and as that long canal—like the grand Erie Canal— is furnished with a sort of locks (that open and shut) 同时，因为那根长长的水道——象伊利大运河一样——还装有两扇水闸似的东西（可开可关），

for the downward retention of air or the upward exclusion of water, therefore the whale has no voice; 向下可以扣住空气，向上可以排泄水量，因此大鲸也没有声音；

unless you insult him by saying, that when he so strangely rumbles, he talks through his nose. 除非你侮辱它，说它在非常奇特地发出咕噜声来时，是靠鼻子说话的。

But then again, what has the whale to say? 那么请问，大鲸会有什么可说的呢？

Seldom have I known any profound being that had anything to say to this world, 我就不大听到任何城府很深的人会对世人公开说些什么，

unless forced to stammer out something by way of getting a living. 除非为了偷生苟活，这才不得不结结巴巴地哼出些什么来。

Oh! happy that the world is such an excellent listener! 呵，幸而人间是一个如此卓越的倾听者！

Now, the spouting canal of the Sperm Whale, chiefly intended as it is for the conveyance of air, 说到抹香鲸的喷水道，它生来主要就是要传递空气的，

and for several feet laid along, horizontally, just beneath the upper surface of his head, and a little to one side; 它刚好长在它头部上层的下端，稍微靠边一点的地方，平平地伸展几英尺。

this curious canal is very much like a gas-pipe laid down in a city on one side of a street. 这条希奇古怪的水道，极象一根铺设在城市街旁的煤气管。

But the question returns whether this gas-pipe is also a water-pipe; 但是问题又来了，这根煤气管究竟是否也就是一根自来水管，

in other words, whether the spout of the Sperm Whale is the mere vapor of the exhaled breath, 换句话说，抹香鲸的喷口究竟只是呼出来的一阵气呢，

or whether that exhaled breath is mixed with water taken in at the mouth, and discharged through the spiracle. 还是呼出的气跟嘴里吸进去的水混在一起，又通过那喷水孔排泄出来呢。

It is certain that the mouth indirectly communicates with the spouting canal; 嘴巴肯定是间接跟那支喷水道互通声气的，

but it cannot be proved that this is for the purpose of discharging water through the spiracle.  只是不能由此而得出结论说：这是为了要通过喷水孔排水而设的。