英语听书《白鲸记》第632期

 　　Chapter 68 The Blanket 第六十八章 绒毯

　　I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. 我对于鲸皮这个颇为麻烦的问题，已经给予不少的注意。

　　I have had controversies¹ about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists² ashore³. 我曾经为了这个问题，跟海上那些经验丰富的捕鲸人，和陆上那些学问渊博的博物学家有过争论。

　　My original opinion remains⁴ unchanged; but it is only an opinion. 虽然我原来的意见还是不变，但也不过是个意见而已。

　　The question is, what and where is the skin of the whale. 问题是什么叫鲸皮？它长在什么地方？

　　Already you know what his blubber is. 至于鲸脂是什么，大家都已经知道了。

　　That blubber is something of the consistence of firm, close-grained beef, 所谓鲸脂，就是一种象似纹路密集的硬牛肉的东西，

　　but tougher, more elastic⁵ and compact, and ranges from eight or ten to twelve and fifteen inches in thickness. 不过比牛肉更硬，更有弹性，更结实些，厚薄约在八英寸或者十英寸到十二或十五英寸之间。

　　Now, however preposterous⁶ it may at first seem to talk of any creature's skin as being of that sort of consistence and thickness, 虽然谈到任何动物的皮，竟扯到类似于浓度和厚度上去，粗粗一想，似乎颇为荒唐，

　　yet in point of fact these are no arguments against such a presumption⁷; 然而，事实上，这样的一种推定，却是无可置辩的，

　　because you cannot raise any other dense⁸ enveloping⁹ layer from the whale's body but that same blubber; 因为从鲸身上，除了这种鲸脂，是再也揭不出什么细密的表皮来的，

　　and the outermost¹⁰ enveloping layer of any animal, if reasonably dense, what can that be but the skin? 而且任何一种动物的那层表皮，如果是相当细密的话，除了管它叫皮，还能叫什么呢？

　　True, from the unmarred dead body of the whale, you may scrape off with your hand an infinitely¹¹ thin, transparent¹² substance, 不错，从一条未受损伤的死鲸身上，如果你用手一搔，也许可以抓出一层很薄的、透明的东西来，

　　somewhat resembling the thinnest shreds¹³ of isinglass, only it is almost as flexible and soft as satin; 它有点象是最薄的云母片，不同的是，它简直象缎子一般，又柔又软，

　　that is, previous to being dried, when it not only contracts and thickens, but becomes rather hard and brittle¹⁴.  就是说，在还没有把它晒干之前，在它不但还没有收缩和变厚，而且也没有发硬和发脆的时候。

1 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

2 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

3 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

6 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

7 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

8 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

9 enveloping   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. 那眼睛总是死死盯着你，那声音总是紧紧围着你。 来自英汉文学
• The only barrier was a mosquito net, enveloping the entire bed. 唯一的障碍是那顶蚊帐罩住整个床。 来自辞典例句

10 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

11 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

14 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。