赖世雄高级美国英语 lesson 21

　　Lesson 21，

　　What's So Big about Moby Dick？

　　白鲸记

　　A pretty， young lady goes swimming alone off the coast of New England in twilight¹. She is an agile² swimmer， full of grace and speed. Without warning， though， she disappears from sight， only to reappear a moment later， screaming in pain. A few shocking moments later， she is again dragged under the water， this time only to reappear the next morning in pieces of the shore.

　　Sound familiar？ By now nearly everyone has seen or heard the story of a killer³ Great White Shark in Jaws⁴， a hit novel turned into a blockbuster movie. Few people realize， however， that the story broadly follows the events depicted⁶ in what many people consider one of the best of American novels. Published in 1851， Moby Dick has been making waves ever since.

　　The author， Herman Melville， was born in New York on August 1 1819. As a youth in a large family he suffered many insecurities due to the family's constantly changing fortunes. As a young man he worked as a farmer and seaman⁷， the latter providing most of the material for several of his later novels and essays. In his 20s Melville found fame with two novels based on imaginary happenings in the South Pacific. Moby Dick， ironically， was not well received. Afterwards， Melville produced another masterpiece， Billy Budd. He continued writing until his death in 1891.

　　Why has Moby Dick since become such a classic despite its initial lukewarm reception？ Melville had a keen eye for not only the human condition but for the tenor⁸ of his times： the Unites States was in his day a country of disadvantaged and mistreated immigrants （many of whom became sailors and laborers）， with untrammeled capitalism⁹ crushing both nature and man underneath¹⁰ its new country exuberance¹¹. His stress on the individual and fate-often pessimistically， or at least realistically——were harbingers of the future of literature.

　　Why does the story of Moby Dick continue to enthrall¹² generation after generation？ The story line is simple enough： a mad sea captain vows¹³ revenge against a white whale shich， on a previous expedition， bit off one of his legs. In his vain attempt at “justice” against nature， the captain meets the ultimate tragedy. This was no documentary， however； the characters and setting become vehicles for far larger and more universal themes of the setbacks and successes of the human spirit as well as its darker urges. So accurately¹⁴ does Melville depict⁵ the whaling scenes and sea voyages that the reader is taken on an exhilarating ride. Coupled with the absorbing， mad Captain Bhab， the book is “a good read” even by 20th century standards.

　　Earlier in this century， the Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway penned the Old Man and the Sea， another story of a man's struggle with nature on the open ocean. This theme strikes a chord in Americans， whose culture developed along the Atlantic coast of North America and whose seaward passage from the Old World took them to the colonies of the 18th century or the young country of the 19th century by the millions. This fascination¹⁵ with the maritime¹⁶ still holds today： over half the population of the United States lives in counties touching¹⁷ the Atlantic， Pacific， or Gulf¹⁸ coasts. Perhaps some future writer will once again use the metaphor¹⁹ of sailors and the sea to create yet another Great American Novel.

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

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 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

6 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

7 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

8 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

9 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

11 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

12 enthrall   

vt.迷住，吸引住；使感到非常愉快

参考例句：

• She kept her audience enthralled throughout her twenty-minute performance.她的20分钟演出使观众目不转睛。
• They were enthralled with the play.他们被那个戏迷住了。

13 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

14 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

15 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

16 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

17 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

18 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

19 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。