英语听书《白鲸记》第612期

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　　make the enemy defray the current expenses of the war (at least before realizing the proceeds of the voyage),  向他的敌人要求清偿战争杂费（至少在航程的结果还未清理前），

　　yet now and then you find some of these Nantucketers who have a genuine relish² for that particular part of the Sperm³ Whale designated by Stubb;  然而，人们却不时地会在这些南塔开特人中，看到有些人对于斯塔布所指定的抹香鲸那个特别部位颇具真正的兴趣；

　　comprising the tapering⁴ extremity⁵ of the body. 包括大鲸的细小的器官在内。

　　About midnight that steak was cut and cooked;  约莫午夜时分，鲸排已经割好煮出来了；

　　and lighted by two lanterns of sperm oil, Stubb stoutly⁶ stood up to his spermaceti supper at the capstan-head, as if that capstan were a sideboard.  于是，在两盏抹香鲸油的灯笼的映照下，斯塔布就挺胸叠肚地站在绞盘旁边吃起他那抹香鲸的晚餐，仿佛那只绞盘就是一只餐具架。

　　Nor was Stubb the only banqueter on whale's flesh that night.  那天晚上，大尝鲸肉筵席的，可不光是斯塔布一个人。

　　Mingling⁷ their mumblings with his own mastications, thousands on thousands of sharks, swarming⁸ round the dead leviathan, smackingly feasted on its fatness. 跟斯塔布自己的咀嚼声交混在一起的，还有成千上万的鲨鱼的嗫嚅声，它们都紧围着这条死鲸，在巴嗒巴嗒地饱尝它的肥肉。

　　The few sleepers⁹ below in their bunks¹⁰ were often startled by the sharp slapping of their tails against the hull¹¹, within a few inches of the sleepers' hearts.  几个睡在舱里床铺上的人，时常被它们的尾巴敲击着船身的刺耳的啪啪声惊醒，因为隔开睡觉的人们的心胸不过是几英寸之遥。

　　Peering over the side you could just see them (as before you heard them) wallowing in the sullen¹², black waters,  如果靠船舷瞧一瞧，就可以看到它们（在没有听到它们那声音之前）正在那阴森、漆黑的水里翻滚。

　　and turning over on their backs as they scooped¹³ out huge globular pieces of the whale of the bigness of a human head. 它们把身子仰天一翻，就剜出了一块跟人头一般大小的鲸肉。

　　This particular feat¹⁴ of the shark seems all but miraculous¹⁵.  鲨鱼这种特具的技巧，似乎很是不可思议。

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