英语听书《白鲸记》第255期

 And what is the will of God?to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow man to do to me that is the will of God.  啊,叫他也来跟我一起做我那特殊的长老教派的崇拜仪式。那么,上帝的意旨又是什么呢?我役于人,人役于我...那就是上帝的意旨。

Now, Queequeg is my fellow man. And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me? Why, unite with me in my particular Presbyterian form of worship.  这样说来,魁魁格是我的同胞了。可是,我希望这个魁魁格怎样来役于我呢?那么,到头来,我就得跟他一起去做他那特殊的崇拜仪式了;

Consequently, I must then unite with him in his; ergo, I must turn idolator.  这样一来,我就得变成一个偶像崇拜者了。

So I kindled² the shavings; helped prop³ up the innocent little idol¹; offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg; salamed before him twice or thrice;  因此,我把刨花烧起,帮着他撑起那个无邪的小偶像;跟魁魁格一起把那烧过了的硬面包献给它;对它膜拜两三次;吻着它的鼻子;

kissed his nose; and that done, we undressed and went to bed, at peace with our own consciences and all the world. But we did not go to sleep without some little chat. 做过以后,我们这才心平气静,与世无争地解衣上床。不过,不谈一谈心,我们是睡不着觉的。

How it is I know not; but there is no place like a bed for confidential⁴ disclosures between friends.  究竟道理何在,我可弄不清楚;但是,我觉得,朋友之间推心置腹说知心话,除了在床上以外,实在找不到一个更加相宜的地方。

Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other; and some old couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning.  据说夫妻就是在那里彼此打开心坎里的秘密的;还有一些老夫老妻常常躺在床上,聊着老话,一聊就聊到快天亮。

Thus, then, in our hearts' honeymoon⁵, lay I and Queequeg-a cosy⁶, loving pair. 那么,我也这样跟魁魁格...真是情投意合的一对...躺在床上,度着我们的心灵的蜜月了。

1 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

2 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

3 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

4 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

5 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

6 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。