英语听书《白鲸记》第93期

 I told him, too, that he being in other things such an extremely sensible and sagacious savage¹,  我告诉他，他在别的方面都很出色，

it pained me, very badly pained me, to see him now so deplorably foolish about this ridiculous Ramadan of his.  只是在这件事上又成了不可救药的野人，实在让我痛心！

Besides, argued I, fasting makes the body cave in; hence the spirit caves in; and all thoughts born of a fast must necessarily be half-starved.  我告诉他，这种损害身体的斋戒肯定会损害精神，而且所有起源于斋成过程中的思想也必定是不健康的、没有生命力的。

This is the reason why most dyspeptic religionists cherish such melancholy² notions about their hereafters.  这就是那些悲观的宗教领袖们患消化不良症的原因。 

In one word, Queequeg, said I, rather digressively; hell is an idea first born on an undigested apple-dumpling;  我不得不直截了当地告诉他，所谓地狱就是你在消化不良时的一种心像，这种心像的根源，

and since then perpetuated³ through the hereditary⁴ dyspepsias nurtured⁵ by Ramadans.  这种消化不良的根源就在于你这种毫无道理的斋戒。 

I then asked Queequeg whether he himself was ever troubled with dyspepsia; expressing the idea very plainly, so that he could take it in.  我问他得没得过消化不良症，

He said no; only upon one memorable⁶ occasion.  他说没有。只有一次，那是在他父王的筵席上。

It was after a great feast given by his father the king, on the gaining of a great battle wherein fifty of the enemy had been killed by about two o'clock in the afternoon,  那个下午，他们杀死了五十个敌人，

and all cooked and eaten that very evening.  晚上煮了煮就吃了。 

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 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

3 perpetuated   

vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• This system perpetuated itself for several centuries. 这一制度维持了几个世纪。
• I never before saw smile caught like that, and perpetuated. 我从来没有看见过谁的笑容陷入这样的窘况，而且持续不变。 来自辞典例句

4 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

5 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。