英语听书《白鲸记》第38期

  But savages² are strange beings;at times you do not know exactly how to take them. 

 At first they are overawing;their calm self collectedness of simplicity³ seems a Socratic wisdom. 

 I had noticed also that Queequeg never consorted⁴ at all,or but very little,with the other seamen⁵ in the inn. 

 He made no advances whatever;appeared to have no desire to enlarge the circle of his acquaintances. 

 All this struck me as mighty⁶ singular;yet,upon second thoughts,there was something almost sublime⁷ in it. 

 Here was a man some twenty thousand miles from home,by the way of Cape⁸ Horn, 

 that is which was the only way he could get there thrown among people as strange to him as though he were in the planet Jupiter; 

 and yet he seemed entirely⁹ at his ease;preserving the utmost serenity;content with his own companionship;always equal to himself. 

 Surely this was a touch of fine philosophy;though no doubt he had never heard there was such a thing as that.But,perhaps,to be true philosophers, 

 we mortals should not be conscious of so living or so striving.So soon as I hear that such or such a man gives himself out for a philosopher, 

 I conclude that,like the dyspeptic old woman,he must have broken his digester. 

 As I sat there in that now lonely room;the fire burning low,in that mild stage when, 

 after its first intensity¹⁰ has warmed the air,it then only glows to be looked at;the evening shades and phantoms¹¹ gathering¹² round the casements, 

 and peering in upon us silent,solitary twain;the storm booming without in solemn swells;I began to be sensible of strange feelings. 

 I felt a melting in me.No more my splintered heart and maddened hand were turned against the wolfish world.This soothing¹³ savage¹ had redeemed¹⁴ it. 

 There he sat,his very indifference¹⁵ speaking a nature in which there lurked¹⁶ no civilized¹⁷ hypocrisies¹⁸ and bland¹⁹ deceits.Wild he was;a very sight of sights to see; 

 yet I began to feel myself mysteriously drawn²⁰ towards him.And those same things that would have repelled²¹ most others,they were the very magnets that thus drew me. 

 I 'll try a pagan friend,thought I,since Christian²² kindness has proved but hollow courtesy.I drew my bench near him,and made some friendly signs and hints,doing my best to talk with him meanwhile. 

 At first he little noticed these advances;but presently,upon my referring to his last night's hospitalities,he made out to ask me whether we were again to be bedfellows. 

 I told him yes;whereat I thought he looked pleased,perhaps a little complimented. 

 We then turned over the book together,and I endeavored to explain to him the purpose of the printing, 

 and the meaning of the few pictures that were in it.Thus I soon engaged his interest;and from that we went to jabbering²³ the best we could about the various outer sights to be seen in this famous town. 

1 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

2 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

3 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

4 consorted   

v.结伴( consort的过去式和过去分词 )；交往；相称；调和

参考例句：

• So Rhett consorted with that vile Watling creature and gave her money. 这样看来，瑞德在同沃特琳那个贱货来往并给她钱了。 来自飘（部分）
• One of those creatures Rhett consorted with, probably that Watling woman. 同瑞德 - 巴特勒厮混的一个贱货，很可能就是那个叫沃特琳的女人。 来自飘（部分）

5 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

6 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

7 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 phantoms   

n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They vanished down the stairs like two phantoms. 他们像两个幽灵似的消失在了楼下。 来自辞典例句
• The horrible night that he had passed had left phantoms behind it. 他刚才度过的恐布之夜留下了种种错觉。 来自辞典例句

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

14 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

15 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

16 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 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

18 hypocrisies   

n.伪善，虚伪( hypocrisy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

19 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

20 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。

21 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

22 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。

23 jabbering   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴

参考例句：

• What is he jabbering about now? 他在叽里咕噜地说什么呢？
• He was jabbering away in Russian. 他叽里咕噜地说着俄语。 来自《简明英汉词典》