英语听书《白鲸记》第387期

 The Bottle-Nose Whale; the Junk Whale; the Pudding-Headed Whale; the Cape¹ Whale; the Leading Whale; the Cannon² Whale; the Scragg Whale; the Coppered Whale; the Elephant Whale; the Iceberg³ Whale; the Quog Whale; the Blue Whale; &c. From Icelandic, Dutch, and old English authorities, there might be quoted other lists of uncertain whales, blessed with all manner of uncouth⁴ names.  槌鲸;缆鲸;蠢鲸;南非鲸;领头鲸;大炮鲸;瘦鲸;铜皮鲸;象鲸;流水鲸;刮格鲸;蓝鲸等等。从冰岛,荷兰,古代英国的许多权威家那边,一定还可以引出其它许多未定的鲸的名单,具有各式稀奇古怪的名称的。

But I omit them as altogether obsolete⁵; and can hardly help suspecting them for mere⁶ sounds, full of Leviathanism, but signifying nothing. 但是,因为那些都是陈腐的名称,我就把它们省略了,而且,实在也不免叫人怀疑到这些名称只是徒拥虚名,空具大海兽的派头,却说明不了什么东西。

Finally: It was stated at the outset, that this system would not be here, and at once, perfected. You cannot but plainly see that I have kept my word.  最后,我一开头就已经声明过,这里所提出的这个分类法,并不是一下子就可臻完备的。

But I now leave my cetological System standing⁷ thus unfinished, even as the great Cathedral of Cologne was left, with the cranes still standing upon the top of the uncompleted tower.  读者也一定可以清楚地看出我是信守我的诺言的。不过,我现在就让我的鲸类学分类法这样悬而未竟了,正如伟大的科隆大教堂鸠工未竣,起重机还吊在未完工的塔顶上一样。

For small erections may be finished by their first architects; grand ones, true ones, ever leave the copestone to posterity⁸. God keep me from ever completing anything.  因为细小的创始工作也许已经由他们先前的建筑师完成了,至于宏大的。真正的工作,以及顶冠石总是留给后人去完成。上帝永远不让我一事有成。

This whole book is but a draught⁹-nay, but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience! 这整篇分类学只不过是一种草稿...不,而且是草稿的草稿。啊,时间呀,力量呀,金钱呀,耐心呀!

1 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。

2 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

3 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

4 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

5 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。

9 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。