牲畜，不仅在体躯上相等于、而且远超于法老时代的肥大的母牛，

in the face of all this, I will not admit that of all animals the whale alone should have degenerated³. 在这一切事实面前，我不承认在各种动物中，独独大鲸竟会退化了。

But still another inquiry⁴ remains⁵; one often agitated⁶ by the more recondite⁷ Nantucketers. 但是，还有另一个值得追究的问题，也是一个经常为那些比较高深的南塔开特人所提出的问题。

Whether owing to the almost omniscient⁸ look-outs at the mast-heads of the whaleships, 究竟是否因为捕鲸船桅顶上那些几乎是无所不知的守望者，

now penetrating⁹ even through Behring's straits, and into the remotest secret drawers and lockers¹⁰ of the world; 一会儿甚至长驱直入白令海峡，一会儿又冲进了世界的最荒僻的角角落落；

and the thousand harpoons¹¹ and lances darted¹² along all continental¹³ coasts; 无数的标枪和捕鲸枪都掷遍了各处的海岸的缘故；

the moot¹⁴ point is, whether Leviathan can long endure so wide a chase, and so remorseless a havoc¹⁵; 值得讨论的地方就是，究竟鲸能否长期经受得起这样无所不至的追击，这样无情的打击；

whether he must not at last be exterminated¹⁶ from the waters, and the last whale, like the last man, smoke his last pipe, and then himself evaporate in the final puff¹⁷. 还是到头来它一定不会从海里绝迹，而那条最后的鲸，也不至于象一个最后的人那样，吸起他的最后一筒烟后，就此连他自己也在最后一口烟里烟消雾散了呢。

1 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

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

7 recondite   

adj.深奥的，难解的

参考例句：

• Her poems are modishly experimental in style and recondite in subject-matter.她的诗在风格上是时髦的实验派，主题艰深难懂。
• To a craftsman,the ancient article with recondite and scholastic words was too abstruse to understand.可是对一个车轮师父而言，这些之乎者也的文言文是太深而难懂的。

8 omniscient   

adj.无所不知的；博识的

参考例句：

• He's nervous when trying to potray himself as omniscient.当他试图把自己描绘得无所不知时，内心其实很紧张。
• Christians believe that God is omniscient.基督教徒相信上帝是无所不知的。

9 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

10 lockers   

n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I care about more lockers for the teachers. 我关心教师要有更多的储物柜。 来自辞典例句
• Passengers are requested to stow their hand-baggage in the lockers above the seats. 旅客须将随身携带的行李放入座位上方的贮藏柜里。 来自辞典例句

11 harpoons   

n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Greenpeace hopes to position its boats between the harpoons and the whales. 绿色和平希望他们的船能开到港口与鲸鱼群之间的地方。 来自互联网
• NIV Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? 7[和合]你能用倒钩枪扎满它的皮，能用鱼叉叉满它的头吗？ 来自互联网

12 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

14 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

15 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

16 exterminated   

v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exterminated root and branch. 它被彻底剪除了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The insects can be exterminated by spraying DDT. 可以用喷撒滴滴涕的方法大量杀死这种昆虫。 来自《用法词典》

17 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。