英语听书《白鲸记》第392期

 It is noon; and Dough-Boy, the steward¹, thrusting his pale loaf-of-bread face from the cabin-scuttle², announces dinner to his lord and master who,  正午时分;那个叫做汤团的茶房,从小舱口探出他那张灰白色的圆面包似的脸,对他的太上皇说是可以吃饭了;

sitting in the lee quarter-boat, has just been taking an observation of the sun; and is now mutely reckoning the latitude³ on the smooth, medallion-shaped tablet, reserved for that daily purpose on the upper part of his ivory leg.  太上皇正坐在那只挂在后甲板背风处的小艇里,刚好观测过了太阳:现在正在那块特地放在他那只牙腿的上截。

From his complete inattention to the tidings, you would think that moody⁴ Ahab had not heard his menial.  供他日常之用的光滑的。象徽章样的平板上默默地计算着纬度。从他那完全没有注意到这声叫喊的情形看来,你准会以为这个忧郁的亚哈没有听到他的下人的声音。

But presently, catching⁵ hold of the mizen shrouds⁶, he swings himself to the deck, and in an even, unexhilarated voice, saying, Dinner, Mr. Starbuck, disappears into the cabin. 但是,他却一下子抓住那根后帆索,晃到甲板上,同时用一种平稳而不很愉快的声调说过吃饭啦,斯达巴克先生后,就消失到船长室里去了。

When the last echo of his sultan's step has died away, and Starbuck, the first Emir, has every reason to suppose that he is seated,  他那君主的脚步的最后回声一消逝,斯达巴克,这位大王子,算准了亚哈已经在船长室里坐定了之后,就猛地跳将起来,在船板上走了几转,

then Starbuck rouses from his quietude, takes a few turns along the planks⁷, and, after a grave peep into the binnacle, says, with some touch of pleasantness, Dinner, Mr. Stubb, and descends⁸ the scuttle.  又在罗盘上庄严地瞄了一眼,接着便一边有点儿高兴地说,吃饭啦,斯塔布先生,一边径自走下小舱口。

The second Emir lounges about the rigging awhile, and then slightly shaking the main brace⁹, to see whether it will be all right with that important rope, he likewise takes up the old burden, and with a rapid Dinner, Mr. Flask¹⁰, follows after his predecessors¹¹. 这位二王子在索具周围走了一会后,轻轻地摇一摇主帆索,看看它是否牢靠,他也同样地接上那句老调,迅速地叫出吃饭啦,弗拉斯克先生后,就跟着他的前辈走了。

1 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

2 scuttle   

v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗

参考例句：

• There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了，人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
• The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。

3 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

4 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 shrouds   

n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密

参考例句：

• 'For instance,' returned Madame Defarge, composedly,'shrouds.' “比如说，”德伐日太太平静地回答，“裹尸布。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Figure 3-10 illustrates the result of a study or conical shrouds. 图3-10表明了对锥形外壳的研究结果。 来自辞典例句

7 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

8 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

10 flask   

n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱

参考例句：

• There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
• He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。

11 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》