英语听书《白鲸记》第969期

 At last, when the ship drew near to the outskirts¹, as it were, of the Equatorial fishing-ground, 最后，当这艘船好象逐渐驶近赤道渔场的外圈，

and in the deep darkness that goes before the dawn, was sailing by a cluster of rocky islets; 在黎明前的一片漆黑中，驶过一群岩石重叠的岛屿时，

the watch — then headed by Flask² — was startled by a cry so plaintively³ wild and unearthly, 值班的人——当时是弗拉斯克领的班——被一阵非常哀怨凄厉，令人毛骨悚然的狂叫声吓了一跳，

like half-articulated wailings of the ghosts of all Herod's murdered Innocents — that one and all, they started from their reveries, 那叫声，就象是被赫罗德所谋杀了的冤魂的半清不楚的哀哭声——弄得大家都从迷迷糊糊的梦乡里给吓醒了，

and for the space of some moments stood, or sat, or leaned all transfixed by listening, like the carved Roman slave, while that wild cry remained within hearing. 有好一阵子，他们都象雕刻的罗马奴隶一般，有的站着、有的坐着、有的靠着，全部呆若木鸡地侧耳倾听，那阵狂叫声则仍隐约可闻。

The Christian⁵ or civilized⁶ part of the crew said it was mermaids⁷, and shuddered⁸; but the pagan harpooneers remained unappalled. 那些基督徒，也就是开化点的水手们都说那是人鱼，不禁浑身打起战来；可是那些异教徒的标枪手却仍神色不变。

Yet the grey Manxman — the oldest mariner⁹ of all — declared that the wild thrilling sounds that were heard, were the voices of newly drowned men in the sea. 不过，那个满头白发的人岛人——船上年纪最大的水手——却说刚才所听到的这种叫人心惊肉跳的狂叫声，是刚掉进海里的人的叫声。

Below in his hammock, Ahab did not hear of this till grey dawn, when he came to the deck; 亚哈睡在吊铺里，一点也没听到这叫声，直等到天蒙蒙亮，他走上甲板的时候，

it was then recounted to him by Flask, not unaccompanied with hinted dark meanings. 这才由弗拉斯克讲给他听，弗拉斯克不免添上一点意义含混的暗示。

He hollowly laughed, and thus explained the wonder. 亚哈空洞地哈哈一笑，就此把这奇象给打发了。

Those rocky islands the ship had passed were the resort of great numbers of seals, 这艘船所经过的那些岩石重叠的岛屿，都是大批海豹出没之处，

and some young seals that had lost their dams, or some dams that had lost their cubs¹⁰, 有些失掉了母亲的小海豹，或者是失掉了爱子的母海豹，

must have risen nigh the ship and kept company with her, crying and sobbing¹¹ with their human sort of wail⁴. 总要在船只附近出现，紧跟着船只，一路呜咽，哭叫，就象人的哀哭声一样，

 

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

3 plaintively   

adv.悲哀地，哀怨地

参考例句：

• The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 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

7 mermaids   

n.（传说中的）美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The high stern castle was a riot or carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs. 其尾部高耸的船楼上雕满了神仙、妖魔鬼怪、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼、天使。 来自辞典例句
• This is why mermaids should never come on land. 这就是为什么人鱼不应该上岸的原因。 来自电影对白

8 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

10 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。