英语听书《白鲸记》第580期

 　　Chapter 58 Brit 第五十八章 小鱼

　　Steering¹ north-eastward from the Crozetts, we fell in with vast meadows of brit, the minute, yellow substance, upon which the Right Whale largely feeds.  从克罗泽斯向东北方驶去，我们掉进了一大片小鱼牧场，这些小鱼主要是露脊鲸赖以为生的黄色细小的东西。

　　For leagues and leagues it undulated round us, so that we seemed to be sailing through boundless² fields of ripe and golden wheat. 这些东西在我们周围起伏绵延了好许多海里，所以，我们仿佛驶进了一片一望无际金黄成熟的麦地。

　　On the second day, numbers of Right Whales were seen, 第二天，就看到了无数的露脊鲸。

　　who, secure from the attack of a Sperm-Whaler like the Pequod, with open jaws³ sluggishly⁴ swam through the brit,  它们都大张着嘴，迟钝地在小鱼群里穿梭，不怕会遭到象“裴廓德号”这样的捕抹香鲸船的攻击。

　　which, adhering to the fringing fibres of that wondrous⁵ Venetian blind in their mouths, was in that manner separated from the water that escaped at the lip. 那些小鱼，一粘在鲸嘴里那象是奇妙的细长窗帘的缝饰后，就那样同打唇边流出来的海水分别了。

　　As morning mowers, who side by side slowly and seethingly⁶ advance their scythes⁷ through the long wet grass of marshy⁸ meads; 它们如同早晨的刈草人那样，肩并肩地穿过那片有如长长的湿草的沼泽地，慢慢地向前挥动着他们的镰刀。

　　even so these monsters swam, making a strange, grassy⁹, cutting sound; and leaving behind them endless swaths of blue upon the yellow sea. 这些巨兽在向前游去的时候，也同样发出一种奇特的、刈草似的声音来，在黄色的海面上，撇下了一片漫无尽止的刈过了草后的蓝色

　　Footnote: That part of the sea known among whalemen as the "Brazil Banks" does not bear that name as the Banks of Newfoundland do,  （原注：这一带的海洋，虽被捕鲸人称做巴西沙洲，可是它并不象纽芬兰沙洲那般名实相符，

　　because of there being shallows and soundings there,  因为后者水浅，容易测探，

　　but because of this remarkable¹⁰ meadow-like appearance, caused by the vast drifts of brit continually floating in those latitudes¹¹, where the Right Whale is often chased. 前者则因为是小鲱鱼经常大群漂流的地方，外表上很象一片牧场，也是经常追击露脊鲸的地方。）。

1 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

2 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

3 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

4 sluggishly   

adv.懒惰地；缓慢地

参考例句：

• The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。
• Loaded with 870 gallons of gasoline and 40 gallons of oil, the ship moved sluggishly. 飞机载着八百七十加仑汽油和四十加仑机油，缓慢地前进了。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

5 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

6 seethingly   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

7 scythes   

n.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的名词复数 )v.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Scythes swished to and fro. 长柄大镰刀嗖嗖地来回挥动。 来自辞典例句
• I'll tell you what: go to the forge now and get some more scythes. 我告诉你怎么做：你现在就去铁匠店多买几把镰刀回来。 来自互联网

8 marshy   

adj.沼泽的

参考例句：

• In August 1935,we began our march across the marshy grassland. 1935年8月，我们开始过草地。
• The surrounding land is low and marshy. 周围的地低洼而多沼泽。

9 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 latitudes   

纬度

参考例句：

• Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
• It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。